WN60 Omaha Beach Map 141OT N49 231.427 W001 49.914
WN60 is the most eastern fortification overlooking Omaha Beach, some 60 meters
above the beach.
About forty soldiers would be needed to man this position.
The main armament was 75mm gun housed in the open.
It would seem that two similar guns were planned for the east of the site, but
these were not in position by D-day.
The four mortars installed on the site proved a real threat on D-day.
There was also a small Fire control Post which gave an exceptional view of the
eastern sector of the beach.
At the south eastern corner was a Tobruk on which was installed a Renault tank
turret from a R35 tank captured by the Germans in 1940.
This position was not as impregnable as the Germans might have hoped. Under the
position is a shelf where the advancing Americans sheltered, and finally took
the position by climbing the cliffs to the east and taking the position from the
rear.
This was the first German position to fall to the Americans at 09:00 on the
morning of D-day.
It is interesting to compare the fall of WN60 to that of its neighbour WN62,
just to the west.
On WN60 the Americans took thirty one of the forty Wehrmacht soldiers defending
the position..
On WN62 which fell some hours later. Of the thirty three German's on the
position, only three survived the battle.
