VISIT OMAHA BEACH WITH ME! | A Tour Of WN70 & WN71| Normandy WW2

No video

VISIT OMAHA BEACH WITH ME! | A Tour Of WN70 & WN71| Normandy WW2

Рет қаралды 102,723

Күн бұрын

__________________________________________
Play World of Warships here: wo.ws/3G31Iei
Thank you World of Warships for sponsoring this video.
During registration use the promo code WARSHIPS to receive a huge starter pack including
a bunch of Doubloons, Credits, Premium Account time, and a FREE ship after you complete
15 battles!
The promo code is only for new players who register for the first time on the Wargaming
portal.
__________________________________________
Prior to the Normandy landing, Norman Cota was second in command of the 29th Infantry Division, which was to land at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. He opposed the schedule of the initial assault, planned after dawn, and defended the idea of a landing just before sunrise. But he takes note of the decision of the Allied High Command and draws the tactical conclusions for his men by explaining to them that the bombardments of the navy and the air force are reassuring, but they systematically cause general confusion.
On D-Day, Cota arrives at 07:30 at Omaha Beach, Dog White area, with the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division, while the battle is in full swing. The LCVP-type landing barge carrying him is damaged by machine gun fire and mortar shell explosions: three American soldiers are killed while leaving the small landing craft. Norman Cota is the most senior ranking officer on the beach on June 6, 1944 and is the source of a sentence pronounced on the beach, which has since gone down in history. Cota asks soldiers set by enemy fire near him: “Which unit do you belong to?” “5th Rangers!” Answers one of them. To which the general replies: “Rangers, show the way!” (“Rangers, lead the way”, which is today the motto of the contemporary units of American Rangers).
In this video I look at the journey General Cota made on D-Day and ask if those events inspired the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan.
Omaha Beach: Saving Private Ryan Vs General COTA | Normandy WW2
If you enjoyed this video please hit the like button. drop me a comment and subscribe to the channel.
If you'd like to purchase the 'Brenslinger' T Shirt from Reaper One Seven or any of there other items please visit the online shop using the link below. Reaper One Seven is a VETERAN owned and VETERAN operated brand. Please support them if you can.
www.reaperones...
__________________________________________
veteransinacti...
/ @veteransinaction
__________________________________________
#tactical #guns #military #history #british #army #soldier #ww2 #veteran #usa #history #hellletloose #omaha #dday
If you'd like to support this channel and gain access to exclusive content and perks, why not consider becoming a Patreon support?
/ the_history_explorer
business: Thehistoryexplorerchannel@gmail.com
TIKTOK: / ucyub2qi5gujspzpsxhhpwqa
TWITTER: / the_history_ex
___________________________________________
If you haven't done so already check out ‪@WW2TV‬ , one of the best WW2 channels on KZfaq if you want a deep dive into a subject with proper historians!

Пікірлер: 208

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

Play World of Warships here: wo.ws/3G31Iei Thank you World of Warships for sponsoring this video. During registration use the promo code WARSHIPS to receive a huge starter pack including a bunch of Doubloons, Credits, Premium Account time, and a FREE ship after you complete 15 battles! The promo code is only for new players who register for the first time on the Wargaming portal.

@anakdesa7381 6 ай бұрын

why is there no translated text in Indonesian bro??

@badkneesone 2 ай бұрын

I was a kid in the 1960s when I saw The Longest Day and was so moved that everything D Day became a passion for me. I promised myself I would go to Omaha Beach someday. My son promised me we would go together someday. But now I am old and too old and sick to make a trip there. Any of you who wants to go there needs to go there no matter what it takes, GO. You will honor the soldiers and sailors who went there 80 years ago. If you don’t you will regret it. Thank you for making this detailed, pro, and visual tour. Well done !

@thehistoryexplorer 2 ай бұрын

Thank you for the fantastic comment, you are very welcome

@judgejase7583 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for your detailed & professionaly presented videos of WW2 events. I toured the Normandy area and the 5x D-Day beaches back in 2012 and was moved & in awe at what the young Allied troops had to face. What struck me most was the distance of open beach the US troops had to cross to reach cover vs say Juno where the sea wall was much closer to the beach landing zone. I felt the gut fear just standing on Omaha beach seeing what lay uphill in front of me, same as when I stood at Gallipoli in Turkey (I'm Australian). I was also surprised how the Germans postioned field guns in bunkers facing across the beach for flanking fire, and not out to sea like one would expect.

