Normandy D-Day in 2 Days

The most westerly landing sector on D-Day, Utah Beach lies on the Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, and it was in fact in order to help take the vital port of Cherbourg rapidly that the Allied commanders of Operation Overlord, Eisenhower and Montgomery, decided that this further Landing Beach was required. We will have a stop to understand this often understated beach, much more complex than it first seems.

Quaint, quiet Sainte-Mère-Eglise became involved in one of the greatest exploits in military history on the night of 5 to 6 June 1944, as D-Day began. American parachutists were being dropped all around the area and in the village itself. We will allow time to understand the importance of parachuting and not only the missions that were to be done but what actually happened and why.

The World War II Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument is located on a cliff eight miles west of Normandy American Cemetery, which overlooks Omaha Beach, France. It was erected by the French to honor elements of the American Second Ranger Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. James E. Rudder. During the American assault on Omaha and Utah beaches on June 6, 1944, these U.S. Army Rangers scaled the 100-foot cliffs and seized the German artillery pieces that could have fired on the American landing troops at Omaha and Utah beaches. At a high cost of life, they successfully defended against determined German counterattacks.

The beaches of Omaha were a real trap for the troops of the 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions. We will have one or two stops on Omaha Beach, and understand the landings of the American troops on June 6th, 1944.

The cemetery site, at the north end of its half-mile access road, covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of more than 9,380 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names.

East of Sword Beach, two bridges on the Canal de Caen and the Orne River were of supreme importance for the British 6th Airborne Division. Our stop at Pegasus Bridge will reveal what happened that night.

We will visit the local churchyard of Ranville and the Commonwealth Cemetery with 2,235 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 97 of them unidentified. There are also 330 German graves and a few burials of other nationalities.

As we navigate from Hermanville to Ouistreham, the whole picture of the landings at Sword Beach will unfold, our stop will be in Colleville-Montgomery.

A slow drive will take you through all the sectors of the Canadian landings and our stop will be in Bernières S/Mer for a full presentation.

We will drive to Ver S/Mer and Arromanches. Understand the landings of the British 50th Infantry Division whose objective was Bayeux.

Arromanches is more than the beautiful seaside town it appears to be. It was chosen by the Allies to become one of the two artificial harbors built to solve the crucial problem of having the supplies brought to Normandy after D-Day.