But Wegner had frozen out of panic at the thought of killing “all those men in olive brown uniforms splashing through the water towards the sand”. “Feuer, Wegner, feuer!” His commanding officer, Lance-Corporal Lang, was screaming at him. The sweat rolled down my brow as I watched these boats come closer and closer. “Suddenly, they all turned and began to come straight in towards the beach. No less frightening were the approaching landing craft. Here, the 19-year-old German conscript Karl Wegner was crouched in one of the concrete strongholds, WN-72, and glued to his binoculars, growing more and more scared at the sight of the Allied fleet off shore. There was a verydifferent story unfolding on Omaha Beach, just a few miles to the east.
General Dwight D Eisenhower speaks to men of 101st Airborne before they set off. Give ’em hell.” But for all the fighting talk, the two men choked up as emotion got the better of them. In doing so, he transformed them from teenage volunteers into a highly competent force.Īs Schroeder boarded his landing craft at around 2.30am, he was given encouragement from his battalion commander, Carlton McNeely. Schroeder was a bulldozer of a man, with a thick-set face, a pronounced nose and the nickname Moose – an appropriate moniker for someone as stock-solid as the giant animal of his native through mock landings and using live ammunition. Following in their wake would be hundreds of vessels laden with jeeps, tanks and armoured vehicles, as well as 21,000 men of the 4th Infantry Division. If all went to plan, they would land at dawn and so become the first Allied soldiers to set foot in Normandy.
Utah was the destination of 25-year-old Captain Leonard Schroeder and his men from F Company, 8th Infantry Regiment. Not only did the town straddle the main road to Cherbourg, but it was also just a stone’s throw from Utah Beach, the most westerly of the five landing beaches. While the British captured Bénouville, and also Ranville, the US paratroopers were fighting their way through the night to Sainte-Mère-Église. “As we neared the far side of the bridge, still shouting, firing our weapons and lobbing hand grenades, the Germans ran for their lives, scattering in all directions.” It marked the end of the firefight, with the battle for Bénouville Bridge over as dramatically as it began. The men worked with clinical efficiency, aware that it was kill or be killed, until one of Parr’s comrades sensed that the enemy were losing heart. (Photo by US Army/Interim Archives/Getty Images) US soldiers are helped on to Omaha beach during D-Day. “If the shrapnel didn’t get them,” said Parr, “the phosphorus would.” working as a dangerous double-act, pitching grenades (explosive and phosphorus) into the German dugouts surrounding the bridge while their teammates provided covering fire. “Come out and fight, you square-headed bastards,” screamed Parr. Fearless and highly motivated, they were first to reach Bénouville Bridge. !e pair were part of a fiveman team – the Scout Section. “Charlie, get out!” shouted Parr to his buddy, Charles Gardner, when he finally came round. In a shower of fire and debris, the crippled remnants of the glider slammed to a violent halt and for a few moments, the men on board were knocked unconscious. If the bridges were not captured, German Panzer tanks would be able to sweep see was sparks. It was a mission of vital importance for everything that was to follow. His task, and that of the 180 comrades from the 6th Airborne Division, was to capture two strategically vital bridges – one at Bénouville (better known as Pegasus Bridge) and its neighbour at Ranville. Among the latter was Wally Parr, who had boarded his glider at around 10pm. During the night, no fewer than 13,000 US and 8,500 British soldiers were dropped into Normandy.
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