@thehistoryexplorer 7 ай бұрын

Thank you very much for your kind comments. I really do find it all so fascinating and I’d love to visit Gallipoli one day. The imposing bluffs overlooking the landing sites at Omaha really are something to behold

@MareShoop 8 ай бұрын

My dad was in the Korean War and we watched Saving Private Ryan one night. After it was over, I naively said pretty realistic, isn’t it Dad? He just said sadly, too realistic. I never forgave myself for having him watch it. He never talked about the Korean War but he saw terrible things. He also had to do terrible things and he was only 21 years old. I didn’t know this until he died and I found his diary.

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

I wish we did more to remember the Korean war. I also feel the same about Vietnam veterans. They will be gone soon too and we haven’t done enough to remember them and what they endured

@-1nterruption-960 8 ай бұрын

It's not easy for us combat vets to discuss some of our experiences. I was deployed to Iraq with 1/121 FA back during the height of the combat there. Feels like yesterday. However, I read a Soldiers experience of Omaha beach and he mentions that Saving Private Ryan was the disney version of what it was really like. Hollywood can't really capture horrific events like that through reenactment. Those men fought through hell on earth that day

@08jag81 Ай бұрын

actor Richard Todd, who glided into Normandy on June 6, 1944, and then acted in the 1962 D-Day epic Longest Day, called Private Ryan “overdone.”

@Benilife444 8 ай бұрын

This is great.. I'm doing my best to get there and walk in my grandfather's footsteps. He was is the 29 th 175th. Thank you.

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

You’ll love it when you get there. If you need any tips please do get in touch

@user-zx6oj7uz8w 7 ай бұрын

My sister in laws Father fought at Omaha Beach. He never talked about. Was a sweetheart of a man. May he Rest In Peace. I look at these pictures and think I could be seeing him in some of the old videos, but can’t tell. I saw the movie too, Saving Private Ryan. This waters were filled with an armada of ships.

@thehistoryexplorer 7 ай бұрын

It’s a brilliant film and still one of my favourites but there is much wrong with it, I hope you enjoyed the video

@DessieTots 8 ай бұрын

Spielberg felt that the film’s audience wouldn’t understand why no bunkers were visible from the beach, so he put them in. In reality as you know, the soldiers would have had to deal with a more terrifying situation where they were being cut down by an almost invisible enemy. Nothing to shoot back at.

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

Yes exactly. I think that would be more terrifying to an audience!

@williampockets 8 ай бұрын

The grass on the hills was burning so this is accurate. The first wave could not see where they were getting shot from.

@chriscookesuffolk 7 ай бұрын

Really enjoyed this and other films. You give a great sense of context and scale as well as a respect for these places where many died for our freedoms. Thank you.

@thehistoryexplorer 7 ай бұрын

You are most welcome my friend. Really glad you enjoyed this one 👍 it was one of my favourites

@cdf3073 2 ай бұрын

Another great video. I've walked the beach and until you stand with the sea at your back with the tide out, looking across the expanse of sand and the bluffs, no amount of reading or watching film prepares you for the feelings that run through your mind.

@thehistoryexplorer 2 ай бұрын

That is a brilliant comment. You’re so right, you can’t get a true feel for the area and the events without standing there for yourself

@baker2niner 8 ай бұрын

I belonged to a rowing club in the ‘90s and one day my friend’s dad was visiting. He went for a run while we were out on the water. In the locker room later, he took off his shirt and everyone stared. “What the hell happened to you?” He said, “In the war…” I said, “You fought the Germans?” He sighed and quietly said, “No.” “I was at the front of a landing craft when the door dropped and I got hit in the neck and fell into the water. I got hit 2 more times in the arm trying to get ashore. When I got to the beach I got hit in the legs and passed out. I got hit in the side and back 2 more times lying there unconscious. A medic marked my forehead as dead or dying to not get aid and I laid there until the afternoon when someone realized I wasn’t dead. I was put on a boat back to England, then home. So, no, I did not fight the Germans.”

