Testimony of Franz Gockel
Franz Gockel was a young German soldier, just 18 years old, stationed at a strongpoint overlooking the Côte d’Or, near the village of Colleville-sur-Mer. He spent long days working to establish this fortified point, dubbed Wn 62.
In the early hours of June 6, 1944, he discovered the American fleet heading towards Omaha Beach, along the Côte d’Or. He found himself at the heart of the landings of the 1st U.S. Infantry Division. All morning and part of the afternoon of D-Day, he fought for his life with his machine gun and semi-automatic rifle before being wounded in the hand at 3:00 p.m. by American fire. Evacuated 120 kilometers from the front line, he wrote a letter to his family on June 10, 1944, to reassure them and keep them informed of the situation.
A war survivor, he died on November 22, 2005, from diabetes.
“June 10, 1944
Dear parents, dear brothers and sister,
Your son, your brother, sends you his deepest affection! I salute you. I’m fine, if you forget my injury. I hope you are well too.
On Tuesday, June 6, there was an unprecedented attack, an unimaginable attack, unheard of, even in Russia…
At 1:30 a.m., the alarm was sounded: we were being bombarded by the Americans on our right and left. We waited, vigilant, anxious, our weapons with us. At dawn, around 4:00 a.m., we could make out the silhouettes of the first large enemy ships. They had barely been seen when flashes of lightning were already erupting from their guns at an infernal rate. Soon, the first shells rained down on us with a devilish din. The bombs dropped by the enemy planes kept whistling. There was no Soon, there wasn’t a square meter of ground untouched by bombs or shells.
In less than five minutes, the house where we were staying was on fire. I was with my machine gun in a shelter forty meters away. It held out at first, but was quickly destroyed when the first landing craft landed on the beaches. I was able to get out on my own. A large piece of shrapnel passed only a few centimeters from my head…
The warships started firing again. The shells were screaming again. An artillery barrage was then unleashed on the beach obstacles. Some tree trunks were shredded. Others burned. Slowly, meter by meter, this rolling fire advanced. A monstrous roll of fog and smoke swirled with deafening crackles, knocking everything down and advancing towards us. The roll of fire took its time. It knew we couldn’t stop it. escape.”
