 The official record of Omaha reports that " ... the tanks were leading a hard life ... " . According to the commander of the 2nd battalion 116th RCT the tanks " ... saved the day . They shot the hell out of the Germans , and got the hell shot out of them . " As the morning progressed the beach defenses were gradually being reduced , often by tanks . Scattered along the length of the beach , trapped between the sea and the impassable shingle embankment and with no operating radios amongst the commanders , tanks had to be controlled individually . This was perilous work . The commanding officer of the 111th Field Artillery , who had landed ahead of his unit , was killed as he tried to direct the fire of one tank . The command group of the 741st tank battalion lost three out their group of five in their efforts . Additionally , the commander of the 743rd tank battalion became a casualty as he approached one of his tanks with orders . When naval gunfire was brought to bear against the strong @-@ points defending the E @-@ 3 draw , a decision was made to try to force this exit with tanks . Colonel Taylor ordered all available tanks into action against this point at 11 : 00 . Only three were able to reach the rallying point , and two were knocked out as they attempted to go up the draw , forcing the remaining tank to back off . 