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

Oh my god that is terrible

@ronfisher4965 8 ай бұрын

He gets the same salute from me as the ones who got medals for bravery

@lulatorrey6360 8 ай бұрын

❤❤❤❤❤❤😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢KINGMAYYOUHAVEABLESSEDLONGLIFESAMETOYOUANDYOURS❤❤❤❤❤😢😢😢😢😢❤❤❤❤

@gj1508 2 ай бұрын

last year I was in UK for work for 5 months, when I got time off I finally got over too france to be able to see Omaha beach and the surrounding areas. Coming from New Zealand, I thought I may not get the opportunity to be able to see Omaha beach again. I've spent my life, ever since I was 6 or 7 reading, collecting and studying about ww2, when I first saw Saving Private Ryan when it came out when I was 9, I became fascinated with Omaha beach and D-Day and the Normandy campaign. When I finally got to Omaha Beach at 7am on a beautiful sunny morning, I didn't know what to think or feel, it was an emotional experience, not just because it had been a life long dream to go there and see it, but because of everything about it. I think the whole area has, a feeling, its hard to describe, what happened 80 years ago there and then seeing it in modern times with cars, houses and people living their day to day lives. I think most people that have visited the area probably know the feeling the place has, its own energy, your mind runs a million miles a hr. Its a place of greatness, bravery, beauty, sadness and heart break. I will return again one day

@thehistoryexplorer 2 ай бұрын

Well said my friend

@jean-sebastienroy6231 7 ай бұрын

Amazing job! Last November I went to Omaha Beach but the weather was so bad that I only visited WN-62. There was a huge storm while I was on top of the bunker and couldn't go down to the parking lot near the beach. Your videos are so amazing that I have decided to return this Fall. Thank you and keep up the good work!

@thehistoryexplorer 7 ай бұрын

Awesome! So glad you’re going back. If you would like any tips on visiting, parking, access etc please give me a shout 👍 my email is on the landing page

@rtipper10 9 ай бұрын

Having spent some time exploring Omaha Beach over a number of years. Have fun at trying to find the L-Shaped bunker opposite WN71 on the West side of the Vierville draw (part of WN72) it is well and truly hidden in the underbrush on the bluff on the other side of the road. Another good example of the L-shaped bunker and easier to get to is just off the road “Rue Du 6 Juin 1944” at WN68. Always great learning I find to see the beach from different defensive perspectives.

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

I’ve got those locked in for my next visit! I wasn’t aware of the other L shaped bunker until I was shown recently 👍

@clarkkoch4723 9 ай бұрын

History is a wonderful learning tool. Thanks for a great video.

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

You're most welcome. I hope you enjoyed the video

@stevevalley2784 9 ай бұрын

Great views & content on this sector of Omaha Beach. Also, for getting down & dirty for getting great views from the bunker. This is why your channel is growing fast. Well done!

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

Really appreciate it mate. Thanks for your feedback. I've got a list of less accessible bunkers I want to access! Next time I'll take a large light for filming

@stevevalley2784 9 ай бұрын

I will be looking out for your new videos. Thanks.

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

@@stevevalley2784 I’ve got some great trips lined up mate. Hope you enjoy them

@aknudsen93 7 ай бұрын

In 1974 I was 8 years old. My dad had received a sabbatical and so, with, mom and my brother we travelled to Europe. We were at Omaho Beach on the 30th anniversary of D-Day. I was too young to understand the destruction and violence that happened on D-Day. To me it was a beautiful beach. There were pill boxes that the Nazi's used. My brother and I played in these. It was not until Saving Private Ryan that I saw the realities of D-Day. My mom was from Iowa. Her father fought in WW 2. She cut out an article about a man from a town near where she grew up. He had survive D-Day and married a French woman. They owned a tavern and my folks found this. He was very excited to meet us but his English was not very good because after the war he never returned to the U.S. I am so grateful to have been able to be on that beach as a child.

@Ro6entX 8 ай бұрын

Whoever cleaned up the quality of the footage and colorized it certainly earned their paycheck 👍

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

Yes definitely! It’s good isn’t it.

@Spitnchicklets 9 ай бұрын

Every man who stormed the beaches on D day, no matter which beach or Pt. Duhoc had BALLS bigger than their pants could handle!!!

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

100% they were issued a wheelbarrow to carry them

@d.g.n9392 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for such well done video, the historical films and explanations. I am not a veteran, I’m 70 years old and very interested in all the WWII history. My father, uncle were in navy. And a great uncle in army, he was KIA in Italy about January 3, 1944 near mount Porchia. I have a lot of the documents and his historical records, he was interred in Italy, then his repatriation in 1947-1948 back to his hometown for burial I’ve archived as much as I am able to in his memory, and to leave for my other family to retain the photos of his burial and his repatriation records.

