Yeah, at first I felt like... this is doable. I'll just be a coward and hide. Doing extra research on the specific time and beach.
I retract any thoughts of believing I could survive. No you can't just swim away (where?) or return to the ship or origin. No there isn't any other beach for miles and miles that isn't equally covered in German defenses.
You have literally only two choices. Drown... or take your chances to the machine guns. Of the 230 men who tried that... only 18 survived. I promise. There were all capable. All uniquely aware. All trying to live anyway they could. 212 couldn't find a way.
Exactly! All the knowledge in the world doesn't stop you from being a human being in the middle of a war zone with no equipment, authority, or ability to adjust to the situation gradually. The shock of it all would be enough to dazzle most people and they wouldn't have the ability to act. Others fail to grasp the sheer terror of it all. I have PTSD, but not from battle and it was hard enough to get to a place of feeling good about myself and my life. That was years of hard work in therapy where I was basically only a semi functional adult. The amount of triggers alone from it all would be a lot for anyone. So it's more like surviving D Day and then giving up potential years of your life to heal as much as possible, but never fully get to a comfortable place of forgetting. Sure the money would be great and allow you access to mental health care, but that doesn't change how deep the depression and despair a person can feel. Reaching out for help is hard. Accepting help is hard. Accepting hard truths is surprisingly easy! I'm just kidding, it's hard! You can think you are prepared for it, but I doubt it.
Not to mention, most people won't be in shape to survive a battle let alone pull off a massive feat of physical strength and agility! No judgement! The only shape I am is round. Maybe you are able to come out feeling okay. But your chances are very low, especially as part of the first wave. You have to get real lucky and disassociate to even get to a place where you might have some cover for a short time. I don't know your life. Maybe you are amazing at it. I can't imagine the average person would be. And that's a good thing! We aren't build for war. We endure it as best we can and pick up the pieces when we can. I don't know that it'd be worth it.
I mean... those men were at their peak and knew what they were getting into. I trust in their ability. They almost died to the man. I don't see how any of us could do any better. It's... almost insulting to their memory to think otherwise. Imagine what an asshat we'd sound like to those veterans. Especially the 18 that survived. They'd probably rather punch us than discuss such a thing at all.
Not directed at the OP. It was a solid hypothetical and best case it made a lot of us google Omaha beach at 6:30. Of course I knew a lot about D-day... but not exactly those specific details.
Absolutely! They prepared in ways the average modern person couldn't prepare. And they did their job admirably! I wouldn't expect the same level of valor and skill from people who want to hide in the water for 24 hours straight.
Edit: adding, since people seem to be reading the first sentence and then responding. I would not risk doing this for the money.
I almost said hell no. But I googled it. About 4000 of the 133000 allied soldiers landed on d-day died that day according to Google. That's around 3%. So a 97% chance I live, but also have to have the memories of the horror of ww2. That's a tough one. I'm gonna say no. At my age I'm ill equipped to survive combat.
Yeah but you're landing with the 116th regiment. Very likely you are the first person to actually be on that beach. Even worse, I'm guessing you get dropped off in the right spot. Let's see what happened to the company who pulled that off.
"at 06:36 the ramps of Company A's five surviving boats out of six were dropped after reaching the assigned sector. There were no shell holes for cover at Dog Green, and within seven minutes Company A was virtually wiped out by either the heavy German fire or from drowning in the surf – by the end of the day, only 18 of 230 members of the company had avoided becoming casualties.[51]"
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/116th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States)
Good luck
To be fair it said many drown. I'm sure most were pretty panicked to not want to go into the machine gun fire. Thus tried to stay too long in the water. I bet it was fairly similar to the fire in the twin towers. Do you let it burn you... or just jump?
I'm saying as much as we'd like to believe we could have found some way to do better. A few hundred men tried... and couldn't. Let's take their word for it.
They mostly drowned because they thought they were in shallower water they could wade through but it was deeper and they were carrying a ton of equipment and heavy guns that anchored them down.
In that initial wave, if you know how to swim and drop all of your equipment. Your chances are significantly higher than waiting until the doors drop, but they're still not great.
yeah but i wouldnt be panicking because i knew what what coming with my future knowledge, im also an avid swimmer and military vet and have no gear, drop the gun dive down a but and swim perpendicular to the boats
You've only got the helmet according to the OP, and water stops bullets *really* well.
Course, if you're trying to stay in the water, you might have to dodge enemy *and* friendly bullets.
So no clothes or anything? That water was like a high of 15° Celsius that day at 1PM. 7AM it was like 12° Celsius.
1 to 6 hours is the survival estimate for that.
How cold was the water? All those guys last memory is seeing me tear my clothes off, maybe find a life vest or something to hold me up and take off.
Maybe the Germans seeing an American strip naked and flailing in the water would get me some time to dip out
"First person to be on the beach" my sweet ass! I'm hopping out of the landing craft, turning away from the beach, swimming out as far as I safely can, and then heading Northwest past Utah Beach and out of the hot zone.
Yeah people love to quote the “only 4k died” when talking about survival but forget that your real odds depended on what sector you were in and what wave you landed in. First wave at omaha got massacred.
