In World War II, the Allied Forces crossed the channel between England and France at Normandy. The invasion that occurred on 6 June 1944 was the greatest factor in winning the war in Europe, defeating the German occupation of France and other occupied countries.
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We stayed at another Airbnb - this time our own private apartment in Bayeux.
This is a great old (squeaky) stairway, reminding each of us of some time in our childhood. Fortunately, we were only carrying our backpacks.
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The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux in Normandy is a national monument of France. The present cathedral was consecrated on 14 July 1077.
The German Cemetery at Normandy...
The German War Graves Commission is a private association which maintains and preserves German war graves in more than 100 countries as a reminder of peace.
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There's a great film from 1962 about the Allied troop invasion of Normandy, "The Longest Day". It is filmed in a "Docudrama" style and pays particular attention to the decision of General Eisenhower regarding the exact time to invade. The events of D-Day are told in the film on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.
The film depicts a good version of what actually happened on 6 June 1944. Within the story there's a part showing the forces parachuting into Sainte-Mére-Église. A particular soldier, John Steele (played by Red Buttons), has his parachute caught on a church steeple. This is actually a true story -hence, the memorial to Private Steele still hangs on that steeple today.
Film trivia: John Robinson, who plays Admiral Ramsay, actually took part in the D-Day landings.
During the battle, the church in Sainte-Mére-Église was damaged and the stained glass windows were destroyed. When these windows were restored, the insignia of the 101st Airborne and the 89th Airborne were inserted to the left and right sides within the restored work.
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There were five landing points at Normandie for the Allied Troop invasion:
1. The Special Service Brigade, made up of various countries' forces and supported by French soldiers, landed at Sword Beach.
2. The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and the 2nd Canadian Armored Brigade landed at Juno Beach.
3. The 2nd Army contingent which consisted of 83,115 men, 61,715 of them British, landed at Gold Beach.
4. US Forces, VII Corps, 4th Infantry Division, consisting of 23,250 men, landed at Utah Beach.
5. US Forces, The V Corps, 1st Infantry Division and the 29th Infantry Division, consisting of 34,250 men, landed at Omaha Beach.
Memorial at Utah Beach
François - our tour guide for Normandy. We've been quite lucky with our guides, including François with his incredible wealth of knowledge, passion and enthusiasm.
A second landing site for US Forces - Omaha Beach...
In the background, a German bunker built into the earth with immense concrete to protect their gunnery. In the foreground, a typical crater from the Allied arsenal (bombs). These craters cover the entire landscape here. Our guide explained if the crater was round, the bomb entered from an aircraft above; if the crater was oval, the bomb entered from a ship at sea.
A German machine gun bunker built into the top of the bluff at Omaha beach... You can see the incredible thickness of the concrete to protect themselves from the Allied bombs.
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The American Cemetery in Normandy.
The cemetery is located on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach (one of the landing beaches of the Normandy Invasion) and the English Channel. It covers 172 acres and contains the remains of 9,387 American military dead, most of whom were killed during the invasion of Normandy and ensuing military operations in World War II. Also included are graves of Army Air Corps crews shot down over France as early as 1942.
Only some of the US soldiers who died overseas are buried in this cemetery. When it came time for a permanent burial, the next of kin eligible to make decisions were asked if they wanted their loved ones buried in this cemetery or taken back to the US for burial.
This wall is a memorial with names of 1,557 Americans who lost their lives in the Normandy campaign but could not be located and/or identified. These names are inscribed on the walls of a semicircular garden at the east side of the memorial. If there is a "star" beside the name, the body has been found and identified since the erection of the memorial.
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Seeing the physical location where this battle took place and the memorials for the brave individuals brought history alive...remembering without history there is no present.
Wow. You guys are traveling non-stop. Great photos from everywhere, as always.
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