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

You are most welcome. I hope you enjoyed the video and that you for sharing your story. We must never forget

@KaboosOnX1 8 ай бұрын

Do you know which division your great uncle was in? My grandfather was in Italy with the 36th.

@d.g.n9392 8 ай бұрын

@@KaboosOnX1. 6th armored infantry

@parrot849 9 ай бұрын

I visited this beach several years ago and walked along the exact place looking up to where you explaining this “exit draw.” I wish I had known the information this video so brilliantly described. I now have to wonder just how many local French citizens are now, currently aware of the significance of this tiny bit of overgrown rise up to the bluffs above?!

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful! I think many of the French locals are enthusiasts. I have found they are incredibly grateful for their liberation

@MissHeird 7 ай бұрын

Looking at the beach now, how beautiful and pristine. But then I think of the blood shed and so many soldiers killed and seriously wounded and become very sad. 😢 I just subscribed btw.

@thehistoryexplorer 7 ай бұрын

Thank you very much I hope you enjoy the channel. 🙏

@MissHeird 7 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer YW and I certainly do!

@JimD410 9 ай бұрын

One of the veterans interviews said there was a large box bunker but it was blown up by a destroyer. Love to take a medal detector through there.

@sgtquig9040 8 ай бұрын

Taking a medal detector to some of the battle sites would be interesting a terrifying as well.

@JimD410 8 ай бұрын

@@sgtquig9040 yeah might find some 70 year old ordinance in the ground lol. I've actually found some old civil war pieces of guns and bullets in Pennsylvania.

@hunterprowsemrereviews9141 7 ай бұрын

You’re the first I’ve seen find the entrance to the L shaped machine gun bunker on the top of the bluff. I’ve never actually seen that view point. I think for preservation of history purposes, it should be cleaned up and the overgrown vegetation cleared out so people can go in it and explore it and learn how it was. But yes the reality was, there were 15 machine gun positions at the top of the bluffs overlooking the beach. They were facing different directions. And that meant there was enemy machine gun bullets zipping in all directions across the beach cutting allied troops down everywhere. And they couldn’t see where it was coming from. Way more effective. It was so effective that the invasion was nearly a fail and total loss, and the German forces nearly maintained control of the beaches. It was a complete meat grinder, the shoreline water was nothing but blood for the first 30 yards of water going out to sea. That’s how one vet I remember talking to described it.

@thehistoryexplorer 7 ай бұрын

I hope you enjoyed the video! It was a hard effort getting into the bunker, it looks like it will eventually fall down the cliff which is a shame. I’m not sure many tourists should venture up there to be honest

@WESTSIDENIA 8 ай бұрын

Hard to believe some of the films that Robert capa took "fell overboard" I think maybe the US doesn't want to show the real carnage at omaha

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

That’s understandable though I guess. Apparently it was the automated footage from the landing craft that was damaged and not the Capa footage

@matthieuburlin4808 2 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer Capa was in Easy Red, with just two photographic camera, no film footage. Somewhere was Ernest Hemingway too.

@user-zx6oj7uz8w 7 ай бұрын

Wow! From the bunker. Gee if I ever get to France again, now I can appreciate much more.

@thehistoryexplorer 7 ай бұрын

Thank you my friend. I wish I had put that part sooner in the video because it seems many people haven’t seen it!

@garrett4971 8 ай бұрын

Fun fact: the Omaha beach scene in "Saving Private Ryan" was filmed on Curracloe Beach in Ireland

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

Yes indeed it was! Thanks for sharing

@jimreilly917 7 ай бұрын

And most of the soldiers who hit the beach in the movie were from the actual Army of the Republic of Ireland.

@lst141 8 ай бұрын

You were very lucky. I’ve visited 2 times Omaha and was always high tide!

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

Oh wow! I need to make sure there ride is out when I visit the cliffs at pointe du hoc

@paulyandle6081 7 ай бұрын

Played by Robert Mitchum in The Longest Day. 1962. Short on Isle de Oleron, Charente Maritime.

@timshull59 2 ай бұрын

Theodore Roosevelt Jr landed in the first wave at Utah beach at 56 he was the oldest man to land on the first day.