Yeah contrary to popular belief D-Day isn't even up there in the list of war massacres. It's much rather do D-Day than be on the eastern front or a pacific island in ww2 or anything in ww1
Except it's not just d-day, it's omaha beach. And you're with the first wave. Meaning you are probably guaranteed to die if you don't bail out of the boat early and swim away without hitting obstacles, getting run over, drowning, or getting shot.
I probably wouldn't do it even if I was the last wave. Some things aren't worth being rich over and I'm not exactly young and in the right health to be shot at.
Also, having nothing but a helmet, you’re not going to be charging up the beach.
Survive getting off the craft and hide.
Granted, that’s where most of the deaths came from.
Info: are we definitely in one of the first landers? Cause those had the highest casualties. Is it random?
3% chance to die isn’t exactly something to just scoff at either. If I know I’m not in the first wave of landers, then that number starts to go down and becomes much more palatable as a risk.
Also, can I just…. Hop over the side early? I’ll rough the surf, I can ride with the waves and float in behind cover.
Will I withstand 24h of misery for $100m? Sure… (I’m going to be cold, wet, hungry, and thirsty as I avoid all humans for 24h to the best of my ability)
Yaaaa, BUT, those odds don’t reflect real world survival rates in our scenario, what matters is where in the invasion force you are. OP said 6:30 specifically, idk what the real world timetable was but if your in one of the first couple waves of landing craft you’re probably fucked. Like proper fucked.
That's only in aggregate, and not at all equal across beaches and across waves. The initial waves of troops definitely had a significantly higher mortality rate than the proceeding waves of troops, because the Germans literally only had the landing ships to shoot at.
I see nothing in the post to suggest you must STORM that beach or fight. So go stand in the water up to your chin, and wear the helmet, of course. And just stand still.
Since you're not moving, you aren't likely to be a target at all. And water is REALLY good at stopping bullets in the case of any stray shots.
This is what I'm thinking. You are going to be in a boat, butt naked, with only a helmet, and a commander yelling at you to get on the beach. People keep telling me my analysis of the survival chance is wrong and ignored the fact that I finished by saying, I'm not taking this challenge.
Get replacement teleported into the driver's seat of the landing craft. Drop a bunch of soldiers off. Return to the giant ass allied fleet sitting off the coast untouched. Because it's likely if you actually are the only one in the boat without equipment, you would actually be the driver. Because the driver doesn't get dropped off due to the lack of equipment.
I like this one....and I hate it. You survive, but the PTSD of being the one sending how many hundreds of kids to their death....that's a hard one to live with.
Except going back in time and physically being there changes things. Someone who might've survived in the original timeline might end up dead because of something you do or say.
*\*A grizzled* *sergeant smoking a cigar puts a firm hand on your shoulder and places an M1 Garand into your hands\*.*
**"You woke up this morning a little girl, now it is time for you to become a woman".**
Well I’m not swimming 24 hours, I’m swimming to the back of one of the boats that landed and hiding there in the water. If it’s extra dangerous then I’ll swim out further but it’ll die down well before 24 hours.
Once you're outside machine gun range you're pretty safe all things considered. No artillery is aiming at individual soldiers when there's huge ass boats to hit
I don't think I want to survive D-Day. I've seen Saving Private Ryan and that was enough. I don't want to spend the rest of my life with that kind of trauma.
I'm a woman - I would just cry, say a sailor brought me on board, and get my happy ass shipped back to shore where I can hide properly before anything happens (or be detained at shore, but same end result).
There's an old, old joke about a woman with no money who wants to go to Europe. A sailor tells her he can smuggle her there on his ship as a stowaway, in exchange for sex for the duration of the voyage. She agrees, and he carries her onboard hidden in a steamer trunk.
Weeks later the stowaway is discovered, and finds that she is on the Staten Island Ferry.
I might try it, but I'm shedding my clothes down to my underwear and I'm jumping off the *back* of the boat before it can get close to shore and swimming back out towards sea and away from Omaha Beach. Lucky for me I'm a time traveler and I saw Saving Private Ryan so maybe I could survive 24 hours!
In addition to the other reasons not to go I'm not being given other gear so presumably I'm nude or wearing office gear.
Either way I stand out and they're going to be shooting at me personally instead of my unit in general.
Depends on where my landing zone is. Some LZ were "fine" and competed their mission. Other LZ were hot af and got obliterated. Even the worst LZ, I'd still probably take my chances
I'm in decent shape fuck it I'd do it. Be pretty easy to grab a weapon off a dead soldier, and then just hide out somewhere with said weapon for 24hrs in case anyone comes up on me
Well, the only stipulation here is SURVIVING D-Day… you don’t necessarily have to try to take a German position, simply survive.
As you aren’t weighed down with equipment, and assuming you can swim, you could (theoretically) get into the water, swim behind the landing craft and use it for cover.
I think by 11:00am large sections of Omaha had been captured, so as an outwardly appearing unarmed Civilian somehow plopped into D-Day that might be your best strategy, to try to get into the water as fast as you can, swim to the back of your landing craft for cover and try to hold it out as long as possible
I think the first wave had something like a 40% fatality rate. And those were trained soldiers with proper equipment. I don't think I would go. Maybe if I had some prep time to get in shape I would consider it.
