Can You Survive D-Day?

Omaha Beach was the bloodiest few hours of the war for the men who landed there.

The plan came apart almost immediately. Boats landed in the wrong places, officers fell in the first minutes, and the men who made it ashore found a beach nothing had prepared them for. What happened next came down to a series of choices, made in seconds, under fire.

This quiz isn’t about generals or dates. It’s about judgment, in the worst hour of the twentieth century. Each scenario puts you on that beach at 6:30 on the morning of June 6, 1944, facing choices real men faced. Pick the option you think gives you the best chance—and find out whether you’d have made it off Omaha, or been left in the surf.

D-Day

1 of 10

The ramp drops in chest-deep water, hundreds of yards short of the sand. You're carrying a full combat load. Machine-gun fire is hitting the water around you. What gives you the best chance?

Stay low in the water behind the ramp
Hold your rifle high and wade steadily forward
Drop your pack and heavy gear
Swim underwater toward the shore

2 of 10

You've reached the sand alive. Ahead is open beach swept by pre-sighted machine guns. Behind you the tide is coming in. What do you do?

Keep moving toward the seawall despite the fire
Take cover and wait for the naval barrage to resume
Lie flat and play dead until the guns shift elsewhere
Go back into the water where fire is lighter

3 of 10

You reach the shingle bank and seawall. Men are piled up two deep against it, sheltered from the machine guns. Do you settle in there?

Yes, it's the only real cover on the beach
Yes, and wait there for reinforcements
Yes, hold the position and return fire
No, move on as soon as you can

4 of 10

Your unit landed in the wrong sector. Your officers are dead and the men around you are strangers from three different companies. What do you do?

Hold position until proper orders arrive
Attach yourself to whoever starts moving and leading
Work your way down the beach to find your own company
Take charge and try to sort the men back into their units

5 of 10

You're pinned in the open with no cover in sight. The only things breaking the sand are the German steel obstacles, hedgehogs and mined stakes, planted to gut landing craft. Do you use them?

No, they're mined and will kill you
No, the Germans have them pre-sighted
Yes, get behind one, it's the only cover there is
No, move to a shell crater instead

6 of 10

The naval and aerial bombardment has just lifted. You're minutes from the beach. What should you expect to find?

German defenses largely intact and fully manned
Bunkers destroyed and defenders dead
Defenders too dazed to fight for an hour
Wire and mines cleared for your advance

7 of 10

A wounded man screams for help in the open sand behind you. Your orders are explicit: keep moving, leave the wounded for the medics. What do you do?

Go back for him, no order justifies leaving a man
Keep moving and trust the medics to reach him
Drag him to the nearest obstacle for cover
Stop and return fire to protect him where he lies

8 of 10

The fire is heaviest at the five draws, the narrow gullies that offer the only vehicle routes off the beach. Where do you try to climb?

Straight up a draw, it's the fastest way off
Along the waterline to the far end of the beach
Wait for engineers to clear a path up a draw
Up the steep bluffs between the draws

9 of 10

Late morning, and grass fires from the bombardment throw thick smoke across part of the beach. What do you do with it?

Wait for it to clear so you can see the enemy
Avoid it, it could be a gas attack
Advance under its cover toward the bluffs
Use it to carry the wounded back to the boats

10 of 10

It's late morning. You've reached the base of the bluffs with a handful of men from mixed units, no officer among you. Do you go up?

Wait at the base for tanks to support the assault
Yes, climb now and take the strongpoints from behind
Wait for a fresh wave to land and reinforce you
Return to the seawall and hold until ordered forward

D-Day

About Nick Lee