@thehistoryexplorer 2 ай бұрын

He landed on the first day but not the first wave I believe. Edit: I stand corrected. He petitioned to go with the first wave and it was approved. The only BG to do so

@eamo106 9 ай бұрын

Well done mate ! Never knew this history. Omaha West I guess.

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

WN70 and WN71 are jut to the east of the D1 draw which is at the western end of Omaha beach

@ironman0917 3 ай бұрын

Well done. I was just at these amazing locations last week.

@thehistoryexplorer 3 ай бұрын

Nice one! I hope you could picture the actions that took place here. What a location

@jeanclaudedamamme9874 4 ай бұрын

Really a first class video. Thank you.

@thehistoryexplorer 4 ай бұрын

You're very welcome! I wish more people had watched this video 👍

@petercurran3723 9 ай бұрын

As a novice historian…there had to be a Normandy beach somewhere….Because the enemy had to had a strong point somewhere and that it was is was. Regardless where it was,could have been Juno or Sword but it was that beach sadly. Most of them were green but the Germans only held them off for 6 hours and it was over. Correct me if I’m wrong here.

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

I think you’re bang on buddy

@petercurran3723 9 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer thank you

@JimD410 9 ай бұрын

116th regiment of the 29thdiv. Lost 96% of their men on that beach. Greatest Generation for sure.

@josephwolosz2522 8 ай бұрын

It was F Company that lost all those boys from Bedford,Virginia.

@user-yq5ty7ix5i 3 ай бұрын

Excellent video. My grandfather was in B Company of the 116th and before he passed he told me about being pinned down behind the seawall and climbing up to the WN70 (his map said Hamel-au-Petre) then heading SW into Vierville. Was wondering how you got permission to go to the bluff through those beachfront villas? It’s a life goal of mine to climb that hill and walk the entire route he showed me to where he was WIA the first time near St. Lo.

@thehistoryexplorer 3 ай бұрын

Wow, thank you for sharing. You can access the bluffs through the fields at the rear. You cannot access via the villas unless given permission

@cartert8038 9 ай бұрын

I have several old photos taken by my dad during his WW2 service in Belgium, France and Germany. He was a forward observer in an artillery unit. (292 F.A. Obsn. Batalion) Would these photos be useful for your "Then and Now" shorts? Thanks for your work. CT

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

I’d love to see them! Not least because I am a forward observer too! I have an email address on the KZfaq landing page if you would like to share them. Thank you!

@niklazandersson5631 9 ай бұрын

Wow, awesome content 👍 Probably the best one I`ve seen about Omaha Beach. You earned yourself a subscriber, looking forward to see more 🧐 To all who participated in the invasion, a hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself ❤ Keep up the good work with your videos and content, greetings from Sweden

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

thank you so much my friend! I hope you enjoy my other videos too

@jgogl9791 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for posting this video. Fascinating. My grandad was a gunnery officer on a British destroyer involved in the landings. 20:21 please could I ask what you meant by there was "a lot of redundancy" built into the invasion plan? A vaste subject I know, but just whether it's the planning for different outcomes and contingencies, emphasis on having more than you might need? Looking forward to the next video.

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

A baste subject as you say, but I mean there is so much mass and a preponderance of firepower and manpower to overwhelm the defenders. The first waves were always going to be hell but after that many many soldiers just walked ashore

@matthieuburlin4808 2 ай бұрын

Saving Private Ryan is not in Dog White, it's in Dog Green (under WN71). By the way, great video, thank you.

@JimD410 9 ай бұрын

Wonder if them houses still have any signs of the war? Bullet holes and such. I've listened to stories of veterans who said they were hiding behind house I guess they are the houses they were talking about.

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

I’m sure there are lots of traces on conflict in and around those houses. Some of them were fortified on D Day

@JimD410 9 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer there is a good interview. I believe the old timers name is Bill Parker and he was with the 116th/29th div. First wave first landing craft to hit the beach. He said they lost 96% of their men and during his story he said they were hiding behind houses. Was there any other sighs of the war on anything else you seen? Looked like the one bunker had bullets holes in it. So envious I've always wanted to go there.

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

@@JimD410there are lots of other locations with. Style damage (WN72) but much of it has been repaired. I’m sure there would be houses with damage but it’s all on private property

@FromDeathToWorse 8 ай бұрын

All over Europe you find bulletmarks in buildings you have too look and find many specially in big citys 👍🏼

@alexbowman7582 8 ай бұрын

Other beaches were practically empty. I read of some GI’s who landed on an empty beach to be met by a man wearing a Hawaii shirt carrying a suitcase who duly explained he was an ethnic German who had visited the Reich and was press ganged into the Wehrmacht and was waiting for his chance to escape.

