Walter Ohmsen Walter Ohmsen ( 7 June 1911 – 19 February 1988 ) was a highly decorated " Oberleutnant zur See " in the " Kriegsmarine " during World War II . On 6 June 1944 the Western Allies launched Operation Overlord , the amphibious invasion of Normandy , France . Ohmsen was the first German defender of Fortress Europe to sight the invasion force . His battery engaged in heavy fighting and subsequently Ohmsen was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes " ) for the defense of the Crisbecq Battery against the American 4th Infantry Division , which landed on Utah Beach . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross recognised extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership . Military service . Walter Ohmsen was born on 7 June 1911 in Elmshorn and joined the military service of the " Reichsmarine " of the Weimar Republic on 1 April 1929 in Stralsund . He became a " Matrosengefreiter " ( Seaman First Class ) on 1 April 1933 and " Bootsmannmaat " ( Petty Officer Third Class - Coxswain ) on 1 September 1934 . From 12 December 1934 until 1 January 1944 he was platoon commander , company commander then head of telemetry training at the Naval Artillery School in Sassnitz . He had been promoted to " Oberbootsmannsmaat " ( Boatswain ' s Mate 2nd class ) on 1 November 1935 and " Bootsmann " ( Boatswain ' s Mate 1st class ) on 1 September 1936 . He served at sea on the German battleship " Schleswig - Holstein " , the training vessel " Gorch Fock " , the training ship " Carl - Zeiss " , the torpedo boat " T - 153 " and the cruiser " Königsberg " . He attained the rank of " Stabsoberbootsmann " ( Chief Boatswain ' s Mate ) on 1 July 1940 and was awarded the War Merit Cross 2nd class with swords on 20 April 1941 . During his assignment at the Coastal Artillery School he was promoted to " Kriegsoffiziersanwärter " ( Officer Candidate ) and became an officer attaining the rank of " Leutnant der Marineartillerie " ( Ensign of Coastal Artillery ) on 1 January 1942 and " Oberleutnant " ( M . A . ) ( Lieutenant Junior Grade ) . Normandy invasion . Ohmsen had taken command of the Crisbecq Battery , also known as " Marine Küsten Batterie " Marcouf " " ( Naval Coastal Battery Marcouf ) or " Seeziel Batterie " Marcouf " " ( Sea Target Battery Marcouf ) , on 1 February 1944 . His command , including himself , consisted of three officers , 24 non - commissioned officer s and 287 men of the " Kriegsmarine " . The unit was subordinated to the " Marine - Artillerie - Abteilung " 260 ( M . A . A . 260 — 260th Naval Coastal Artillery Battalion ) . The battery ' s personnel was further augmented by members of the 6 . / " Grenadier - Regiment " 919 ( 6th Company , 919th Grenadier Regiment ) of the 709 . " Infanterie - Division " ( 709th Infantry Division ) for ground defense under the command of " Leutnant " Geissler , which brought the overall manpower of the battery close to 400 men . On 6 June 1944 at 5 a . m . Ohmsen was the first to sight the Allied invasion fleet through the battery rangefinder . He immediately reported his observation to the " Kriegsmarine " headquarters at Cherbourg , which triggered the German alarm throughout installations on the Atlantic coast . The notification of the award of his Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes " ) , announced in the German newspapers on 15 June 1944 , also referred to Ohmsen as the first person to report the invasion fleet off Normandy . At 5 : 52 a . m . he received the order to open fire on the ships , which were then away . At 5 : 55 a . m . , Ohmsen ' s battery targeted and exchanged fire with the US cruisers USS " Tuscaloosa " and USS " Quincy " and the US battleship USS " Nevada " . At 6 : 30 a . m . , the battery fired upon the US destroyer USS " Corry " and sank her . At 8 a . m . , " Nevada " hit the foremost casemated gun . The US battleships USS " Texas " and USS " Arkansas " , originally assigned to provide covering fire for the landing at Omaha Beach , intervened to help silence the Crisbecq Battery . At 9 a . m . the concentrated fire of the three battleships put the second casemate out of action , when a shell from " Nevada " pierced the embrasure , killing the entire crew . The remaining gun behind casemate No . 