I read in one of the FAQ threads that the extreme carnage like in Saving Private Ryan is relatively accurate. So were there any expectations as to how many of these soldiers would survive the initial invasion? Did the soldiers know that they were very likely going to die? And what percent of them did survive?
This is a very broad question deserving of a long but thorough answer. However, consider these things:
-Yes, the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan certainly was a very accurate portrayal of what landing at Omaha Beach was like. However, understand that Omaha was only one out of five beaches where Allied forces landed. It was also by far the bloodiest. Many troops landing on D-Day experienced far less brutal German welcome than what was portrayed in the movie.
-The invasion itself was seen (wisely so) as incredibly risky. The entire Allied high command had willingly accepted the risk involved, and Eisenhower himself was already prepared to resign his position if the invasion proved itself to be a bloody failure.
-Despite the bloodiness of Omaha and casualties incurred on the other beaches, the vast majority of the men who went ashore on 6/6/44 did, in fact, survive. Casualty rates depended greatly on the beach, the sector, and the landing wave. A US soldier in the first wave of the landings on Omaha would have rather dire odds of living past the next hour or two. A British soldier landing much later in the day on Sword would have had a very high likelihood of going unharmed (at least before getting inland.)