Bloody Omaha

[Peter Clare]

UK TV Sunday 6 January BBC2 9pm - 10pm.

Timewatch - Bloody Omaha


Richard Hammond tells the true story of the D-Day landing at Omaha beach, Normandy in June 1944. Widely regarded as a great success, the landing was very nearly a disaster, with up to 4,000 Allied soldiers perishing within hours. The presenter reveals how a small group of men, ending up in the wrong place at the right time, helped turn tragedy into victory

[Owen]

Another Top Gear presenter getting to do a WW2 program, those blokes have (put on a Clarkson voice...) the best job " in the world."

[Bodston]

..and yet Clarkson and Hammond are repeatedly taking the piss out of James May for 'going on about the war', when they have both presented info-dramas on various aspects of it. Still, more popular prime-time history programs for the masses, mustn't grumble I suppose.

[Paul Reed]

A friend of a friend has made this programme, and I spoke to one of the APs during the making of it; from what I hear, sounds like it should be interesting.

[Christos]

TOP GEAR is simply my favourite way to spend any time in front of the box.....and, I have an article on Omaha from Military History Quarterly that places the blame for OMAHA far and square on the European officers that ignored Pacific liason officers in the planning stages, and mucked up the firplan for support.....not to mention losing every one of the Duplex Drive Sherman tanks to the rolling surf......I'll dig it out and give you a 500 word rundown if you like.....Hammond probably knows nothing of this ....he is a motoring journo after all.....and James May propbably is a little more widely read and knowledgable than both Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson put together, hence their consistant attempts to marginalize him....I know it's all part of the show, but their is a certain middle class snobbery to how the show deals with James....he is not allowed to win many of the challenges, and for their amphibious car show, he even lampooned the shows attitude towards him by reading a copy of "Gay Times" that had been placed in Hammons people-mover/riverboat..I wish I could get a hold of some early episodes of top GEAR....I still think their funniest show was their stint on Berkshire Radio, with Jeremy singling out various drivers as personally responsible for the state of the traffic....("Who is the IDIOT in the Mercedes with a twenty foot gap between him and the next car?")....Clarkson is rightr. Those guys do have one of the best jobs in the world. And it continues the very British traditon of superp quality prime time television, that is first and foremost ENTERTAINMENT.....I HATE motor vehicles, but Top Gear is by far my favourite show of all!

The very fact that Owen's comment above features an invitation to "put on a Clarkson voice", shows clearly that these journos are cultural icons, and phenomanally influential with manufacturers, who que their products up just to hear Clarkson's opinions......Long live the show, I say!

Hey Owen....that photo in your avatar was taken on my retrograde birthday.....January 22nd 1940 (I'm 1967)

[marcus69x]

Sounds really interesting. UKTV? Does anyone know if that's a freeview channel?

[GPRegt]

Originally Posted by marcus69x

Sounds really interesting. UKTV? Does anyone know if that's a freeview channel?

It's on BBC 2.

Steve W.

[sapper]

The tragedy of Omaha was down to one thing, and one thing only.... The failure to get off the beach.....Nothing else.... Just a failure to get going.
The proof of this? Someone got around to "geeing them up" to tackle getting off later.

If they did it much later? (And they did.. with exactly the same conditions) WHY NOT EARLIER? For they did get off eventually, but not before it became a tragedy.

The Sword Beach area was defended in far greater depth. In fact the most heavily defended area of the whole Normandy invasion coast faced the British Troops on Sword Beach. And in depth......The first two huge defensive positions are gone Morris ETC. Also under fire from Le Havre. (later, Sword Beach became untenable for landing purposes due to shell fire)

Anyone in any doubt at all, should have a look at what is left of "Hillman" That was a massive defensive position 650 meters long by 459 meters wide, and a mass of mines guns and machine guns.

As you know, that was take by the efforts of Lt Arthur Heal with the bravest act anywhere on the invasion coast...Should have been a VC.
The fact that the British took it was down to one thing...Dedicated assault teams. And a disciplined, dogged and determined will to win.

Coupled with the dedication of the RE teams that removed the mines off the beach obstacles, While many drowned in the process.
Had the Americans had the same dedicated assault teams, tasked with opening up the paths from the waterside to the open country? NO MATTER WHAT! The tragedy of Omaha would never have happened.

It will be interesting to see if this programme tells the true story? or somehow manages to Flannel the whole thing over.....

The fact the Americans failed in their landings is not something to be ashamed of. The shock of fire and men falling around with terrible wounds can cause the human mind to go into shock.....Whats wrong with that? It happens!

I know only too well, having been under pretty nasty barrages where each shell that arrives has your name on it.
One thing no one should try do is to try to camouflage Omaha as anything else but a failure.
No matter what is portrayed the truth is that eventually the troops tackled the exit straight off the beach, tackled the enemy head on.... WON and carried the day.
But sadly. Too late.
Sapper

[Slipdigit]

Brian,

I agree with you to some extent of the difficulties getting off the beach, but differ on the reasons why. A large number of the men who didn't get off the beach did so because they were dead. A prime example of the this was A Co, 116th Inf Reg, 29th Infantry Division who lost 96% of it's men in the first 10 minutes of the assault, most never even making it to the seawall. Without the armor support enjoyed by other beaches, the infantrymen had to rely on themselves to over take the hardened defenses, since the swimming tanks that were intended to assist heavily in this endeavor by providing direct artillery fire and machine gun fire sank on the swim into the beach.

The 1st Infantry Division assaulted most of Omaha, this was their third seaborne assault.

[Christos]

Sounds like Spielburg an Co. got it right with "Private Ryan " then.....SAapper's description is basically what happens in the movie, with Tom Hanks providing the impetus toget his people up and moving, clearly stating to the Engineer arrived to clear the beach that if they stay there, they will all die....so to live they had to keep moving forward.....and of course not all of them were going to make the run up the beach........Compared to other beaches, Omaha was a butchers-shop....