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Issue link: https://engineer.epubxp.com/i/145930
Omaha nded on ehicles la Allied v On D-Day, one in every 12 American Soldiers was a combat engineer.8 He carried the same basic load of equipment and ammunition as his infantry counterpart, plus 40 pounds of explosives. The explosives were used to destroy the mines that prevented Allied equipment from moving inland. The engineer also carried Bangalore torpedoes, 5-foot cylindrical explosives that were used against minefelds and wire obstacles. His mission was simple: exploit the gaps that led to the fve draws inland. Combat engineers were required to clear and mark these lanes.9 This simple plan was boldly executed as defned by the Army's characteristic of audacity.10 The larger landing craft carried tankdozers, which were medium tanks with a blade on the front.11 They represented the heaviest equipment that was at the disposal of the engineers. These engineer vehicles were assigned to only a few battalions. Of 16 that were sent to Omaha Beach, only six actually landed.12 The 20th Engineer Battalion tankdozers never arrived. The battalion obstacle clearance was strictly a manual process. The battalion boarded landing craft, loaded with explosives and ammunition, in Bournemouth for the assault on France.13 The frst elements to land received little enemy fre. Friendly fre, however, was abundant. Once the ramp went down on their landing craft, the Soldiers jumped into armpit-deep water and waded ashore, where there was 14 Engineer Beach. little cover and where most obstacles were booby-trapped. Alpha Company, supporting the 16th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division, landed in the vicinity of Colleville. There, the beaches were still being prepped with artillery fre from the battleships and destroyers in the English Channel. Alpha Company arrived later than planned, and the unit became strung out more than a mile from its intended beachhead, which did not aid in massing an effort at a decisive time and place. Also, the 3d Platoon landing craft was hit by a German artillery shell before making it ashore, leaving 27 men in the company to accomplish the mission. They maneuvered several hundred yards to establish exit E-3. The unfavorable circumstances and the crowded beach made it impossible for the engineers to remain on schedule,14 but they continued to push forward. The landings, which occurred between 0700 and 0800 hours on D-Day, would not secure an exit road until much later in the day, even though the roads were only a few hundred meters away. Bravo Company supported the 18th Regimental Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division. The company landed near St. Laurent (Easy Red) at about H + 120 minutes. The company advanced to the beach under much heavier fre than Alpha Company had received, because the Allied artillery preparation there had ceased. Unfortunately, the naval gunfre had not silenced the German fortifcations and gun emplacements, so the company received fre from 32 fortifed positions. Their landing had not put them in position to clear mines, obstacles, and debris from their intended routes across the beach. It was not until Charlie Company landed at H + 300 minutes that Bravo Company could maneuver across the beach. Charlie Company was supposed to support the 26th Regimental Combat Team, but became separated from that unit after landing. The only hope that Charlie Company had of achieving mission success was to work with Bravo Company toward the same exit route. Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP) 3-90, Offense and Defense, states, "Commanders never permit the enemy to recover from the shock of the initial assault. They prevent defenders from massing effects against the friendly decisive operation."15 Leading the infantry, the engineers moved inland to clear lanes and establish exit road E-1. For its achievements, the 20th Engineer Combat Battalion received a unit citation. The days that followed led to tasks in Colleville and farther inland. Now detached from the 1st Infantry Division for May–August 2013