Source: Historical Section, COMNAVEU. "Administrative History of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe, 1940-1946." vol. 5. (London, 1946): 301-337 [This manuscript, identified as United States Naval Administrative History of World War II #147-E, is located in the Navy Department Library's Rare Book Room.]

PART V
THE ASSAULT ENDS: THE SITUATION AT H PLUS 24 HOURS

99. By the close of D-day the five Allied spearheads were all successfully established on their respective beach heads. In every area, reinforcements were being landed apace. The forces ashore were being braced against the expected enemy counter attack. The Allied situation in Normandy at H plus 24 hours (0630 7th June) was as follows:
    1. In the S Sector, the British 3rd Division had been completely landed and had pushed inland to a depth of 4 miles, capturing Ouistreham and making contact with the British 6th Airborne Division. The latter had landed on the east banks of the river Orne and secured intact the Benouville bridges over the Orne River and Caen Canal.¹ The British 3rd Division had also made contact with the Canadian 3rd to the westward, and held the line Perriers - Benouville.

2. The Canadian 3rd Division of Force J had pushed up to 5 miles inland toward Caen, established contact with the British 3rd on their left and the British 50th on their right, and held a line running from Benny to Cruelly.
3. In the G sector the British 50th Division had advanced inland about 5 miles to a point just east of Bayeux, and held a line from there eastward to the J Sector where they were in contact with the Canadians. It was not until the 8th (D plus 2) that Bayeux was taken nor until the 9th that contact was made with the U.S. V-Corps from OMAHA Beach.
4. By nightfall on D-day, the V-Corps had advanced scarcely a mile off the OMAHA Beach. With the cliffs behind them they made substantial progress during the night and by mid-day on the 7th (D plus 1) they had reached the Bayeux-Caranten road, some 4 miles inland. They made contact with the British 50th Division to the eastward on the 9th and with the VII Corps to the westward on the 10th (D plus 4) after a desperate resistance by the Germans in the vicinity of the Vire Estuary.

5. The VII Corps in the UTAH Sector had rapidly consolidated a beach head 4000 yards long, driven inland some 5 miles and joined the 101 airborne division by nightfall of D-day. By H plus 24 hours, they had also made contact with the 82nd Airborne Division in the St. Mere Eglise area. These two Airborne Divisions, which had been landed over a period of 24 hours beginning at about H minus 4 to 5 hours, had successfully, though at considerable expense, accomplished their mission. They had captured the crossing of the Douvre River, prevented the flooding of the Vire marshes and had assisted the seabourne landing on UTAH beach.¹

100. In the air the enemy were equally unsuccessful in disturbing the process of invasion. Between 3 o'clock on D-day, when the first air attack against shipping was made, until H plus 24 hours, only 85 aircraft, most of them mine layers, were sent against the Allied forces in the Bay of the Seine. Fifteen of these were destroyed.

101. Naval actions during the first 24 hours prospered equally. By nightfall on D-day, the minesweepers had completed the sweeping of the inner anchorages, shipping was moved close inshore, and the area screen set. The night passed quietly with only two small air raids and a half hearted E/R boat attack on the eastern flank at 0336 o'clock. This was beaten off with two German craft destroyed and no injury to Allied vessels.¹ The enemy also launched an E-boat attack against the east wall of the Spout, but this too was turned back, with the loss of two German craft and no loss to the Allies.²

102. Summarizing the events of D-day, Admiral Ramsay said: "The outstanding fact, from the Naval point of view, was that, despite the unfavourable weather, in every main essential the plan was carried out as written. Tactical surprise, which had not been expected, was achieved and greatly eased the problem of getting ashore in every sector except at OMAHA. Losses of ships and landing craft of all types were much lower than had been expected, but damage to L.C.T. and smaller craft, aggravated by rough weather conditions was higher than had been allowed for.- - - - - By the end of D-day immediate anxiety was felt on only one count - whether the weather would improve sufficiently quickly to enable the build-up to start as planned."

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Footnotes:

p.559 #1 In his report General Eisenhower has described this operation as follows:- "In the British sector, the very accurate work of the Pathfinder force enabled the RAF groups to overcome the difficulties arising from the use of different types of aircraft, carrying various loads at various speeds, and the 6th Airborne Division troops were dropped precisely in the appointed areas east of the Orne River. Thanks to this good start, all the main military tasks were carried out, and at a lower cost than would have been paid in using any other arm of the service. The party charged with the mission of securing the Benouville bridges over the Orne and the Caen canal was particularly successful. Landing exactly as planned, in a compact area of just over one square kilometer, the troops went into action immediately and secured the bridges intact, as required, by 0850 hours. The tactical surprise achieved, coupled with the confusion created by the dropping of explosive dummy parachutists elsewhere, caused the enemy to be slow to react, and it was not until mid-day that elements of the 21st Panzer Division counter-attacked. By that time our men had consolidated their positions and the enemy's efforts to dislodge them were in vain. During the day reinforcements were safely landed by gliders, against which the German pole obstructions proved ineffective; the operation went off like an exercise, no opposition was encountered, and by nightfall the division had been fully resupplied and was in possession of all its heavy equipment. This formation continued to hold the flank firmly until our lodgement area had been consolidated and the breakout eastward across France relieved it of its responsibility.

p.561 #1 General Eisenhower report described these operations as follows:-
"On the western flank, at the base of the Cotentin Peninsula, the American airborne forces of the 82nd and 101st Divisions were faced with greater initial difficulties. Owing to the cloud and atmospheric conditions, the Pathfinders failed to locate the exact areas fixed for the parachute drops, and the inexperience of some of the pilots led to wide dispersal of troops and supplies. The 6,000 parachute elements of 101st Division were scattered over an area 25 miles by 15 miles in extent, and 60% of their equipment was lost in consequence. Nevertheless, the operation represented an improvement upon those undertaken in Sicily, and the great gallantry with which the troops fought enabled them in general to accomplish their mission successfully. Gliders flown in during the day suffered considerable casualties, but reinforcements were introduced during the night of 6/7 June. While 101st Division held the exits to Utah Beach and struck southward toward Carentan, the 82nd Division, despite heavy shelling in the Ste-Mere-Eglise area, also established contact with the troops pushing inland from Utah Beach early on 7 June. The element of surprise was as effective in the western as in the eastern sector, and the enemy himself bore witness to the confusion created by the American troops in cutting communications and disorganizing the German defense. The success of the Utah assault could not have been achieved so conspicuously without the work of the airborne forces."

p.562 #1 See Chapter VII, Section 5.

p.562 #2 See Chapter VII, Section 4.