WN62: Two German Soldiers who Fought on D-Day, and Escaped

Gefreiters Heinrich “Hein” Severloh (352d Division) and Franz Gockel (716th Division) manned different bunkers within WN62 complex on D-Day. This is not an easy story to tell, or to digest. But it does assist in explaining the enemy's perspective on D-Day.

"WN" is an acronym for Widerstandnest--which translates to "nest of resistance."

Widerstandsnest 62 was sited on a spur overlooking the Colleville draw and the beach—and because of it's position, it was the strongest and deadliest of all on Omaha Beach.

Severloh's position was right in front of this concrete slab. Three LCIs entered this part of the beach at 8:00 am (in?the middle of the photo is the low-lying heavy H 669 casemate

Through its commanding position, all attempts to open the E-3 exit were stymied until 3:30pm on June 6th. At time, WN62 had run out of ammunition and was outflanked by "G" Company, 16th Infantry Regiment.

Both men were fortunate to escape alive; most did not. WN62 is now home to the 1st Infantry Division’s memorial.

Heinrich Severloh

Heinrich Severloh (23 June 1923 – 14 January 2006) was a soldier in the German 352nd Infantry Division stationed in Normandy in 1944.

He became infamous for a memoir?WN 62 – Erinnerungen an Omaha Beach Normandie, 6. Juni 1944, published in 2000. This book is controversial for the Serverloh's claim that as a machine gunner, he inflicted over 1,000 --possibly over 2,000 casualties to the American soldiers landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day.

However, Severloh's claim is not viewed as credible by either US or German historians. Total US casualties (killed, wounded, and missing) from all sources along the five-mile length of Omaha Beach on D-Day are estimated at about 2,400.

The book, does help explain some of the tragedy waiting for American soldiers that landed on Omaha Beach on June 6th, 1944. Martin Severlon earned his nickname "Beast of Omaha" on that historic day. He manned a German MG42 machine gun in a ruthless defense of his area of the beach for approximately 9 hours.

Widerstandsnest 62

WN-62, at the eastern side of Omaha Beach, overlooked both Easy Red and Fox Green sectors.

?View out of a foxhole from WN-62

?WN-62 was 332 meters long by 324 meters wide and between 12 and 50 meters above the beach, depending on the distance from the shore, with a good overview of the beach area. The foxhole Severloh fired from (49°21′36″N 0°50′50″W) was 170 meters from the sea wall and around 450 meters from the landing area of the first wave of Higgins Boats.

On D-Day, WN-62 was manned by 27 members of the 716th Infantry Division and 13 members of Severloh's 352nd Division, whose task was to direct fire of the 10.5 cm artillery batteries located 5 kilometers inland at Houtteville.

Defenses included two type H669 concrete casemates, one empty and the other with a 75mm artillery piece, a 50mm anti-tank gun, two 50mm mortars, a twin-barreled MG-34 7.92mm machine gun on an anti-aircraft mount and two prewar Polish machine guns. Another 50 mm anti-tank gun covered the rear, and the perimeter was ringed by barbed wire and anti-personnel mines.

Severloh was assigned to a Senior Lieutenant Bernhard Frerking as an orderly.

While Frerking coordinated the artillery fire of the battery from his bunker, Severloh says he manned a MG-42 machine gun, and fired on approaching American troops with the machine gun and two Karabiner 98k rifles; while a sergeant, whom he didn't know, kept him supplied with ammunition from a nearby ammo bunker until 3:30pm. He claimed to have fired over 13,500 rounds with the machine gun and 400 with the rifles.

Interviewed in 2004, he said:?"It was definitely at least 1,000 men, most likely more than 2,000. But I do not know how many men I shot. It was awful. Thinking about it makes me want to throw up.?I almost emptied an entire infantry landing craft. The sea was red around it and I could hear an American officer shouting hysterically in a loudspeaker."

Top Casement of WN-62, with the memorial honoring 5th Engineer Brigade

Surrender and captivity

Severloh retreated to the nearby village of Colleville-sur-Mer. Along with Kurt Warnecke and Franz Gockel, he surrendered the next day. His commanding officer, Lt. Frerking and most of the other defenders of WN-62 were killed at their posts by American troops.

Franz Gockel (716th Division)

Franz Gockel was?a corporal assigned to Infantrie Regiment 726 of Infantrie Division 716. On D-Day, he was also positioned at WN62, manning a machine gun. When assault troops began landing at 6:30am, Gockel was surprised. He proceeded to load his belt-fed machine gun and began firing on men of the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division as they attempted to wade ashore. He stayed at his post until he ran out of ammunition.

Gockel was born on December 12, 1925, in Niederense, Germany, and died on December 22, 2005, at the age of 79 in Rhijnern, Germany--where he is buried at a local Catholic Cemetery in Rhijnern.

Harley Reynolds (1st ID USA), Jimmie Green (LCA Flotilla GB), and Franz Gockel (Germany) meet in Normandy.