channels for all the amphibious boats between "Transport Area" and the landing beaches. The order of ships was the British destroyers , , and the Dutch gunboat . The American destroyers , , " Hobson and Forrest followed as screen for Bayfield and three other Allied transports carrying General Raymond O. Barton's 4th Infantry Division troops as far as the transport area. The destroyers then closed in on their action stations. Fire Support Unit 3, Hobson, Corry and Fitch, led the first waves of landing boats down the boat lane, breaking off in time to be in their stations at 0540. The German shore batteries, having discovered the Allied invaders, began firing on the armada at 0530. At 0536, the group commander made the signal "Commence counter battery bombardment.", 14 minutes ahead of schedule. Hobson and the other ships began counter-firing as spent 5" and 8" shell casings littered their decks. Only the heavy ships had planes to spot for them. The destroyers were close enough to see their targets which consisted mostly of "strong points" just back of the beaches. Hobson, at station 1, was assigned firing on targets 70 and 72. At 0629, Hobson observed shell splashes near and at 0633, Corry appeared to be hit amidships. As smoke from the intense shore firing drifted offshore and temporarily concealed Corry, Hobson shifted her fire at 0638 to target 86 which appeared to have been firing on Corry. This battery temporarily ceased firing as soon as taken under fire by Hobson. At 0644, the destroyer shifted her fire back to targets 70 and 72 since the leading boat wave was close to shore and neutralization of German firing from those areas was vital. At 0656, the smoke was extremely heavy on the beach, making it difficult to see the targets, and Hobson, per her prior firing orders, estimated that the first troops were going ashore and shifted fire to target 74, which was in an excellent position to deliver deadly enfilade and strafing fire on the Allied landing troops. At 0700, the smoke cover was clearing from Corry and the men on Hobson could see she was "in definite trouble with her back broken between the stacks" as targets 13A and 86 fired on the stricken destroyer. Corry, the worst naval loss of the D-Day landings, was hit by the Crisbecq Battery, whose three 210-millimeter (8.25-inch) guns had a