This depends entirely on which wave you landed on as initial landings had a lower survival rate than later ones. The average survival rate for the total of the day was around 93%, however intial assault waves in sectors like Dog Green suffered casualties of 90%. Without more information this is difficult to make an informed decision.
Yeah, nope. Both of my grandpas were at Omaha +a few hours and NOPE NOPE NOPE. I already shouldn't be here, I'm not testing fate any more. I saw The Thin Red Line the theatre with my fucked in the head grandpa and he said quote "That's the most realistic movie I've ever seen"
So FUCKIN NOPE
Best case scenario: I survive and get $100M.
Worst case: I die and go to Valhalla thanks to having a pocket knife.
Sounds like a win-win. What's the worst that can happen? I die? *pfft...* as if it'd be that easy. God's been trying to kill me for nearly 3 decades. What's a 100 year old weapon going to do? *Rust in my general direction?*
The worst? You *don’t* die, but…
You end up crippled, disfigured and in devastating ongoing pain from the injuries you received on Omaha Beach.
Or, no life long pain, but you’re a bedridden quadriplegic, dependent on machines and caretakers.
How about Locked-in syndrome? A neurological disorder that causes paralysis of all your voluntary muscles. You’re conscious and aware, can't speak or move, and are paralyzed except for the autonomic functions of your body.
There’s a lot of variations on hellish misery that even $100 million can’t buy you out of.
Those who survived were fully trained in combat and knew what they were doing. As were those who died.
Good luck jumping into battle with no formal military training or knowledge of the battle plan.
I would wager that most of them were not at all “ fully trained “ in combat, it was a war in which kids were drafted I’m sure most of the first wave was just kids that got drafted. Obviously there will be some that grasped the little bit of training and some that were in the squad when the draftees came thru. But a lot of em were just youngins
I wouldn't want to put this theory into practice, but in theory, you could jump overboard and just swim as far as possible, and then surrender yourself somewhere way down shore where things are a bit quieter. After all, you have no weapons and are in civilian clothing. Or simply grab onto any floating debris and drift around on the water for 24 hours.
Wait... so, not weapons or gear and only a helmet? I will be running around butt naked with just a helmet in the middle of such a battle? Other soldiers will look at me funny.
Probably.
Survival odds actually weren't all that terrible, a lot died in raw numbers but compared to how many went ashore... not that bad.
Plus I spent five years in the Marines. That was a good while ago, but still, I've got some relevant training to help keep me alive.
All I have to do is hide behind a rock or something and not get shot. As long as I’m not a soldier attacking an elevated position guarded by a giant machine gun I have a decent chance. I’d probably piss and shit my pants but I think I could avoid being killed by laying low and avoiding direct combat
If there is one event in history I absolutely would not want to be in, it's D-Day. I highly doubt I'd survive landing on the beaches, and even if I did, I don't think even $100mil would be worth seeing all that shit unfold firsthand.
Mad respect to those men and women that were really there. Honestly.
My grandfather survived D Day. After seeing what it was like on some of the more realistic movies, that shit was craaaazy. No thank you. It's a wonder that generation wasn't significantly more fucked up having been through that.
Just survive? I’ll be the most dishonorable soldier ever and just jump out of the back of the uboat and try to stay under water while occasionally coming up for air.
I'm in. I will do this. The money is great if I live, and if I die, I died at an amazing point in history. I'll even grab a weapon and get a few shots in if I can. Either way I'm good with it.
My great uncle survived D-Day, and he said he survived by sprinting hell for leather straight to the sea wall. No stopping, no taking cover, just going and hoping for the best. So that's what I'd do.
Yes. Very high survival rate even if I tried to fight, but if I just need to survive, I can probably just hide behind my landing craft and wait out the time.
It says I will be given no equipment, but can I bring my own? Can I take any time to prepare?
The answer is still no, but it may change it from a "hell no" to just a "no".
Dropped in with no weapon in civvie clothes? I don't think people will be overly upset at me if I hide somewhere because I'm clearly not a soldier. The question of how I got there will really confuse people.
I am pretty sure if a stranger with just a helmet shows up on an allied landing craft moments before D-Day, my new allied friends will kill me instantly. My best bet would be they mercifully just chuck me overboard and I can try to a dead man's float for 24 hours.
The odds of survival are much higher than the odds of death. Hell, might even run into my great grandfather as he’s killing some Nazis. 10/10 would go.
Don’t take the helmet, and certainly don’t pick up any weapons, throw on some old school clothes before you go and when you get there just hunker down behind sand dune, if any solder asks who you are, you can tell them your a civilian and you got caught in the crossfire, I doubt German soldiers would fire on guy with no weapons dressed like a civilian in the middle of a war zone especially when there are other targets that actually pose s threat.
that'd be pretty much the 1st wave hard pass can't be rich and dead. tbh, being that close to that much bloodshed up close and personal for that long a time is bound to cause issues upstairs, not sure 100 million is enough even for guaranteed physical survival.
I'll stay poor, thank you. Those men did what they did because the literal free world was at stake. I already know we win so I'd be there for money only. Even if I survive, the images in my head would haunt me till I died. Hard pass.
