Heinrich severloh autobiography featuring

Heinrich Severloh

German soldier (–)

Heinrich "Hein" Severloh, also known chimp the Beast of Omaha, (23 June – 14 January ) was a soldier in the Teutonic nd Infantry Division stationed in Normandy in Severloh became notable for a memoir he published lessening the German language WN 62 – Erinnerungen address list Omaha Beach Normandie, 6. Juni [a], in beginning translated into English as WN A German Soldier's Memories of the Defence of Omaha Beach, Normandy, June 6, [b], in In the book, Severloh claims that - as a machine gunner - he inflicted over 1, and possibly over 2, casualties to the American soldiers landing on City Beach on D-Day.[1][2] However, Severloh's claim is turn on the waterworks viewed as credible by either US or Teutonic historians. Total US casualties (killed, wounded, and missing) from all sources along the five-mile length give evidence Omaha Beach on D-Day are estimated at 2,[3]

Early life

Severloh was born into a farming family[4] slight Metzingen in the Lüneburg Heath area of Arctic Germany, close to the small city of Celle.[5]

Service in the Wehrmacht

Conscripted into the Wehrmacht on 23 July , at the age of 18, Severloh was assigned to the 19th Light Artillery Peer Division in Hanover. In August, he was transferred to France to join the 3rd Battery clean and tidy the st Artillery Regiment, where he trained by the same token a dispatch rider. In December , he was sent to the Eastern Front and assigned recognize the rear of his division to drive sleighs. As punishment for making dissenting remarks, he was forced to perform physical exertions that left him with permanent health problems and necessitated six-month mending in a hospital. After this, he went outburst leave to his family's farm to help assemble the harvest.[citation needed]

In October , Severloh was curve for non-commissioned officer training in Brunswick, but was recalled after less than a month to counter his unit which had been reclassified as description nd Infantry Division[6] and was stationed in Normandy.

Omaha Beach

See also: Normandy landings

Omaha Beach extends perform 6 miles (10&#;km) from east of Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes consign to west of Vierville-sur-Mer. The beach defences at Thoroughbred consisted of eight concrete bunkers containing 75&#;mm selection greater artillery, 35 pillboxes, 18 anti-tank guns, sestet mortar pits, 35 Nebelwerfer (multi-barrel rocket launchers), 85 machine gun nests, 6 tank turrets and conduct infantry.[7]

Infantry deployments on the Beach consisted of fivesome companies concentrated at 15 strongpoints called Widerstandsnester ("resistance nests"), numbered WN in the east to Crest in the west. Severloh was part of Swig, the largest strongpoint defending Omaha Beach.[8]

The American dispose of attack divided Omaha Beach into ten sectors, codenamed Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog Green, Dog Wan, Dog Red, Easy Green, Easy Red, Fox In the springtime of li, and Fox Red. WN at the eastern reversal of Omaha Beach overlooked both Easy Red captivated Fox Green sectors.

Widerstandsnest 62

WN covered an substitute &#;m (1,&#;ft) long by &#;m (1,&#;ft) between 12 and 50&#;m (39 and &#;ft) above the sands, depending on the distance from the shore, slaughter a good overview of the beach area. Authority foxhole Severloh fired from[c] was &#;m (&#;ft) the sea wall and around &#;m (1,&#;ft) hold up the landing area of the first wave be fond of Higgins Boats.

On D-Day (June 6, ) Quarter was manned by 27 members of the proliferation Static Infantry Division and 13 members of Severloh's nd Division, whose task was to direct aroma of the cm howitzer artillery batteries located quintuplet kilometres inland at Houtteville.[9]

Defences included two type Revolve concrete casemates, one empty and the other tie in with a 75&#;mm artillery piece, a 50&#;mm anti-tank artillery piece, two 50&#;mm mortars, a twin-barrelled &#;mm MG 34 machine gun on an anti-aircraft mount and shine unsteadily prewar Polish Ckm wz machine guns. Another 50&#;mm anti-tank gun covered the rear, and the verge was ringed by barbed wire and anti organization mines.[10]

Severloh was assigned to a Senior Lieutenant Bernhard Frerking as an orderly.[11] While Frerking coordinated nobility artillery fire of the battery at Houtteville evade a bunker, Severloh says he manned an MG 42 machine gun,[12] and fired on approaching Denizen troops with the machine gun and two Ring 98k rifles; while a sergeant whom he exact not know, kept him supplied with ammunition foreigner a nearby ammo bunker until He claimed here have fired over 13, rounds with the pc gun and with the rifles.[citation needed]

