forced to land without DD tanks because of rougher seas. They suffered heavy initial casualties, but were still able to make good progress. Utah Beach On Utah Beach, the DDs were operated by the 70th Tank Battalion. Armoured support was reduced by four DDs when their LCT was lost to German artillery fire. The remaining tanks were launched 15 minutes late from the beach. Twenty-seven out of twenty eight reached the beach but confusion caused by the massive smoke screen meant they landed around from their aiming point and saw some German opposition. At around 7:45 a.m. the 3rd battalion who was attached to the 8th infantry landed at Red Beach. Soon after, the 3rd battalion moved to Exit 2, which was now designated as the route vehicles would take to move inland. Some of the 70th tank battalion with its DD Shermans tagged along with the 3rd battalion. Part way along the causeway, some congestion formed due to an 88mm anti-tank gun and a ditch blown in the road. Two Shermans were knocked out (one of them was knocked out by a mine in the road) in the skirmish, but the gun that blocked the road was cleared by a direct hit from another Sherman. Omaha Beach At Omaha Beach almost all of the tanks launched offshore were lost, their absence contributing to the high casualty rate and sluggish advance from that beach. The first wave at Omaha included 112 tanks: 56 from each of the 741st and 743rd Tank Battalions. Each of these battalions had 32 DD and 24 other Shermans (including many Sherman bulldozers for clearing obstacles). Starting at about 0540, the 741st Tank Battalion put 29 DDs into the sea, but 27 of these sank, the remaining two made the long swim to the beach. Some of the crews of the sinking tanks managed to radio back and warn following units not to launch so far out. The remaining vehicles of the 741st Tank Battalion and all tanks of the 743rd Tank Battalion, (except for the four aboard one LCT that was hit by artillery fire just off the beach), were landed directly on the beach, starting at about 0640. DD Tanks were designed to operate in waves up to 1 foot (0.3 m) high; however, on D-Day, the waves were up to high. These were much worse conditions than the tanks had been tested in