352nd Infantry Division ( Wehrmacht ) The 352nd Infantry Division ( " 352 . Infanterie - Division " ) was a formation of the German " Wehrmacht " during World War II . A western front outfit , the 352nd became notable for its tenacious defense of Omaha Beach on D - Day , 6 June 1944 . History . Formation and strengths . The 352nd was formed in November 1943 in France , commanded by " Generalleutnant " Dietrich Kraiss from 6 November 1943 until it was destroyed in July 1944 . Organizationally , the 352nd was better off than most German divisions in 1944 . At that time , as a result of severe personnel losses , German infantry divisions were generally reduced to six battalions . The 352nd , however , retained its full complement of nine battalions . D - Day . The 352nd began its coastal duty by improving the beach obstacles , emplacing mined stakes and timber structures . This involved not only cutting and hauling timber from miles inland , but also driving stakes and piles deep into the sand . To fully cover the sector , the soldiers needed 10 million mines , but a scant 10 , 000 were available . The first band of obstacles - about out from the waterline at high tide - consisted of ' Belgian Gates ' - reinforced iron frames with supports that were built atop rollers . Next came a band of mined stakes and log ramps , meant to tear the bottoms out of landing craft or tip them over . Finally , there was a row of metal obstacles , including ' hedgehogs ' , made of steel rails . Although the Germans had attached mines to many of the obstacles , few of them were waterproofed , and corrosion had long since taken its toll of many of the explosive devices . The soldiers of the 916th and 726th regiments occupied slit trenches , eight concrete bunkers , 35 pillboxes , six mortar pits , sites for 35 Nebelwerfer s , ( multi - barrel rocket launchers ) and 85 machine - gun nests . The defenses were clustered in strongpoints . Early on 6 June 1944 , a " Kampfgruppe " ( battle group ) from the 915th Grenadier Regiment , which was the only reserve element of the 352nd Infantry Division , was diverted away from Omaha and Gold beaches and the 101st Airborne Division ' s drop zones . The unit spent the morning of 6 June searching the woods for parachutists , believing an airborne division had landed in the area but which turned out to be dummies dropped as part of Operation " Titanic " . The 916th Grenadier Regiment saw action during D - Day ( Operation Overlord ) , opposing the US 1st and 29th divisions at Omaha Beach . The 352nd gave a good account of itself , causing many casualties and defending the bluffs above the beach for several hours before being overwhelmed . The 916th retreated in the morning hours of 7 June after the commander , Colonel Ernst Goth , could no longer hold the positions retaken in the night of 6 / 7 June . The rest of the division saw heavy fighting in the bocage ( or hedgerow ) country defending Saint - Lô against the Americans . After the invasion . The 352nd was destroyed in the fighting following the invasion ; on 30 July it was declared " abgekämpft " , meaning it was no longer fit for combat . It was reconstituted as the 352nd " Volksgrenadier Division " in September and fought in the Battle of the Bulge . Thereafter , it fought defensively around Trier and the Moselle until it was destroyed again in mid - March 1945 , with only a small remnant escaping across the Rhine at Worms . It was partially reconstituted one last time as a battlegroup in mid - April and ended its career near Darmstadt . Werner Pluskat . Major Werner Pluskat , who was featured in Cornelius Ryan ' s book " The Longest Day " , was in the 352nd Artillery ( " Artillerie Abteilung " ) and fired his guns on Omaha Beach until he ran out of ammunition . He was forward observer on ' WN60 - Resistance Point 60 ' above the beach on the Eastern flank . Order of battle . The 352nd ' s order of battle on the eve of the Allied Invasion was as follows ( NB : the artillery component is also shown ) :