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

Ha! I’ve never read that. But in comparison Utah beach was relatively quiet compared to the stretch of Omaha beach below Wn62 along to WN71

@THEDIABLODOG 6 ай бұрын

FYI, Amazon sells flashlights! 😉👹 "THE DIABLO DOG" 👹

@waterpongo6975 9 ай бұрын

reuploaded mate? brilliant video - really enjoyed it

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

YT restricted the video to a smaller audience due to the Saving Private Ryan footage

@napierlines6977 9 ай бұрын

How did you know that bunker was there? is there a map? Sweet video Rob

@tonysoprano7777 8 ай бұрын

My Dad landed on Normandy said that the drivers of those boats where supposed to get right up to the beach and drop the ramp so they could run. He said they dropped the ramps to early. Try running in waist deep water. He said they were being pick of like crazy. This video shows he was right about they were just dropped off to soon.

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

Yes they must have been exhausted!

@jimreilly917 7 ай бұрын

Many were dropped in water over 6 ft deep. Dying because their 50 lbs of gear made it impossible for them to swim or even tread water.

@robmisener2786 9 ай бұрын

Great video Rob!

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

Thank you so much buddy. Really appreciate it. Great name too!

@robmisener2786 9 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer likewise lol

@jeffbosworth8116 8 ай бұрын

Was previelged to visit Omaha Beach last spring. I was surprised how firm the sand was. Nothing like the stuff I see in California.

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

Where in California Jeff? I do love visiting there. I spent 7 weeks traveling up and down highway 1 and had the time of my life

@jeffbosworth8116 8 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer I live in a former Gold Rush town (population in 1850 was 10x today) in the mountains 2 hours northeast of Sacramento Since you mentioned in another post you like hearing about DDay conections, my dad was at Timmes Orchard with 507 PIR.

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

@@jeffbosworth8116 oh fascinating! Thank you for sharing. You must be very proud of your father. I hope to visit La Fiere and Col Timmes Orchard in March 24

@Democrats-Cheat 6 ай бұрын

My father landed on the first wave at Omaha. He (never) talked about it till I asked him one week before he died. He said his landing craft had one Indian Gurkhas fighter who was sharpened knives for two bits. My question is that I can't find any information about Indian Gurkhas fighters on American landing craft. Dad was a combat engineer and said he was basically unable to fight that day only survive. He said surviving the first few hours was terrible and then our Navy artillery scared him the hell out of him. He was very worried about friendly fire. He never left his Fox hole all day. Not even after we started to advance up the beach. He did say the next day and for the next 30 days he fought everyday before the got a leave. Than while on the beach somewhere along the peaceful coast he watched the Germans shoot from Guernsey and Jersey Island at anything they could but it was ineffective. Anyway he said the orders were to just let the Germans stay on those two sacred islands for the rest of the war. And they did... So a Gurkhas wearing a Turban on his head? Anyone know anything about this?Was it common on some landing craft, or just in the first wave?

@thehistoryexplorer 6 ай бұрын

Wow thank you for sharing. You must be so very proud of his involvement, I know I would be

@RooJJu 9 ай бұрын

Great video ! But I'm confused, I saw that video a week ago I'm pretty sure 🤔

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

Hello buddy, you did. It was restricted due to using footage from Saving Private Ryan. Now uploaded again so it can reach a larger audience…hopefully!

@RooJJu 9 ай бұрын

Ah I understand ! Thanks for answering

@XxBloggs 8 ай бұрын

Saving Private Ryan’s huge error with putting the obstacles around the wrong way really messes the movie up for me.

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

Most people wouldn’t notice but if you love your history it’s very obvious!

@Nerdy_dude 9 ай бұрын

My grandmother knew a person that was in d-day he said the only reason he lived through that day was because he was in the third wave of attacks

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

I can well believe it, there is a study on when the casualties occurred and the difference between the first wave and later waves is stark

@kirstengogan7091 7 ай бұрын

Excellent video, how do you get onto the top of the Bluff, it looks like gardens at the bottom, so is there access from the top?

