Norman Cota
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
General Norman D. "Dutch" Cota was assistant Division commander of the US 29th Infantry Division at Omaha Beach during the Battle of Normandy. During D-Day planning, he was opposed to daylight landings. He wanted his men to land before dawn. He did not get his way.
He landed in the second wave, one of the highest ranking officers on the beach that day. He is famous for personally directing the attack and motivating the shell-shocked, pinned-down survivors into action. Two famous quotes are attributed to him during this time.
- In a meeting with the commander of the 5th Rangers, he said, "Rangers, lead the way." This has become the motto of the Rangers ever since.
- He is also quoted as saying to his troops, "Gentlemen, we are being killed on the beaches. Let us go inland and be killed."
The character of General Cota is played by the actor Robert Mitchum in the movie "The Longest Day".
As the commander of the US 28th Infantry Division, Major General Cota was involved in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest.
