The Objectives given to the 1st. Infantry Division (The Big Red One) and the 29th. Infantry Division for D-Day were to secure an area 6 miles deep and 18 miles long, and to link up with the British forces who came ashore at Gold Beach.
This was an impossible task, but no-one expected such heavy German resistance.
Never the less the American troops had pulled off a tremendous achievement in establishing a beachhead and taking the first mile inland.
The lack of heavy equipment, left the Americans in a very precarious position, waiting for  a German counter offensive which could quite easily drive them back to the sea. Fortunately this did not happen, but heavy fighting with tremendous losses still took place before the position was secured beyond doubt.

Wounded troops await evacuation from Omaha Beach, the horrors these young men endured can be seen in their faces, how old is the lad in the foreground? 18, 19? lets hope he made it home..

Landing craft which had not long since brought fighting fit men over to Normandy were now used to take the wounded back to England.
The American loss of men could never be counted accurately but  it is estimated between 2,000 - 3,000 men were casualties, with at least 1,000 of these being fatal.