Omaha Beach - As I expected, or?

[Shörner]

Well of course Hollywood throws in some elements of fiction here and there in all movies, even such as saving private ryan.

Now, i didnt expect Omaha Beach to have any of the tell-tale "Saving-private-ryan" Bunkers that were shown in the movie, as a matter of fact it was very bleak. There were maybe 2 visible bunkers and some holes in the cliffs.

As opposed to point du hoc, Omaha Beach had barely anything left of the German Defenses. Was most of this dismantled after the war? or were the defenses much more limited than shown in Speilberg's film?

[Paul Reed]

The defences are largely still there, but you have to look for them. The Germans were masters at disguising defences, and they were nothing like the huge bunkers you see in the film or video games. They were well positioned so that they caused maximum damage through enfilade fire. Many were Tobruk pits with MG42s, others were well positioned field gun/howitzer bunkers. The Tobruk pits have largely gone with the new concrete sea wall, but the larger bunkers are all still there on the bluffs above the beech. It is quite a climb to get to some of them, but the fields of fire from them are quite incredible. Infantry without tank or arty support would have been able to do little to silence them.

Hope that helps.

[Cpl Rootes]

I think that a lot of the defences have been taken down. I know that the AT ditches have been filled in, so have most of the trenches.

[Shörner]

I did notice that there were certain areas that were very blatent and others that were almost desolate... I could notice some little bunker entrances up in the bluff, but didnt get close enough to them to identify their exact shape etc.

[Kyt]

Have a look at this site.It contains contemporary pictures of bunkers across Europe, with a great section on Normandy (including Omaha).

http://bunkersite.lcbunkers.com/