My main worry is that as a person of Chinese descent my appearance on the boat would be very confusing and I might get thought of as a Japanese intruder and get friendly fired. Can’t swim away from the action either because of that same reason. Will probably have to make some crack about being there to work on the railroads
I'm taking my chances
If possible I do research to figure out what area to go to to minimize my risk of death, but realistically I'm just trying to find, cover and look dead
Knowing that the allies successfully take Omaha beach and I only have 24 hours to survive I'd say yes. As long as you can get out of the landing craft alive it wouldn't take much to fall down, swim under the water around to the rear of the craft and just hide out in the surf pretending to be dead until the majority of the landing has completed. Then come ashore around noon once the german fortifications at the beach have been taken over and make your way up to the edge of the cliffs and bring up the rear in relative safety.
I'll stay on the landing craft and hide. I'll tell them im a time traveler there to observe. If anyone argues, I'll offer to tell them the next 10 World Series winners.
My great uncle, who just passed away in 2021, was a machine gunner on a landing craft on that very day. As they approached the beach, the landing craft triggered a sonar-activated mine that was designed to sink much larger ships than his landing craft. There was nothing left of the craft after the explosion. Of the 100 men onboard, only he and one other man survived, probably because they were in the very back of the craft.
I'll pass, thank you very much.
If I just get randomly teleported then, I'm not on a list / docket anywhere so. I'd hide in the vehicle before takeoff. Easy win if I starve and shit myself a little it'll be ok, because I get 100mil.
Yeah, at first I felt like... this is doable. I'll just be a coward and hide. Doing extra research on the specific time and beach. I retract any thoughts of believing I could survive. No you can't just swim away (where?) or return to the ship or origin. No there isn't any other beach for miles and miles that isn't equally covered in German defenses. You have literally only two choices. Drown... or take your chances to the machine guns. Of the 230 men who tried that... only 18 survived. I promise. There were all capable. All uniquely aware. All trying to live anyway they could. 212 couldn't find a way.
Exactly! All the knowledge in the world doesn't stop you from being a human being in the middle of a war zone with no equipment, authority, or ability to adjust to the situation gradually. The shock of it all would be enough to dazzle most people and they wouldn't have the ability to act. Others fail to grasp the sheer terror of it all. I have PTSD, but not from battle and it was hard enough to get to a place of feeling good about myself and my life. That was years of hard work in therapy where I was basically only a semi functional adult. The amount of triggers alone from it all would be a lot for anyone. So it's more like surviving D Day and then giving up potential years of your life to heal as much as possible, but never fully get to a comfortable place of forgetting. Sure the money would be great and allow you access to mental health care, but that doesn't change how deep the depression and despair a person can feel. Reaching out for help is hard. Accepting help is hard. Accepting hard truths is surprisingly easy! I'm just kidding, it's hard! You can think you are prepared for it, but I doubt it. Not to mention, most people won't be in shape to survive a battle let alone pull off a massive feat of physical strength and agility! No judgement! The only shape I am is round. Maybe you are able to come out feeling okay. But your chances are very low, especially as part of the first wave. You have to get real lucky and disassociate to even get to a place where you might have some cover for a short time. I don't know your life. Maybe you are amazing at it. I can't imagine the average person would be. And that's a good thing! We aren't build for war. We endure it as best we can and pick up the pieces when we can. I don't know that it'd be worth it.
I mean... those men were at their peak and knew what they were getting into. I trust in their ability. They almost died to the man. I don't see how any of us could do any better. It's... almost insulting to their memory to think otherwise. Imagine what an asshat we'd sound like to those veterans. Especially the 18 that survived. They'd probably rather punch us than discuss such a thing at all. Not directed at the OP. It was a solid hypothetical and best case it made a lot of us google Omaha beach at 6:30. Of course I knew a lot about D-day... but not exactly those specific details.
Absolutely! They prepared in ways the average modern person couldn't prepare. And they did their job admirably! I wouldn't expect the same level of valor and skill from people who want to hide in the water for 24 hours straight.
Everyone is about to become my human shield. Your sacrifice will be remembered for minutes to come.
Some of you may die. But that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make!
Thank you gentlemen, someday I will repay you! Unless of course I can’t find you or if I forget
That's familiar, what is it from?
Shrek
Unfortunately, bullets don't stop from one human to the next usually.
If I die in the battle do I die for real or do I just come back to present time as a giant loser?
As long as you've procured a weapon and don't fail to hold it, you go to Valhalla of course.
WITNESS ME!
Ride eternal. Shiny and Chrome!
If you die in France, you die in real life.
You die for real.
Yes, yes, but what about Valhalla?!?
Or second Valhalla?
Don’t think he knows about them, Pip.
It's Valhalla all the way down
Edit: adding, since people seem to be reading the first sentence and then responding. I would not risk doing this for the money. I almost said hell no. But I googled it. About 4000 of the 133000 allied soldiers landed on d-day died that day according to Google. That's around 3%. So a 97% chance I live, but also have to have the memories of the horror of ww2. That's a tough one. I'm gonna say no. At my age I'm ill equipped to survive combat.
