The story
The 4th Infantry Division - the "Ivy Dlvision" - assault landed onto Utah Beach on 6 June 1944.
The enemy had already been disrupted the night before by airborne landings to secure egress off the beaches and naval and air bombardment seems to have been effective as well.
The flrst wave came ashore 2000 yards south of the point intended due to the obscuratlon of landmarks and a strong coastal current but quickly made its way inland against mlnlmal opposltlon.
Twenty eight of 32 DD tanks supporting the attack made lt inland
Within three hours engineers had cleared the prlnclpal beach areas of signlficant obstacles and the further landing of reinforcements proceeded smoothly.
By nlghtfall the division was ashore intact organized and equipped for further offenslve action.
It had suffered 200 casualties during the course of the day, most to Intermittent artillery fire ashore, and provided invaluable armor support to the push.
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You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.