 As the Luftwaffe meteorological centre in Paris had predicted two weeks of <unk> weather , some Wehrmacht commanders were away from the front attending war games in Rennes , and many soldiers had been given leave . On D @-@ Day , Rommel was in Germany for his wife 's birthday and a meeting with Hitler to try to get more <unk> . The 352nd and 716th Divisions were placed on high alert after the Allied airborne landings , which had taken just after midnight behind Utah and Sword . The 2 @,@ 700 @-@ strong <unk> Meyer , near Bayeux as the divisional reserve , was sent to investigate the parachute drops behind Utah . <unk> recalled them when dawn broke and the scope of the invasion became apparent . One battalion was ordered to reinforce the German efforts at Omaha . The remainder were ordered to rendezvous with reinforcements at Villiers le <unk> , 7 @.@ 5 miles ( 12 @.@ 1 km ) east of Bayeux , to launch a counter @-@ attack . <unk> upon by Allied air forces , the column finally arrived in the late afternoon , at which time they were met by elements of the 69th Brigade . The British lost four tanks in the ensuing engagement but the <unk> was almost completely wiped out . Meyer was killed , and his detailed maps of German coastal emplacements fell into British hands . 
