The+Utah+Beach

Utah Beach was the codename for one of the beaches of German-occupied France on D-Day, or June 6, 1944. This Normandy beach is among the five battlefield beaches known for the D-Day attack positioned on the Cotentin Peninsula. These five beaches stretch across five miles of where the coast of France meets the English Channel. Utah Beach was west of the other four beaches planned in the D-Day attack. The objective was to take over the Cotentin Peninsula, stop the German fighters from strengthening their hold in Cherbourg, and gain control of the important port facilities located on the peninsula. While the United States, Great Britain, and Canda all sent troops to Normandy, Utah Beach was one of the American fronts. Airborne paratrooper units were the first to arrive on Utah Beach. After some of these aircraft failed to accomplish their mission, four separate waves of land operations began. Tanks and infantry began to push through the German forces and the victory went to the invading Allied side. This massive Allied invasion became the turning point in World War II.

The Day of Days on this beach began at 1:15 in the morning, dropping paratroopers in the darkness to create chaos within the German infantry. The plan worked, and the German commanders were not sure if the paratroopers were a decoy or the main attack. The confusion among the German forces was perfect for the Allies. However, the attack by sea did not work as well as the airborne attack. The Allies landed 2000 meters away from their original target, but it just so happened where they did end up landing was not as heavily guarded. The Brigadier General in charge, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., made the decision to start the attack right where the troops landed with his infamous quote "We'll start the war from here." In total 23,000 men landed on Utah Beach by nightfall. Although the Allies did not capture as much as originally planned on D-Day, they did eventually gain control of the peninsula and the Germans were forced to pull back.

Now, almost 72 years after D-Day, the evidence of the horrors that took place on this battlefield are still evident on Utah beach. A museum has been built right where the American troops landed all those years ago. The museum takes you back to that time and recounts the events that took place there. Within the walls of this museum, you can learn why the Allies made such strategic choices before and during the invasion of Normandy. Visitors will also encounter several monuments, German and Allied weapons and military equipment, and will have a chance to take a walk through history like none other.