The D-Day Landing Beaches
These stretch for 48 miles along the coast of the English Channel, from Utah Beach in the west to Pegasus Bridge in the east.
Effigy of parachutist John Steele
hanging from the church in
Ste Mére-Eglise, Normandy |
Utah Beach is where the US 4th Infantry Division forces landed, commanded by Brig.Gen. Theodore Roosevelt, Jnr. The start of the Road to Liberty that leads to Bastogne.
Ste Mère-Eglise lies a little further west, where the 82nd and 101st US Airborne troops parachuted in to defend the western flank. John Steele landed on the church spire. Visit the Airborne Troops Museum and the Utah Beach Museum and walk on the beach itself.
A major objective on D-Day was Pointe du Hoc, where Lt. Col. James Rudder and his 2nd Ranger battalion climbed the 100 foot cliffs, only to find that the guns had been moved. They found the guns further inland and destroyed them as they were a threat to both American landing beaches. This is a very evocative area as it still has all the shell holes from the Allied artillery barrage.
The American Cemetery and Memorial at St Laurent is above Omaha Beach, where the US 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions landed. There is a Visitor Centre explaining the meaning and significance of Operation Overlord. The cemetery contains 9,387 graves and lists 1,557 names in the Garden of the Missing.
Longues-sur-Mer is a German gun battery, which still contains its original 150mm guns in their casemates. These were a threat to both Omaha and Gold beaches. The control bunker is also open to the public.
Arromanches still has vestiges of the Mulberry Harbour, designed as a temporary port. It was built in sections in England and towed across the English Channel. The Musée du Débarquement explains how the Mulberry Harbour worked. By October 1944, 25% of stores, 20% of personnel and 15% of vehicles had landed here. On the heights there is a 360° cinema with a film interspersing old war footage with the current scenery.
Caen was the home of William the Conqueror and his wife, Queen Matilda. They both founded abbey in the town. Le Mémorial de Caen is a fascinating museum divided into sections: The world before 1945 and the world after 1945. These break down into smaller sections: The Failure of Peace, France: the Dark Years and World War: Total War. It then continues with the Cold War and the Hopes for the future. There are several films.
Gold Beach was one of the English landing beaches, where the 50th Division came ashore. Gen. Montgomery set up his HQ at the Château at Creullet. Ver-sur-Mer was the main British beachhead and where Admiral Ramsay set up his HQ.
Juno Beach was the Canadian 3rd Division landing beach. The Canadian cemetery is at Bény-sur-Mer. Winston Churchill landed at Courseulles-sur-Mer on 12 June, Gen de Gaulle on 14 June and King George VI on 16 June.
Douvres-la-Délivrande German radar station. There are still remains of the bunker complex.
Reconstruction of a Horsa glider
used at Pegasus Bridge |
The Sword Beach attack was started at 7.30am by 3rd Division British army. This was where No 4 Commando landed, who later relieved the troops at Pegasus Bridge. Their museum is in Ouistreham, plus the Museum of the Atlantic Wall. The French Marine Commandos led by Commandant Philippe Kieffer were part of No 4 Commando. The British and American forces joined up 3 days later.
Pegasus Bridge, where the first British Horsa gliders landed at 00.16am on D-Day, and the bridge was taken a few minutes later by Major John Howard and his Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. The landing places of the 3 gliders are marked. The original bridge is in the museum nearby.
The German Merville Battery was taken by Col Otway with a small band of men, when the parachute drop went wrong.
Bayeux is best known for its Tapestry showing William the Conqueror's invasion of England in 1066. The British Cemetery contains 4,648 graves, including Germans and other nationalities. There is also a memorial to reporters and journalists. The Museum of the Battle of Normandy explains about Operation Cobra, the US breakout from the Cotentin Peninsula.
La Cambe German military cemetery contains over 21,000 graves.
There are numerous small museums and remains of German blockhouses and bunkers along the entire coastline from Cherbourg to Le Havre.
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