24 , withstood the naval bombardment , but was incapable of reaching targets out at sea ; the gun initiated fire at 11 a . m . , directed to the beach facing WN 5 " Widerstandsnest 5 " ( Resistance Nest 5 ) , away . It caused heavy losses among the Americans and hindered the landing of material and reinforcements at Utah Beach . The American 1st Battalion , 22nd Infantry Regiment , 4th Infantry Division started their advance towards Saint - Marcouf and the Crisbecq Battery at 7 a . m . on 7 June . After the first assault they succeeded in entering Saint - Marcouf but were stopped in front of the battery by the 75 mm Flak guns that had been repaired and were put in firing positions against ground targets . A German counterattack on the flanks of the American forces , supported by the 105 mm K331 ( f ) guns from the Azeville Battery forced Captain Tom Shields to withdraw . Concurrent to this ground fighting , the artillery duel between the Crisbecq Battery and the Allied fleet continued . One of the Škoda 210 mm gun K39 / 41 had been put back into service during the previous night . The gun was damaged once more and remained silent for the rest of the day . The Americans brought several field artillery guns in position during the afternoon and immediately started firing at the battery . Subsequently , the battery was subjected to harassing fire every night . Ohmsen was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class ( " Eisernes Kreuz 2 . Klasse " ) in the morning of 7 June 1944 for his defense of his strong point against the American attacks . On the evening of 7 June he received a phone call from Cherbourg with the information that he had been awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class ( " Eisernes Kreuz 1 . Klasse " ) in addition to the earlier award . Ohmsen was wounded on the left hand during a bombardment of the battery in the afternoon of 8 June . The American 1st Battalion started their second attack on the battery at 10 a . m . on 8 June and retook the village of Saint - Marcouf . At 1 : 30 p . m . after the naval artillery had prepared the attack with a 20 minute bombardment and rolling artillery fire the attack on the battery continued . The Americans succeeded in entering the battery perimeter . The Germans had fallen back in the shelters but the last 210 mm gun was destroyed . At 4 p . m . , American forces started to blow up the shelters ; seeing that his forces had been overwhelmed , Ohmsen ordered the Azeville Battery to fire on his own position with its four 105 mm guns to chase them away . The effect was immediate and the Americans fell back in disarray . Ohmsen took advantage of the situation and counterattacked with the support of " Leutnant " Geissler ' s 6th company , and pushed the Americans back to Dodainville ( roughly south southeast of the battery ) . American casualties reached 15 % of the forces they had committed to the attack and 98 soldiers were taken prisoner . By the morning of 11 June , Ohmsen had run out of ammunition and medical equipment for the wounded and all his guns were out of service . In the afternoon , he received a phone call from " Konteradmiral " ( Counter Admiral or Rear Admiral ) Walter Hennecke , who instructed him to escape with the survivors . Leaving 21 wounded German soldiers and 126 American prisoners behind , Ohmsen and 78 men broke through the American encirclement and reached the German lines at Aumeville , roughly away . On 14 June , Ohmsen and his men reached the Morsalines battery , where he was decorated with the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . Ohmsen and his men were subsequently assigned to an infantry company and took part in the final days of the Battle of Cherbourg . Ohmsen was taken prisoner of war in Cherbourg on 26 June by the American forces . He was released on 15 March 1946 . On 12 June the soldiers of the 9th Infantry Division , who had come ashore the previous day , readied themselves for an attack on the battery . At 8 : 30 a . m . , the men of the 2nd Battalion of the 39th Infantry Regiment started their attack but found only an empty battery . The fighting over the battery took a heavy toll on both sides , 307 German soldiers died to defend it and about as many Americans died to take it . Later life . After World War II Ohmsen initially worked as a government employee of the Schleswig - Holstein agricultural ministry . He ran for public office as a candidate of the Schleswig - Holstein - Block in the 1954 Landtag of Schleswig - Holstein election . During an election speech , he disparaged the Minister - President of Schleswig - Holstein Friedrich - Wilhelm Lübke . Ohmsen was immediately dismissed without notice from his position in the agricultural ministry for insulting the Minister - President . He rejoined the military service of the " Bundeswehr " on 16 March 1956 as a " Kapitänleutnant " ( Captain Lieutenant ) of the " Bundesmarine " ( German Federal Navy ) . He was promoted to " Korvettenkapitän " ( Corvette Captain ) on 15 November 1957 and " Fregattenkapitän " ( Frigate Captain ) on 13 August 1965 and retired on 30 September 1967 . From 1968 to 1978 , Ohmsen was one of the organizers of the sailing at the Summer Olympics events and of numerous other larger sailing regattas and events . From 1970 to 1978 he also served as a member of the consultative council of the city of Kiel and was involved in the support of war victims . For these services he received the Freiherr - von - Stein commemorative medal and Federal Cross of Merit 2nd Class ( " Bundesverdienstkreuz 2 . Klasse " ) . The father of three daughters , Walter Ohmsen died in Kiel on 19 February 1988 .