@thehistoryexplorer 7 ай бұрын

Yes, exactly. There is a track across the fields at the top with a footpath. Highly recommend a walk up there as the views are brilliant. Thanks for the feedback!

@gdb99238 2 ай бұрын

Great Video. Thanks

@thehistoryexplorer 2 ай бұрын

Glad you think so buddy. Much appreciated

@thomasklugh4345 9 ай бұрын

What was the derigible for? I saw it hovering above the beach right at the end of your video, when you were showing all the vehicles being driven onto the beaches. What need was there for derigibles? It's at time 21:20.

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

They are bombard balloons if that’s what you’re referring to?

@billyboy1441 9 ай бұрын

very brave men

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

Absolutely

@johnr8820 9 ай бұрын

So those big concrete bunkers that are in every video game and movie about D-Day didn’t even exist at all?

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

Correct! They did not exist at Omaha. They did exist at par de Calais and other Atlantic Wall locations like Denmark etc

@beatrizkenepple-ne2ut 9 ай бұрын

Well done.

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

Thank you very much. I hope you enjoyed it

@kemosabe8313 8 ай бұрын

What I noticed in Normandy, was they don't seem to preserve the bunkers in many locations. Does anyone know why that is?

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

There are so many!

@CharlieDexter99 8 ай бұрын

At Pointe Du Hoc there are bunkers and artillery stations that survived the pre bombing still there. I went in the large bunkhouse. There’s a huge slab of concrete that was blown 20 feet off a bunker. Has to be 6 foot high and 10 foot long. I like to think there’s a Nazi under it 😊

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

@MARKHASSIN-jb9hp thanks I’ll check it out

@thewalrus1968 8 ай бұрын

a torch would have been maybe an idea 🧐

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

It might please you to know I’ve purchased a very powerful light for my next visit

@thewalrus1968 8 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer haha thanks for the great content

@javasrevenge7121 9 ай бұрын

This movie was recorded in the UK and Ireland, so I hear here a big mistake.

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

It was indeed. But that isnt the point of this video. It does look like the Normandy voast though

@davidcollins8574 6 ай бұрын

Imagine living at those houses.. War tourists for ever..

@thehistoryexplorer 6 ай бұрын

They sell for a pretty penny!

@paulmeyer3871 2 ай бұрын

Dumb question-Where the houses in front of the beach there on D-day or built afterwards?

@thehistoryexplorer 2 ай бұрын

Yes they were! Saving private Ryan made it look like empty beach but in fact it was full of holiday homes, cottages and even a hotel (damaged)

@paulmeyer3871 2 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer Dang. So the germans could also have been shooting from those homes as well. Whew. Crazy how anyone could have survived it.

@arnaudcauvin3278 8 ай бұрын

What you show as Cota's draw is in truth the remains of an American strategic road built after June 6, 1944.

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

Yes it does look so much more man made. However you can see the draw from 1943 aerial footage and it looks very similar

@arnaudcauvin3278 8 ай бұрын

Perhaps the Americans used the easiest places to build these roads. I will look carefully at the photographs before June 6. You can also find the remains of these roads between Wn 70 and Wn 71.

@carolancarey992 9 ай бұрын

well done thank you!

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

You are so welcome, I hope you enjoyed it

@josephwolosz2522 8 ай бұрын

Cota should have been awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on Omaha Beach. Teddy Roosevelt Jr. Was awarded the Medal posthumously after suffering a hearr attack. Cotas involvement during the Hurtgen Forest campaign was not good. So many men wasted. And he did not believe the Germans were mounting a serious attack through the Ardennes. Fortunately lower ranking officers managed a delaying defense of Clervaux. This helped the Airborne units get to Bastogne and Elsenborne Ridge before the Germans could get there.

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

I’m heading to the Ardennes next year and will cover Clervaux 👌

@josephwolosz2522 8 ай бұрын

@thehistoryexplorer Clervaux is barely mentioned during many documentaries about the Battle of the Bulge. I went to the Chateau which was defended by US troops from the 28th Infantry. The curator was there. He had rebuilt the Chateau and turned it into museum.

@adamjg4352 9 ай бұрын

I’ve held and attacked those strongpoints in Hell Let Loose a fair few times

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

I’ve never seen it but people talk about the game a lot

@adamjg4352 9 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer it’s very good, accurate locations and maps

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

@@adamjg4352 I’ll have to check it out buddy

@williamcarson4561 8 ай бұрын

Was this not filmed in Wexford Ireland, I could be wrong .

