Mission
This section is a summary of Larry Selman's Clearing the Vierville Draw.
The Weastern half of Omaha Beach had been assigned to the 116th Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division. Vierville Draw, the westernmost of five beach exits, was the best because it was paved, making it critical to sustain the Allied advance. On the Dog Green sector at Vierville Draw, they encountered substantial German resistance. Enemy strongpoints at Vierville Draw remained functional for many hours—hindering the Allied advance. The plan was to attack each exit directly, with hope of an easy capture with light casualties. The air attacks and naval bombardments were predominantly ineffective. However, elements of the 116th Infantry and 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions, led by Brigadier General Norman D. Cota, who landed with the second wave at 7:00 a.m., eventually worked their way up the steep bluffs between the draws, and, despite severe casualties, overcame the enemy’s defenses. At this point, the Americans had a tenuous hold on the beach exit, although the achievement would be pointless unless the 121st Engineers could begin their clearance work.
The Germans had erected a 100-foot-long concrete wall across the road at Vierville Draw, which completely crippled the Allied advance from Omaha Beach. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ploger, the commander of the 121st Engineers, decided that his unit’s most important task was to destroy the concrete wall, clear the rubble, and repair the road so the 29th Division could advance. At noon, he and General Cota had rounded up several bulldozers, loaded each with explosives, and transported them to the Dog Green sector. Although enemy snipers and mortars remained active, the 116th Infantrymen provided covering fire, allowing 20 engineers to haul the explosives to the base of the wall. At 3 p.m., Sergeant Dube, of Company C, triggered the explosion, and because the Germans had neglected to fortify the wall with steel rods, the wall was easily destroyed. The engineers worked quickly to clear the road of debris, and by early evening, the allies were again advancing. The United States Army soon after cited both the 121st Engineers and the 116th Infantry Division for outstanding performance by awarding both units the highly prestigious Presidential Unit Citation.
The Germans had erected a 100-foot-long concrete wall across the road at Vierville Draw, which completely crippled the Allied advance from Omaha Beach. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ploger, the commander of the 121st Engineers, decided that his unit’s most important task was to destroy the concrete wall, clear the rubble, and repair the road so the 29th Division could advance. At noon, he and General Cota had rounded up several bulldozers, loaded each with explosives, and transported them to the Dog Green sector. Although enemy snipers and mortars remained active, the 116th Infantrymen provided covering fire, allowing 20 engineers to haul the explosives to the base of the wall. At 3 p.m., Sergeant Dube, of Company C, triggered the explosion, and because the Germans had neglected to fortify the wall with steel rods, the wall was easily destroyed. The engineers worked quickly to clear the road of debris, and by early evening, the allies were again advancing. The United States Army soon after cited both the 121st Engineers and the 116th Infantry Division for outstanding performance by awarding both units the highly prestigious Presidential Unit Citation.