At low tide, the distance was roughly 300m. At high tide, the water could get right up to the shingle, which lay directly in front of the sea wall. The initial wave of the invasion was intended to give troops a chance to secure the beach so larger transports could arrive on the incoming tide. Of course, this meant that the initial wave had to traverse 300m of hedgehogs, Belgian gates, and mines while under withering enemy fire. Once you reach the shingle, you'd need to climb it (8ft.), then the sea wall (10ft.), then cross the final 200m to hit the cliffs themselves, which were roughly 40m high. Many troops came in with the tide, making at least the first part of that equation more along the lines of "probable death" instead of "assured death."

There were a few German Widerstandsnester (strong points, WN) below the cliffs. WN 61 was a bunker with a 8.8 cm gun and maybe two dozen men or so located on the draw (valley) guarding access to Colleville-sur-Mer. In all, there were five draws on Omaha (D-1, D-3, E-1, E-3, F-1), and they were all defended by some element of a WN. The defenses of the draws were so strong that the entire companies were essentially lost upon initial engagement. A-Company, 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry (250 men) ran right into its objective, D-1, the road to Vierville-sur-Mer. Within 20 minutes is was no longer a functioning unit.