Werner Pluskat (1912 11 June 2002) was a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, commanding the 1st Battalion of the 352nd Artillery Regiment of the

German 352nd Infantry Division The 352nd Infantry Division (''352. Infanterie-Division'') was an infantry division of the German Army during World War II. Deployed on the Western Front, the division defended Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944. History Formation and streng ...

during the Allied invasion in Normandy. He was credited in the movie '' The Longest Day'', a film about the D-Day invasion, with being the first German officer who saw the Allied invasion fleet on 6 June 1944, heading toward their landing zone at

Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" r ...

. In an interview to the French news broadcast "Cinq Colonnes à la Une" aired on June 6, 1964 for the 20th anniversary of the Allied invasion in Normandy, Pluskat confirms this depiction: "Fourscore years ago, I was on this very place, as the first German officer to have witnessed the approaching of the Allied flottilla". However, Heinrich "Hein" Severloh, a German machine gunner on Omaha Beach that day, wrote in his book ''WN62: A German Soldier's Memories of the Defence of Omaha Beach, Normandy, June 6, 1944'' that Pluskat was not with his unit the day of the invasion and "was not truthfully portrayed" in the film. Pluskat's men fired their guns on Omaha Beach until they ran out of ammunition. ''

Oberleutnant () is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Trans ...

'' (M.A.)

Walter Ohmsen Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

, commander of the

Crisbecq Battery The Crisbecq Battery (sometimes called Marcouf Battery) was a German World War II artillery battery constructed by the Todt Organization near the French village of Saint-Marcouf, Manche, Saint-Marcouf in the department of Manche in the north-east ...

, was also credited with being the first to discover the Allied invasion fleet through the battery

rangefinder A rangefinder (also rangefinding telemeter, depending on the context) is a device used to measure distances to remote objects. Originally optical devices used in surveying, they soon found applications in other fields, such as photography an ...

.Tanne, p. 67. Pluskat was with Generalleutnant

Kurt Dittmar Kurt Dittmar (January 5, 1891 in Magdeburg – April 26, 1959 in Stadtoldendorf) was a German general in World War II, who served as the Official Military Commentator of the German Armed Forces. Biography Dittmar entered the German Imperial Arm ...

when they surrendered to soldiers of the U.S. 30th Infantry Division at

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

on 23 April 1945. For the production of '' The Longest Day'', Pluskat was one of many

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

and

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

military consultants to have actually been on the beach on

June 6 Events Pre-1600 * 913 – Constantine VII, the eight-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed b ...

. In the film, he was portrayed by

Hans Christian Blech Hans Christian Blech (20 February 19155 March 1993) was a German film, stage and television character actor who found success in both Germany and Hollywood. He made his English film debut in the 1951 picture ''Decision Before Dawn''. In this and ...

References

Bibliography

* Tanne, Philippe. ''Batterie de Crisbecq — The Crisbecq Battery'' (in French and English). Album Memorial by Editions Aubert'Graphic.

External links

The Batterie at Longues sur Mer
* ein Severloh, WN62: A German Soldier's Memories of the Defence of Omaha Beach,I.M.K. Creativ Verlag, Garbsen, Germany, 2000 German Army officers of World War II 2002 deaths 1912 births {{Germany-mil-bio-stub