Why was the 29th Infantry Division selected to assault Omaha Beach when there were other veteran divisions available?

by Reggie_Reggington

I've been trying to research this but haven't gotten anywhere so I thought I would turn to the pros. Looking at the units chosen by the Americans for the Normandy invasion the 29th Infantry Division stands out as odd. The 1st Infantry Division, their counterpart at Omaha was a veteran regular Army formation that had already conducted 2 assault landings, and from what I can tell in my own research fared better than the 29th. The other American division at Utah was the 4th and although not a veteran unit, was at least regular Army and consisted of troops from various locations, unlike the 29th being a National Guard formation. Also, there were, at the very least, 2 further veteran divisions available that would later fight in Normandy - the 9th Infantry Division and the 2nd Armored Division.

aaronupright

You are right. Many people expressed skeptisim at the abilities of the 29th ID. Both before, during and after the operation. By British officers, but also by senior officers in the US military, like Ike and Bradley.

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That fact that the landing at Omaha were almost an unmitigated disaster didn't help/.

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But generally.

  • Its true that the 29th was a NG division. But it had been reinforced with West Point Grads as officers in severa;l battalions.
  • The 29th had been sent to England in later summer of '42. By the time of Normandy it had spent a lot of time in the UK (earning the derisive nickname, Englands own). They had spent a lot of time in training. In fact, they had been sent to England at the same time as the 1 ID had been, part of the first 4 divisions to be sent. 3 of these divisions had been sent to N Africa, so in some ways 29ID was a regular division in practice.
  • Further to the above, all US troops who had to land on the first day needed to go throught the US Army assualt school at Devon, in the SW of England. All 29 ID troops went through that school for three weeks, as did 1 ID troops (to their surprise and very much not delight). This training taught the men in obstracle clearance, wire cutting and use of Bangalore torpedos and other such devices.

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In short the division was as well trained as could be. The near disaster at Omaha has perhaps sullied their reputation unfairly. Other things to remember.

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  • Only two formations of the entire Allied assualt group on the first day of the landing were veteran. The 1ID and the Britisn 50th Division. Everyone else were green (as a formation, individual soldiers and officers might have experience).
  • The 29th was far from the worst performing division, during the Normandy campaign. That dubious distinction goes to the US 90th ID, who landed at Utah (and didn't land in full on 6th June'44). They *were* high inepxerienced, having arrived in April of '44. They did have a hard time of it. And for some reason the 29ID gets the reflected derision. Although not for lack of bravery, the 90th ID suffered 20,000 casualties during its combat tour.

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Sources

  • Omaha Beach-6th June 1944. By Joseph Balkoski
  • Omaha Beach: A Flawed Victory Adrian R. Lewis