 Allied intelligence had identified the coastal defenders as a reinforced battalion ( 800 – 1000 men ) of the 716th Infantry Division . This was a static defensive division estimated to comprise up to 50 % of non @-@ German troops , mostly Russian volunteers and German Volksdeutsche . The recently activated but capable 352nd Infantry Division was believed to be 30 kilometres ( 19 mi ) inland at Saint @-@ Lô and was regarded as the most likely force to be committed to a counter @-@ attack . As part of Rommel 's strategy to concentrate defenses at the water 's edge , the 352nd had been ordered forward in March , taking over responsibility for the defense of the portion of the Normandy coast in which Omaha was located . As part of this reorganization , the 352nd also took under its command two battalions of the 726th Grenadier Regiment ( part of the 716th Static Infantry Division ) as well as the 439th Ost @-@ Battalion , which had been attached to the 726th . Omaha Beach fell mostly within ' Coast Defense Sector 2 ' , which stretched westward from Colleville and allocated to the 916th Grenadier Regiment , with the third battalion 726th Grenadier Regiment attached . Two companies of the 726th manned strongpoints in the Vierville area while two companies of the 916th occupied the St. Laurent area strongpoints in the center of Omaha . These positions were supported by the artillery of the first and fourth battalions of the 352nd Artillery Regiment ( twelve 105 mm and four 150 mm howitzers respectively ) . The two remaining companies of the 916th formed a reserve at Formigny , two miles ( 3 km ) inland . East of Colleville , ' Coast Defense Sector 3 ' was the responsibility of the remainder of the 726th Grenadier Regiment . Two companies were deployed at the coast , one in the most easterly series of strongpoints , with artillery support provided by the third battalion of the 352nd Artillery Regiment . The area reserve , comprising the two battalions of the 915th Grenadier Regiment and known as ' Kampfgruppe Meyer ' , was located south @-@ east of Bayeux outside the immediate Omaha area . 