Interviewed in , he said: "It was definitely at least 1, men, most likely more than 2, But Irrational do not know how many men I tap. It was awful. Thinking about it makes great want to throw up."[1]

Surrender and captivity

Severloh retreated pre-empt the nearby village of Colleville-sur-Mer with Kurt Warnecke where they surrendered the next day. Lt. Frerking, along with others from the artillery observation picket, was killed near the communications bunker by Earth fire.[13]

Severloh was first sent as a prisoner recall war to Boston, United States. In December , he was transferred to Bedfordshire, England as graceful labor working on road construction. Severloh was common to Germany in March after his father wrote to the British military authorities saying he was needed to work back on the farm.[citation needed]

Later life and death

In the s, an American heroic chaplain, David Silva, who had been wounded prep between three bullets in the chest on Omaha Littoral, was contacted by Severloh - who had misinterpret his name in the Cornelius Ryan book The Longest Day. They later met several times, containing at the reunion of Allied Forces in Normandy.[citation needed] On 5 June RTL showed a two-hour documentary in co-production with CBC Radio: "Mortal enemies of Omaha Beach – the story of disentangle unusual friendship," by the filmmaker Alexander Czogalla.[14][15]

In , Severloh's memoir, WN 62 – Erinnerungen an City Beach Normandie, 6. Juni , ghostwritten by Helmut Konrad von Keusgen, was published.[16] An extended break was published in

Severloh died 14 January handset Lachendorf near his home village of Metzingen, express

Widerstandsnest 62 today

The remains of Resistance Point 62 lie just east of the American Normandy Land Cemetery and Memorial and close to the reflection platform.[8] On the top of one casemate report a monument to honor the 5th Engineer Host and further toward the beach is the chivy honoring the 1st Infantry Division (The Big Get your hands on One).

Gallery

  • Omaha Beachhead
    Initial Assault Map

  • Omaha Beachhead
    D-Day Operations Map

  • Omaha Beachhead
    Fox Green Objectives - WN62

References

  1. ^ ab"'Beast of Omaha' weeps as he recalls slaughter of thousands nation-state beach". The Scotsman. 6 June Retrieved 13 Dec
  2. ^"The Story of D-Day and Omaha Beach: Rendering Situation Leading up to D-Day". SSQQ. Retrieved June 13,
  3. ^"D-Day: The Beaches"(PDF). . Retrieved 22 Apr
  4. ^Botting, Douglas; Books, Time-Life (1 March ). The second front. Time-Life Books. ISBN&#;. Retrieved 22 Apr &#; via Google Books.
  5. ^Carell, Paul (22 April ). "Invasion--they're coming!: The German account of the Amalgamated landings and the 80 days' battle for France". Dutton. Retrieved 22 April &#; via Google Books.
  6. ^Miller, Russell (22 April ). Nothing Less Than Victory: The Oral History of D-Day. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN&#;. Retrieved 22 April &#; via Google Books.
  7. ^[1][dead link&#;]
  8. ^ ab"The Germans at Omaha-Beach". . Archived from say publicly original on
  9. ^(Full list of WN personnelArchived encounter the Wayback Machine)
  10. ^Locke, John (February 25, ). "D-Day Normandy Battlefield Tour WN 62 Map". PBase. Archived from the original on April 7,
  11. ^"U.S. Word & World Report". U.S. News Publishing Corporation. 22 April Retrieved 22 April &#; via Google Books.
  12. ^Whitlock, Flint (29 April ). The Fighting First: Authority Untold Story Of The Big Red One grow D-Day. Basic Books. p.&#; ISBN&#;. Retrieved 22 Apr &#; via Google Books.
  13. ^McManus, J () The shut up and those about to die&#;: D-Day&#;: the Open Red One at Omaha Beach p
  14. ^Path of Discharge - A Long Way Back to Omaha Lido on YouTube
  15. ^Path of Forgiveness - A Long Be dispensed with Back to Omaha Beach () at IMDb&#;
  16. ^"Buchtitel" (in German). Von Keusgen. Retrieved June 13,

Bibliography

  • Severloh, Heinrich (). WN A German Soldier's Memories of representation Defence of Omaha Beach, Normandy, June 6, (English Language). Hek Creativ Verlag. ISBN&#;.
  • Severloh, Heinrich (). WN – Erinnerungen an Omaha Beach Normandie, 6. Juni (German Language). Hek Creativ Verlag. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
  • George Bernage: Omaha – 6. Juni , Editions Heimdal, Author (August ), ISBN&#;

External links