Robert Capa (1913-1954)
D-DAY, AMERICAN TROOPS STORMING OMAHA BEACH, NORMANDY, FRANCE, 6 JUNE 1944. Rare vintage silver gelatin press print, image size 14 x 19cm, sheet size 15 x 20cm, original typed caption affixed to print recto, painted retouching added to recto specifically in the central anti-landing hedgehog and horizontal figure, a second typed, censor-passed caption affixed to verso, annotated in pencil "10-40 June 5 / Leader Page Thurs / HT 6 3/4" x 2 1/2" deep / American Landings" in pencil verso, with further cropping marks in pencil, a date stamp reading "6 Jun 1974", and an Associated Press / Fleet Street stamp verso. [Note - verso caption misspells Capa's name in the pool credit as 'Capra'.]

Recto caption reads: "INVASION PICTURES / Some of the first troops to hit the French coast lay down under heavy artillery and machine-gun fire from the pillboxes. Some of the men fired from the water - hiding behind enemy beach obstacles. The rough seas made the landing difficult, the water often reaching the men's necks."

Verso caption reads: "Passed by Censor / First Dramatic Picture of the Invasion / Associate Press Photo shows: Some of the first troops to hit the French coast lay down under heavy artillery and machine gun fire from the pillboxes. Some of the men fired from the water - hiding behind enemy beach obstacles to cover troops arriving at the shore. The rough seas made the landing difficult, the water often reaching the men's necks. / CAPRA/POOL268406 / 8644F."

Literature:

Beachheads of Normandy, The Fateful Battle is Joined by Sea and Air, LIFE Magazine, published 19 June 1944, p.27.
Robert Capa: Images of War. Paragraphic, 1984. p. 113
Robert Capa: 1913-1954. New York: Grossman, p. 71