Omaha Beach's Hidden Draw — The Vierville Sur Mer Escape Route

The Vierville draw at Omaha Beach was defended by just 96 German soldiers in concrete casemates — yet they held off the 116th Infantry Regiment for over six hours. The German position was stronger than intelligence suggested because Colonel Gotthard Frantz had doubled the machine-gun placements without reporting to Berlin. The breakthrough came when Lt. Spurgeon of the Navy directed a destroyer (USS Carmick) to fire within 800 yards of the beach — the closest naval gunfire support of D-Day. The crew had to depress their guns beyond designed limits.