Through Fire And Smoke
As its soldiers land on Omaha Beach and struggle to make their way through waist-deep water to the battlefield, this is a photograph taken from the inside of a landing craft. Smoke and fire illuminate the sky above as allied planes converge overhead and hurl as much firepower as humanly possible at the German defenses in the name of victory. It was common for entire platoons to be decimated before they even made it to the shore. Every man was aware of his responsibilities. Make it to the Germans as soon as possible, and avoid the beach at all costs.
Large Landing Craft
Once the allied forces had captured the beaches of Normandy from the Germans, they were able to move on to the second phase of the operation. The shore would be bombarded with massive landing craft, which would drop off all of Uncle Sam’s best assets in preparation for the battles ahead.