When I Call Roll

The “Great Crusade” was underway, but even the lowliest private on Omaha Beach at H-Hour could tell all had not gone according to plan. The Germans manning the Atlantic Wall were not the espected second rate troops, and there were many more of them than anticipated. Once in …

1944-06-06

AP101

The “Great Crusade” was underway, but even the lowliest private on Omaha Beach at H-Hour could tell all had not gone according to plan. The Germans manning the Atlantic Wall were not the espected second rate troops, and there were many more of them than anticipated. Once in his landing craft, there was little the average dogface could do except hope. Company D was part of the “Stonewall Brigade” that was to storm Omaha Beach and open the Vierville draw. With high bluffs on either side, the draw was a vital route off the beach for the Americans and thus heavily defended. Prior to loading onto the LCAs, company commander Captain Walter Schilling gave a pep talk that concluded with “When I call roll tonight.I want everyone to say “Here!”.” Just before Company D landed, Company A had been slaughtered almost to the man on the tidal flats. The British coxswains could see their bodies floating in the surf, but it was too late to turn aside. It was onto this fatal beach that the ramps were about to drop.

Vierville-Sur-Mer, France

Omaha, commonly known as Omaha Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, during World War II. "Omaha" refers to an 8-kilometer (5 mi) section of the coast of Normandy, France, facing the English Channel, from east of Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes to west of Vierville-sur-Mer on the right bank of the Douve River estuary. Landings here were necessary to link the British landings to the east at Gold with the American landing to the west at Utah, thus providing a continuous lodgement on the Normandy coast of the Bay of the Seine. Taking Omaha was to be the responsibility of United States Army troops, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided predominantly by the United States Navy and Coast Guard, with contributions from the British, Canadian, and Free French navies.

American

German

Scenario Type = Standard