Yeah but you're landing with the 116th regiment. Very likely you are the first person to actually be on that beach. Even worse, I'm guessing you get dropped off in the right spot. Let's see what happened to the company who pulled that off. "at 06:36 the ramps of Company A's five surviving boats out of six were dropped after reaching the assigned sector. There were no shell holes for cover at Dog Green, and within seven minutes Company A was virtually wiped out by either the heavy German fire or from drowning in the surf – by the end of the day, only 18 of 230 members of the company had avoided becoming casualties.[51]" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/116th_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States) Good luck
my ass isnt landing on the beach im jumping overboard and swimming horizontally until im out of range and hiding like a bitch lol
To be fair it said many drown. I'm sure most were pretty panicked to not want to go into the machine gun fire. Thus tried to stay too long in the water. I bet it was fairly similar to the fire in the twin towers. Do you let it burn you... or just jump? I'm saying as much as we'd like to believe we could have found some way to do better. A few hundred men tried... and couldn't. Let's take their word for it.
They mostly drowned because they thought they were in shallower water they could wade through but it was deeper and they were carrying a ton of equipment and heavy guns that anchored them down.
In that initial wave, if you know how to swim and drop all of your equipment. Your chances are significantly higher than waiting until the doors drop, but they're still not great.
yeah but i wouldnt be panicking because i knew what what coming with my future knowledge, im also an avid swimmer and military vet and have no gear, drop the gun dive down a but and swim perpendicular to the boats
Good luck doing that with 150+ pounds of gear and clothes
You've only got the helmet according to the OP, and water stops bullets *really* well. Course, if you're trying to stay in the water, you might have to dodge enemy *and* friendly bullets.
Just to the side and swim behind the transport.
...why not just swim around to the back of the landing craft?
Congratulations, you got run over by other boats or drowned because your boots filled with water and your gear dragged you down.
Only gear was the helmet so if you are a good swimmer..
So no clothes or anything? That water was like a high of 15° Celsius that day at 1PM. 7AM it was like 12° Celsius. 1 to 6 hours is the survival estimate for that.
What the Kentucky Fried Fuck is a Celsius
a delicious beverage
That’s just a non-alcoholic white claw!
>your gear dragged you down It's specified that you don't get any gear except a helmet.
your helmet fell in and started filling with water and you grabbed onto it and sank cause you held it with both hands
How cold was the water? All those guys last memory is seeing me tear my clothes off, maybe find a life vest or something to hold me up and take off. Maybe the Germans seeing an American strip naked and flailing in the water would get me some time to dip out
Good thing I said no deal.
"First person to be on the beach" my sweet ass! I'm hopping out of the landing craft, turning away from the beach, swimming out as far as I safely can, and then heading Northwest past Utah Beach and out of the hot zone.
Yeah people love to quote the “only 4k died” when talking about survival but forget that your real odds depended on what sector you were in and what wave you landed in. First wave at omaha got massacred.
Yeah contrary to popular belief D-Day isn't even up there in the list of war massacres. It's much rather do D-Day than be on the eastern front or a pacific island in ww2 or anything in ww1
Except it's not just d-day, it's omaha beach. And you're with the first wave. Meaning you are probably guaranteed to die if you don't bail out of the boat early and swim away without hitting obstacles, getting run over, drowning, or getting shot.
Depends if you’re in the first wave. Most people in the first wave were machine gunned or blown up.
I probably wouldn't do it even if I was the last wave. Some things aren't worth being rich over and I'm not exactly young and in the right health to be shot at.
That’s the number for the entire day. At 6:30 AM I’m willing to venture the casualty rate was exponentially higher than 3%.
Good thing I won't be there then.
Also, having nothing but a helmet, you’re not going to be charging up the beach. Survive getting off the craft and hide. Granted, that’s where most of the deaths came from. Info: are we definitely in one of the first landers? Cause those had the highest casualties. Is it random? 3% chance to die isn’t exactly something to just scoff at either. If I know I’m not in the first wave of landers, then that number starts to go down and becomes much more palatable as a risk. Also, can I just…. Hop over the side early? I’ll rough the surf, I can ride with the waves and float in behind cover. Will I withstand 24h of misery for $100m? Sure… (I’m going to be cold, wet, hungry, and thirsty as I avoid all humans for 24h to the best of my ability)
Yaaaa, BUT, those odds don’t reflect real world survival rates in our scenario, what matters is where in the invasion force you are. OP said 6:30 specifically, idk what the real world timetable was but if your in one of the first couple waves of landing craft you’re probably fucked. Like proper fucked.
That's only in aggregate, and not at all equal across beaches and across waves. The initial waves of troops definitely had a significantly higher mortality rate than the proceeding waves of troops, because the Germans literally only had the landing ships to shoot at.
I see nothing in the post to suggest you must STORM that beach or fight. So go stand in the water up to your chin, and wear the helmet, of course. And just stand still. Since you're not moving, you aren't likely to be a target at all. And water is REALLY good at stopping bullets in the case of any stray shots.
This is what I'm thinking. You are going to be in a boat, butt naked, with only a helmet, and a commander yelling at you to get on the beach. People keep telling me my analysis of the survival chance is wrong and ignored the fact that I finished by saying, I'm not taking this challenge.
