At this moment the first assault waves and demolition parties were on their way. These men, who were to go in later, could only wonder what awaited them as they stared at the distant coastline, barely discernable. The boats suspended on davits above their heads expressed oddly in their dark shapes the taut, waiting threat of this dawn off the Normandy coast. The far off rumble of explosions could be heard and mysterious processions of small invasion craft crossed the ship's bow, each with its barrage balloon, gleaming above it in the faint light, seeming to be symbols designed toward off evil spirits rather than utilitarian objects of modern war. Now and then flashes appeared fitfully on the horizon and, in the sky above, Allied fighter planes swept by angrily in groups of five and six.