D-Day: 741st Tank Battalion at Omaha Beach (Part 2).

Returning to the “History of 741st Tank Battalion, for months of June and July 1944,” we pick up the action where we left off on Tuesday, with the surviving tanks of the 741st hitting bloody Omaha Beach on D-Day.

“…The DD tanks which succeeded in reaching the shore immediately opened fire on the entrenched enemy and carried on with their assigned mission.

“At H-Hour Co. A was landed astride the boundary of Fox Green and Easy Red and took up their mission, with the exception of two tanks which went down with the LCT, it having been sunk by an undetermined explosion. However, some of the tanks were landed in water too deep for operations and were shortly drowned out, necessitating abandonment by their crews.

“At H-plus 10 the dozer platoon, commanded by Lt. Frank A. Klotz, consisting of four units, landed on Easy Red and went into operation under intense enemy fire, removing beach obstacles, opening roads, and unloading beach landing craft. One tank dozer under the command of Pvt. Ayers, Hq. Co., was hit by and 88 mm shell and destroyed, the crew wounded and evacuated.

“At 0829 hours, the battalion commander and S-3 accompanied by T/Sgts Obrien and McClintock, operations and intelligence sergeants respectively, and a radio operator bearing a 509 radio, landed on beach Easy Red. Efforts were made immediately to gain contact with the tanks on the beach by means of radio. This effort failed due to malfunctioning of the radio, due to salt water damage. Therefore it was necessary for the command group personnel to contact individual tanks up and down the beach, directing their fire, placing them in more advantageous positions, and exercising control over the operations. As the result of this action both sergeants and the radio operators became casualties and had to be evacuated. The tanks continued to fire on targets of opportunity during the infiltration of the infantry which was moving directly forward, making an assault on the bluff behind the beach. Due to the fact that exit Easy Three, which was to have been used as an exit from the beach by both infantry and tanks, was still in enemy hands and commanded by several artillery pieces, consisting mostly of 88 mm guns, the infantry was forced to make their direct approach under the protecting fire of tanks weapons.

“… At 1700 hours orders were received from CT comdr to move all units to exit Easy One and assemble in the vicinity of the village of St. Laurent-Sur-Mer, which was done.

“At 2000 hours a request was received from a unit of the 29th Infantry Division for a tank to assist in clearing machine guns in the vicinity of St. Laurent-Sur-Mer. A tank under the command of Cpl. Reser was ordered on this mission and succeeded in knocking out several machine gun nests. At 2015 hours, three tanks under command of Lt. G. Barcellona supported elements of the 18th C.T. in destroying sniper and machine gun nests in the vicinity of St. Laurent-Sur-Mer. All tanks returned at 2300 hours, reporting action successful and no damage sustained. There was no further action taken part in by the battalion on 6 June 1944.”

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