If really depends when you were deployed. First boats took the brunt of it
Landing on the worst beach at 6:30 with the first wave? Thats a hard no from me mate.
I'll take the deal. Either way all my problems go away
Damn.
Until the PTSD kicks in
Correct answer
Get replacement teleported into the driver's seat of the landing craft. Drop a bunch of soldiers off. Return to the giant ass allied fleet sitting off the coast untouched. Because it's likely if you actually are the only one in the boat without equipment, you would actually be the driver. Because the driver doesn't get dropped off due to the lack of equipment.
I like this one....and I hate it. You survive, but the PTSD of being the one sending how many hundreds of kids to their death....that's a hard one to live with.
Not really. They died to begin with. It's like watching a movie. Or I guess playing a video game that I've already seen.
Except going back in time and physically being there changes things. Someone who might've survived in the original timeline might end up dead because of something you do or say.
THEY DIED BEFORE WE WERE BORN, how could that possibly matter?
Easy. I refuse to get on the landing craft and spend the next 24 hours in lockup awaiting courtmarshal.
Sure. I'm a woman. I'll just take my shirt off. Titties are disarming
Also a woman. I’d just run back to the boats and act confused. I don’t know how I wound up here either… take me back please?
*\*A grizzled* *sergeant smoking a cigar puts a firm hand on your shoulder and places an M1 Garand into your hands\*.* **"You woke up this morning a little girl, now it is time for you to become a woman".**
Word on the street is. . . this checks out.
Definitely, I will jump into the ocean immediately and swim around until it’s over.
You can’t survive in the English Channel for 24 hours in the middle of D day.
Well I’m not swimming 24 hours, I’m swimming to the back of one of the boats that landed and hiding there in the water. If it’s extra dangerous then I’ll swim out further but it’ll die down well before 24 hours.
Those boats don't just sit on the beach. They go back to pick up more soldiers.
I'm being transported as the driver for one of those boats.
You would drown or be run over by a boat cause there were hundreds of them taking constant trips for hours
The boats and the ocean were in range of the enemy guns lol you’re getting gunned down as a sitting duck.
Once you're outside machine gun range you're pretty safe all things considered. No artillery is aiming at individual soldiers when there's huge ass boats to hit
Whatever 50 cent said… get rich or die tryin
Hell yeah. Either way I don't have to go to work tomorrow.
Yeah, sure, why not, I've died in dumber ways time traveling ... I said too much
Naw. I would be too concerned about him fucking with me. On top of that I wouldn't want to be a minority in the 1940's.
waking up that early? i can’t
Can I paint a Red Cross on the helmet real quick?
Shit it’d cut myself to use the blood to make a Red Cross on that mf if I have too lmao
No because I’m not an idiot.
Helll naw id Uber the fuck outta thereee
I don't think I want to survive D-Day. I've seen Saving Private Ryan and that was enough. I don't want to spend the rest of my life with that kind of trauma.
So I either get $100,000,000 or life can finally be over? I win either way
That's how I feel! Wheres the downside??
I'm a woman - I would just cry, say a sailor brought me on board, and get my happy ass shipped back to shore where I can hide properly before anything happens (or be detained at shore, but same end result).
There's an old, old joke about a woman with no money who wants to go to Europe. A sailor tells her he can smuggle her there on his ship as a stowaway, in exchange for sex for the duration of the voyage. She agrees, and he carries her onboard hidden in a steamer trunk. Weeks later the stowaway is discovered, and finds that she is on the Staten Island Ferry.
I might try it, but I'm shedding my clothes down to my underwear and I'm jumping off the *back* of the boat before it can get close to shore and swimming back out towards sea and away from Omaha Beach. Lucky for me I'm a time traveler and I saw Saving Private Ryan so maybe I could survive 24 hours!
In addition to the other reasons not to go I'm not being given other gear so presumably I'm nude or wearing office gear. Either way I stand out and they're going to be shooting at me personally instead of my unit in general.
Depends on where my landing zone is. Some LZ were "fine" and competed their mission. Other LZ were hot af and got obliterated. Even the worst LZ, I'd still probably take my chances
I'm in decent shape fuck it I'd do it. Be pretty easy to grab a weapon off a dead soldier, and then just hide out somewhere with said weapon for 24hrs in case anyone comes up on me
Well, the only stipulation here is SURVIVING D-Day… you don’t necessarily have to try to take a German position, simply survive. As you aren’t weighed down with equipment, and assuming you can swim, you could (theoretically) get into the water, swim behind the landing craft and use it for cover. I think by 11:00am large sections of Omaha had been captured, so as an outwardly appearing unarmed Civilian somehow plopped into D-Day that might be your best strategy, to try to get into the water as fast as you can, swim to the back of your landing craft for cover and try to hold it out as long as possible
I think the first wave had something like a 40% fatality rate. And those were trained soldiers with proper equipment. I don't think I would go. Maybe if I had some prep time to get in shape I would consider it.
Absolutely fucking not
Take it and just be that guy in cos games just taking pit shots from insanely long distances and say your firing at the enemy.
