A battle that left many Allied troops dead before they could disembark from their transport ship, let alone fire a shot at the enemies to seal their fate, will forever be etched in the minds of Americans across the nation as one of the most memorable battles to ever mark United States history. June 6, 1944, left a mark on the United States as well as a sign to the Axis forces that the Allies could hold their own in even the most horrific conflicts. The numbers were so clearly in favor of the Nazi troops that the idea that the Allies could have pulled it off could convince even the most optimistic thinkers. The weapons used in such a conflict and the grueling but glorious victory won by the Allied forces on such a fateful day should inspire those who feel overwhelmed and hopeless. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay When people think of World War II, their minds wander to one of two places: Pearl Harbor or the Battle of Omaha Beach. The Battle of Omaha Beach was fierce, and although the Allied forces managed to survive, it clearly demonstrated that no one is invincible, no matter the circumstances. Just before six a.m., a bombardment of the Axis-controlled waterfront began. Allied infantry and armor began landing on the beach around six thirty in the morning. The forces did not simply jump off the boat and rush towards the Germans, but faced serious obstacles throughout their progress along the waterfront. The troops immediately came under fire and the forces' numbers Allied forces were considerably reduced by the gun emplacements lining the heights of the beach. Junior Lieutenant Coit Hendley, commanding officer of the transport ship USS LCI(L)-85, was quoted as saying, “The 88s began to hit the ship, tore through the compartments and exploded on the exposed deck. The machine guns opened. Men were beaten and others mutilated. There were no minor injuries. Locations along the beach were protected by concrete bunkers and sandbag walls bordering the German front areas. These bunkers had protected much of the Axis forces from the previous bombardment and allowed troops to remain stationed patiently waiting to saw off boat after boat of Allied infantry. Sandbags protected firing positions along the beach from infantry fire. Another obstacle to the Allied forces' path to victory was the Axis troops' strategic placement of barbed wire, minefields, wooden stakes, and a multitude of steel tripods. While the defenses maintained by the Germans seemed endless, the line on which the regiments were stationed was actually quite thin. Just because the defensive line the Germans created was so thin didn't mean it wasn't strong. The Germans had taken advantage of their dominant position, using the limited visibility this afforded the Allies to their great advantage. As strong as they were, these defenses were very weak in one sense: they were very dependent on each other. If the infantry managed to reach the line, the defenses would collapse and fall entirely. Another important factor that played into the German defeat at Omaha Beach was the group of reinforcements that were never sent. If the reinforcements had arrived at the front, the Americans would probably never have gotten beyond the defensive line and the Germans would have tasted victory. However,the Germans seemed to believe that this was unnecessary, that they had already defeated the Allies at Omaha Beach and that the reserves could be better used elsewhere. Although the Germans had quickly discovered their mistake, they had not learned quickly enough to build up reserves before the defenses had completely fallen and it was far too late. A wide variety of weapons were exploited by each side as a means of winning the battle at hand. The Allies had attacked the beach days before the invasion with bombings and artillery strikes in order to break the German hold before putting their boots on the ground. The bombers hit the beach quite hard, but the bunkers the Germans had designed for such an event could not be easily destroyed by the standard shells carried by medium Allied bomber planes. The bombs dropped on Omaha weighed between one hundred and five hundred pounds and had no chance of destroying the well-designed German cliffside bunkers. Another problem with the Allies' bombing of Omaha Beach was the use of anti-aircraft guns. The anti-aircraft gun in question is the 88mm Flak gun, commonly known as an eighty-eight. This cannon was a masterpiece of German-designed artillery. Although the gun was designed to drop aircraft like flies, which it did quite often, it could also be used as an anti-tank/artillery gun, anti-infantry gun, and naval defense gun. The Allies had also used ships off the coast of Normandy to bombard Omaha Beach, but the bombardments proved only marginally effective. Even though all of the bombing and shelling that took place that morning impacted the German defenses and tore up the beach, the guns were not accurate enough at long range to target specific targets behind the German line and were not powerful enough, much more. like the bombs carried by battle planes, to pierce German bunkers. Additionally, although it seemed useful to bomb defenses and obstacles that obstructed the Allies' path to the German lines, explosives were not very effective on barbed wire or steel tripods. The barbed wire was not destroyed but was shaken a little before returning to the path of the allied forces. When Allied troops began to invade the beach, they encountered a cannon that will go down in history for its extraordinary ability to take down groups of soldiers. The MG42, a light machine gun manufactured by Grossfuss Johannes AG, was a large machine gun that fired 7.92 mm rounds at a rate of up to eighteen hundred rounds per minute with an effective range of one thousand meters. These weapons were supplied with ammunition through belts that could hold up to two hundred and fifty cartridges each. The weapon often required two men to operate to prevent the belt from jamming against the chamber of the weapon. This gun opened on boats filled with Allied troops and brought down entire boats of infantry, each boat carrying around thirty to fifty men. The Allies also attempted to drop tanks at Omaha Beach. The boats carrying each float arrived from each end of the beach. The initial plan for deploying armored forces on Omaha Beach was to drop the tanks several yards from the shore and allow the armored vehicles to force their way onto the beach. But this project seems to quickly fall at the mercy of bad weather. The water was rough and dangerous for the tanks which would be half submerged, especially over a distance close to a hundred meters offshore. Both groups of ships noticed the dangers of the nearby waters. A group has..