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The first waves of attackers were met with fierce resistance from the outnumbered but battle-hardened German troops, as indicated in the book upon which the film is based. <ref>Ryan, p. 213</ref> Many British, American and other allied troops were mowed down with machine gun fire. The Germans despite heavy bombardment by sea and air were entrenched in concrete bunkers. This is shown accurately in the film. The movie does not show how German machine gunners were able to shoot down many Allied troops as they landed on the beach. The Normandy beaches provided little or no cover for the attackers and some historians have calculated that some 80% of the first wave died because of German fire.

The movie does not fully show the heavy losses sustained by the Anglo-Canadian invasion force on Juno Beach. Only on Omaha beach, are the Allied troops shown as encountering stiff resistance.<ref> Keegan, John Six Armies in Normandy: From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris (New York: Penguin Books, 1994), p 13</ref> The movie gives a false impression that Omaha Beach was the only landing point where the allies experienced fierce resistance and suffered heavy casualties. The assault on the cliff at Pointe du Hoc by the US Rangers on Sword Beach conforms with historical accounts.<ref> Ryan, p. 312</ref> The Rangers had adapted mortars to fire grappling ropes onto the face of the cliffs. The films fail to show that many of these ropes did not hit the target as they had become soaked in sea water during the landings. Indeed only 19 ropes hit the target but the Rangers still managed to climb and attack the Germans at the top of the cliffs. The movie shows very truthfully that this heroic assault was unnecessary. It was ordered to take place as the allies believed that heavy guns were positioned on the cliffs and that they could destroy landing craft. In truth there were no guns on top of the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, which is shown in a scene in the movie.