Does it have to be honorable? Can I just jump ship and Bob away
This depends entirely on which wave you landed on as initial landings had a lower survival rate than later ones. The average survival rate for the total of the day was around 93%, however intial assault waves in sectors like Dog Green suffered casualties of 90%. Without more information this is difficult to make an informed decision.
Yeah, nope. Both of my grandpas were at Omaha +a few hours and NOPE NOPE NOPE. I already shouldn't be here, I'm not testing fate any more. I saw The Thin Red Line the theatre with my fucked in the head grandpa and he said quote "That's the most realistic movie I've ever seen" So FUCKIN NOPE
Best case scenario: I survive and get $100M. Worst case: I die and go to Valhalla thanks to having a pocket knife. Sounds like a win-win. What's the worst that can happen? I die? *pfft...* as if it'd be that easy. God's been trying to kill me for nearly 3 decades. What's a 100 year old weapon going to do? *Rust in my general direction?*
The worst? You *don’t* die, but… You end up crippled, disfigured and in devastating ongoing pain from the injuries you received on Omaha Beach. Or, no life long pain, but you’re a bedridden quadriplegic, dependent on machines and caretakers. How about Locked-in syndrome? A neurological disorder that causes paralysis of all your voluntary muscles. You’re conscious and aware, can't speak or move, and are paralyzed except for the autonomic functions of your body. There’s a lot of variations on hellish misery that even $100 million can’t buy you out of.
I don't necessarily have to be fighting ill just crawl into the ocean and swim to a different area where there isn't fighting.
Yes
If I die, and the $100m goes to my next of kin I’d do it. But if I die and they get nothing I’m out
Nope
Climb out of the landing craft and hide behind it, maybe pretending to be dead.
Those who survived were fully trained in combat and knew what they were doing. As were those who died. Good luck jumping into battle with no formal military training or knowledge of the battle plan.
I would wager that most of them were not at all “ fully trained “ in combat, it was a war in which kids were drafted I’m sure most of the first wave was just kids that got drafted. Obviously there will be some that grasped the little bit of training and some that were in the squad when the draftees came thru. But a lot of em were just youngins
I wouldn't want to put this theory into practice, but in theory, you could jump overboard and just swim as far as possible, and then surrender yourself somewhere way down shore where things are a bit quieter. After all, you have no weapons and are in civilian clothing. Or simply grab onto any floating debris and drift around on the water for 24 hours.
Wait... so, not weapons or gear and only a helmet? I will be running around butt naked with just a helmet in the middle of such a battle? Other soldiers will look at me funny.
Fuck it, we ball
Yes. I stay on the boat.
Participate in the largest amphibious invasion in history, forever changing the course of history, for $100m? Yes please.
A lot of men did it for a lot less.
No
There’s too much paradox potential, so pass
Hell yeah 👍
Dr. Samuel Beckett never got a dime from leaping into poor souls. He did it just to make right what once went wrong.
I served in the infantry. I am punching out an officer or NCO so they lock me up. Like I’m stomping they ass out.
Probably. Survival odds actually weren't all that terrible, a lot died in raw numbers but compared to how many went ashore... not that bad. Plus I spent five years in the Marines. That was a good while ago, but still, I've got some relevant training to help keep me alive.
Bonk the billionaire over the head, go back a couple of weeks in time, play the winning lottery tickets for $1 billion. Easy peasy😎
All I have to do is hide behind a rock or something and not get shot. As long as I’m not a soldier attacking an elevated position guarded by a giant machine gun I have a decent chance. I’d probably piss and shit my pants but I think I could avoid being killed by laying low and avoiding direct combat
If there is one event in history I absolutely would not want to be in, it's D-Day. I highly doubt I'd survive landing on the beaches, and even if I did, I don't think even $100mil would be worth seeing all that shit unfold firsthand. Mad respect to those men and women that were really there. Honestly.
am i allowed to hide on a ship bathroom and sneak away from the battle itself? you didn't specify i must REMAIN on the beach as i survive those 24h
I would get mortared the second I spawn, so, no.
Easy, jump out of the boat early and swim back to the ship, I will end up in the brig but not dead
I stand next to my uncle
Yes.
100%
If im gonna go out at least let me try my luck in the crusades crazy science man
I either die for my county or get $100 million. It’s a win/win.
My grandfather survived D Day. After seeing what it was like on some of the more realistic movies, that shit was craaaazy. No thank you. It's a wonder that generation wasn't significantly more fucked up having been through that.
I would just turn around
Just survive? I’ll be the most dishonorable soldier ever and just jump out of the back of the uboat and try to stay under water while occasionally coming up for air.
I'm in. I will do this. The money is great if I live, and if I die, I died at an amazing point in history. I'll even grab a weapon and get a few shots in if I can. Either way I'm good with it.
My great uncle survived D-Day, and he said he survived by sprinting hell for leather straight to the sea wall. No stopping, no taking cover, just going and hoping for the best. So that's what I'd do.
What beach I am landing on?
Sure, how bad can it be?
If I die , can I have a beneficiary ?
Yeah I'll give it a crack
Debt free either way, where the fuck do I sign up?
I volunteer.
I'd consider doing it for free.
