Normandy. For many Americans this region of France is synonymous with the events of June 6th, 1944. D-Day and The Battle of Normandy.
I don't have any relatives who served in Europe, or in any WWII theater, but I acquired a few in-laws through Simone's family who fought courageously in WWII, and I was fortunate enough to hear some of their stories before they passed away. Like many Americans I've always felt a draw toward the beaches of Normandy and hearing my in-laws' stories of sacrifice in the Pacific and Europe made the draw even more poignant.
In March we spent five days in Normandy. The Battle of Normandy was a significant part of our visit, but our trip also included much of everything else this slumbering region of northern France has to offer. We'll tell you about it all, but it will take few posts. To get us grounded, here's a map I made of the places we visited - click on the blue dots to see more about that particular location.
View Normandy in a larger map
Our first full day was focused on D-Day sites between Arromanches (Gold Beach) and Pointe du Hoc (western most end of Omaha Beach).
The Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches is one of the most amazing engineering feats of WWII. In short: they pre-fabricated a harbor the size of Dover's harbor, towed it across the English Channel, and made it operational in two weeks. Here's a short video detailing the harbor I found on YouTube if you're interested.
The harbor was meant to be temporary, and its use was, but many of the massive Phoenixes remain.
The Musée du Débarquement . . .
. . . it included a detailed model of the harbor structures.
Just 5km down the coast from Arromanches is the Longues sur Mer battery. This German battery features prominently in The Longest Day, as do many of the sites we visited in Normandy. The battery had four 150mm guns that each had a range of over 12 miles, which enabled them to fire on both Gold and Omaha beaches and Allied battleships.
While the guns are situated ~300 meters inland, the lookout is right on the cliffs.
The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, located just above Omaha Beach, is a sober reminder of the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation.
Early on the morning of June 6th, Army Rangers scaled the 300 foot cliffs surrounding Pointe du Hoc amid gunfire, hand grenades, and who knows what else, only to find the guns they were meant to secure had been moved from the strategic site.
Eventually they discovered the guns back off the coast, and then battled counterattacks for two days until reinforcements arrived. The Allied bombardment of Pointe du Hoc in the days leading up to D-Day included "more than ten kilotons of high explosives, the equivalent of the explosive power of the atomic bomb used at Hiroshima." And the land still bears the scars.
Click the image below to view some video I took of the sites.
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Thanks for the detailed recaps of your adventures. These are beautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteI hope you and Simone make a book of all your blog posts. What an amazing life you are living!
Hope you are both well!