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

Saving Private Ryan was indeed filmed there

@venkataramananrengan1913 8 ай бұрын

200 kms. International water. But Who launched?

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

Sorry my friend you’ve lost me

@user-ve3gh5xg9q 2 ай бұрын

the mere fact that they wer🇺🇸e waist deep in water made them almost dead. And how to fight in wet clothes. Many long minutes in the water. Cold northern waters of the Atlantic and only de💀ath on the beach

@thehistoryexplorer 2 ай бұрын

It must have been horrible

@russheins6458 9 ай бұрын

Were these houses actually there back then ???

@Theakker3B 9 ай бұрын

Yes, there were houses along the beach.

@thehistoryexplorer 9 ай бұрын

Yes there were houses and holiday villas all along the front

@billballbuster7186 9 ай бұрын

Omaha Beach was a disaster for several reasons, the first was the lack of tanks. The Sherman DD Tanks were launched too far from the beach, up to 6 miles, so 27 out of 29 tanks sank. This was down to incompetence or cowardice as the tanks were ordered launched at no more than 2 miles out. The incompetence of Bradley continued and the US lost over 129.000 troops in Normandy. compared to 83,000 British, Canadians and Poles, who had fought the bulk of the German Army Group B, around Caen and Falaise. Hollywood did its best to hide the truth with its totally false portrayal of the landing beach.

@Melrose51653 9 ай бұрын

Hard to consider it a disaster. Failure would have been a disaster. Not a video game

@billballbuster7186 9 ай бұрын

@@Melrose51653 No, it was a disaster, or Pyrrhic Victory if you like, considering the casualties and gains. For the most part in Normandy Bradley was fighting 3rd rate Garrison Divisions with little armor or artillery. In most other armies Bradley wound have been fired.

@ronald8792 9 ай бұрын

I agree, Omaha was a terrible place to land, unless obtaining the maximum amount of casualties was the goal.

@billballbuster7186 9 ай бұрын

@@ronald8792 Omaha was in fact similar to Juno beach, the huge defences seen in Saving Private Ryan were grossly inaccurate. However the Canadians at Juno landed 25 tanks and they made all the difference.

@ronald8792 9 ай бұрын

@@billballbuster7186 I did some research on Juno and you were right about Canada, they advanced further than all the allied forces at the time. I just cant help but wonder ......what the global population would be if we didnt have WWI & WWII.

@kathysamuels1465 7 ай бұрын

My dad was on HMS Barham

@thehistoryexplorer 7 ай бұрын

Oh no! The footage of that has haunted me for ages. Terrible incident

@kathysamuels1465 7 ай бұрын

@thehistoryexplorer my dad got of in 1940 ..do you have any pics .my dad left me a few ..

@thehistoryexplorer 7 ай бұрын

I don’t have any! If you’re happy to share I’d love to see them.

@kathysamuels1465 7 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer where could I share

@thehistoryexplorer 7 ай бұрын

@@kathysamuels1465 you can email me on thehistoryexplorerchannel@gmail.com if you like?

@cjcaldwell3001 8 ай бұрын

Imagine the difference if the bombing run was successful

@thehistoryexplorer 8 ай бұрын

Yes absolutely. There would have been cratering in the beach to provide cover

@Gungho1a 8 ай бұрын

Incredibly stupid, and there is no other way to say it, to land your assault teams directly under dug in defenders, in the enemy kill zones. It is simply feeding your troops onto mg fire. The successful actions on Omaha were by troops who didn't land in front of the defences, and who moved off the beach through gaps. It's a criticism that is not confined to Omaha landings though, it's part of military history that amphibious operations have had this near suicidal fixation with landing troops where they are guaranteed to be fired upon, when experience has shown that avoiding the defences and attacking them from inland is the equation for success.

@kingsroad2310 9 ай бұрын

Man I need to get back to France! the beaches are calling me

@hatuletoh 9 ай бұрын

I was thinking exactly the same. I've only been there once, and although I visited all the most famous sites, I felt like I needed to stay there a month to really get a feel for the place. And of course, Normandy is beautiful in its own right, and packed with all kinds of fascinating, non-WWII related historical sites. If you've never seen it, don't miss William the Conquerer's castle right smack in the middle of Caen. Last used in a military capacity by Napolean, if I recall correctly.