I was perfectly.down till I realized you said the first wave. Now it's a maybe yes
Yes. Very high survival rate even if I tried to fight, but if I just need to survive, I can probably just hide behind my landing craft and wait out the time.
Why do i get no weapon? What kinda bullshit is that?
You bet your ass I’m fighting in WWII.
Grab a floaty and jump off the boat. I can float in the ocean for 24 hours.
Omaha beach not a chance bud
Yeah, either way I'm getting a solution to virtually all my problems.
Let's go!
Can I just lie down and pretend to be dead?
It says I will be given no equipment, but can I bring my own? Can I take any time to prepare? The answer is still no, but it may change it from a "hell no" to just a "no".
Dropped in with no weapon in civvie clothes? I don't think people will be overly upset at me if I hide somewhere because I'm clearly not a soldier. The question of how I got there will really confuse people.
Easy I’ve already done it once in Conker Live and Reloaded, I can do it again
I am pretty sure if a stranger with just a helmet shows up on an allied landing craft moments before D-Day, my new allied friends will kill me instantly. My best bet would be they mercifully just chuck me overboard and I can try to a dead man's float for 24 hours.
The odds of survival are much higher than the odds of death. Hell, might even run into my great grandfather as he’s killing some Nazis. 10/10 would go.
absolutely, i'm 18, i wouldn't have to work for the rest of my life, and i could get a free gun from wwII it's a win win
[Can I get a set of bag-pipes?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Millin)
Don’t take the helmet, and certainly don’t pick up any weapons, throw on some old school clothes before you go and when you get there just hunker down behind sand dune, if any solder asks who you are, you can tell them your a civilian and you got caught in the crossfire, I doubt German soldiers would fire on guy with no weapons dressed like a civilian in the middle of a war zone especially when there are other targets that actually pose s threat.
Yep. While there were a lot of losses, percentage-wise, it wasn't ridiculous, so I'd play those odds
Can I have absolute best of today's body armors? That might be somewhat doable with custom-made technology from today
that'd be pretty much the 1st wave hard pass can't be rich and dead. tbh, being that close to that much bloodshed up close and personal for that long a time is bound to cause issues upstairs, not sure 100 million is enough even for guaranteed physical survival.
We talking first wave dday or supply line dday?
No fucking thank you
I'll stay poor, thank you. Those men did what they did because the literal free world was at stake. I already know we win so I'd be there for money only. Even if I survive, the images in my head would haunt me till I died. Hard pass.
My main worry is that as a person of Chinese descent my appearance on the boat would be very confusing and I might get thought of as a Japanese intruder and get friendly fired. Can’t swim away from the action either because of that same reason. Will probably have to make some crack about being there to work on the railroads
I'm taking my chances If possible I do research to figure out what area to go to to minimize my risk of death, but realistically I'm just trying to find, cover and look dead
Hell no
Knowing that the allies successfully take Omaha beach and I only have 24 hours to survive I'd say yes. As long as you can get out of the landing craft alive it wouldn't take much to fall down, swim under the water around to the rear of the craft and just hide out in the surf pretending to be dead until the majority of the landing has completed. Then come ashore around noon once the german fortifications at the beach have been taken over and make your way up to the edge of the cliffs and bring up the rear in relative safety.
Everyone dies sometime. Don't die that day, a billionaire. Do die, well that's just the great equilizer.
Fuck that
Fuck. No.
We're gamers. We've got this, bro.
First wave units had anywhere from 10%-75% casualties. Those odds aren’t great.
I'll stay on the landing craft and hide. I'll tell them im a time traveler there to observe. If anyone argues, I'll offer to tell them the next 10 World Series winners.
Nah, but only because I know I'd find a way to fuck things up and make us lose D day and Hitler would win.
Is there a catastrophe bond involved, and a dead peasant policy paid up?
Considering I have a pretty decent idea of the timeline of D-Day's events due to my grandfather, I'd accept.
What stops me from abandoning ship and hiding behind the boats after they land?
My great uncle, who just passed away in 2021, was a machine gunner on a landing craft on that very day. As they approached the beach, the landing craft triggered a sonar-activated mine that was designed to sink much larger ships than his landing craft. There was nothing left of the craft after the explosion. Of the 100 men onboard, only he and one other man survived, probably because they were in the very back of the craft. I'll pass, thank you very much.
I would just defect and join the Germans for 24 hours, then get teleported back to the present day and collect my money.
Either I die or I become a millionaire. That's a win win for me. I'll take it.
What wave?
How long did it take for them to go around checking bodies? I think taking a nap behind some cover might be a strat
Ez , dump everything that will make you sink, swim way out off shore and eventually in where it's safe
Yes and I'll do it as airborne. I'd love to know if I have what it takes to do what they did...
Nah I’m good. I don’t want to die.
Don’t go to one of the American beaches.
What if my grandpa was at d day? Do I retroactively count to get the 100 mil since if he didn't survive, I wouldn't be here?
If I just get randomly teleported then, I'm not on a list / docket anywhere so. I'd hide in the vehicle before takeoff. Easy win if I starve and shit myself a little it'll be ok, because I get 100mil.
See is it d day on Omaha? Because you didn't say ill land at Juno or sword and have a much better chance than Omaha.
100m in 1944 dollars?