D-day landings visit
- Thread starter BigJohnsPens
- Start date
Norman_Conquest
Well-known member
It looks very similar to Merville Battery - I will have to visit this one.
Norman_Conquest
Well-known member
If you visit this area that Chickenrunner suggested you can visit Falaise and the castle where William the Conqueror was born at.I can recommend Montormel which commemorates the closure of the Falaise Gap and effectively the end of the battle in Lower Normandy. Particularly poignant as the men who fought there were Poles for whom the end of WW2 did not really result in the liberation of their country. Many did not return to Poland at the end of the war and some were stripped of their citizenship of Poland including their leader General Maczek.
When I first visited during the 1980s there was just a memorial but later a small museum, subtely built into the hillside, was added.
MÉMORIAL DE MONTORMEL. LA DERNIÈRE BATAILLE DE NORMANDIE. AOÛT 1944
MÉMORIAL DE MONTORMEL. LA DERNIÈRE BATAILLE DE NORMANDIE. AOÛT 1944www.memorial-montormel.org
Stanisław Maczek - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Edit: If you want to do some reading on the battle I'd recommend John Keegan's 'Six Armies in Normandy'. A different approach and very readable.
redcarbob
Well-known member
agree with this;
Turning to the Somme without the best place to stay to see the Somme is Arras. Great place with a lovely town square. There go and see the Wellington tunnels. Cemeteries are all over the region.
Then go from there out towards the Canadian Monument and the trenches near there.
Thiepval to the south is an absolute must to visit.
I stayed at this hotel in Arras the first time I visited.
hotel-les3luppars.com
Turning to the Somme without the best place to stay to see the Somme is Arras. Great place with a lovely town square. There go and see the Wellington tunnels. Cemeteries are all over the region.
Then go from there out towards the Canadian Monument and the trenches near there.
Thiepval to the south is an absolute must to visit.
I stayed at this hotel in Arras the first time I visited.
Hôtel Les Trois Luppars | ARRAS Grand Place | 3 étoiles
Hôtel de charme 3 étoiles indépendant sur la Grand Place d'Arras, dans un immeuble du XVeme siècle classé monument historique
BigJohnsPens
Well-known member
Thanks everyone. I will look at each of these and plot a route around the key areas. More advice welcomed
Norman_Conquest
Well-known member
Do you have a Tesco Points card?Thanks everyone. I will look at each of these and plot a route around the key areas. More advice welcomed
If so, you can use the points vouchers to pay for the Euro Tunnel. £5 in vouchers gets you £15 when spending on the Euro Tunnel.
BigJohnsPens
Well-known member
Cheers
jeff_potato
Well-known member
I went in 2010 and me and my wife stayed in a lovely hotel in Bayeux called Chateau Bellefontaine. It was February, so chilly but dirt cheap as the bus tours aren't going then.
Bayeux is a nice place as previously mentioned and obviously has the tapestry too. I'm sat here watching Simon Schama showing bits on BBC4 right now, able to visualise the entire thing.
I think one day we just drove between Vierville at the museum and towards Arromanches. That will take in Omaha beach too. Went to Pegasus Bridge the next.
Antony Beevor's book would be essential reading before going. I read it a couple of years ago with a map and realising that we'd driven through so many places mentioned without realising the history.
Bayeux is a nice place as previously mentioned and obviously has the tapestry too. I'm sat here watching Simon Schama showing bits on BBC4 right now, able to visualise the entire thing.
I think one day we just drove between Vierville at the museum and towards Arromanches. That will take in Omaha beach too. Went to Pegasus Bridge the next.
Antony Beevor's book would be essential reading before going. I read it a couple of years ago with a map and realising that we'd driven through so many places mentioned without realising the history.
Redwurzel
Well-known member
Some good posts - I have never been, but would like to go to some of the D-Day sights.
It got me thinking if the Germans had invaded in the summer of 1940 what sort of reception their army would have met on Teesside. I would like to think it would have been like Stalingrad/Leningrad opposed to what happened in Paris.
It got me thinking if the Germans had invaded in the summer of 1940 what sort of reception their army would have met on Teesside. I would like to think it would have been like Stalingrad/Leningrad opposed to what happened in Paris.
r00fie1
Well-known member
I think if I was visiting the Somme and the D-day landing beaches, I would split the holiday into two. I would suggest doing your homework and planning your day accordingly on what you want to see.
We stayed in Mortain (further inland), which was a site of an American battle, and on the hill that the Americans held, you can still see the fox holes, etc. Not a great deal to see here though.
We also stayed in a cottage at Ecausseville near Sainte-Mère-Église. We went into Sainte-Mère-Église to see the paratrooper hanging from the church roof and it looks like one of them soldiers you use to get from the £1 shop.
The American war cemetery at OMAHA (Colleville-Sur-Mer) is worth a visit but I would also take in Merville Battery and then move onto Pegasus Bridge (Ranville).
Normandy American Cemetery | American Battle Monuments Commission
For questions regarding the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 2024, please visit our D-Day 80 landing page or contact us at dday80@abmc.gov.www.abmc.gov
Musée de la Batterie de Merville • Une véritable immersion dans l'histoire
Visitez 6 bunkers aménagés en musée à la Batterie de Merville et un avion mythique, le Douglas C-47 ayant participé au D-Day, en Normandie.www.batterie-merville.com
Mémorial-Pégasus
musee.memorial-pegasus.com
Operation Lüttich - Wikipedia
Definitely worth including on the itinerary.
Went with ABF
Abel Tasman
Well-known member
Arras is the best town to stay for the Somme definitely. Those Wellington Tunnels are astonishing. Built by tunnellers from Wellington NZ they were used as accommodation for the many soldiers who were heading to the front. Built way u der ground they are cast caverns in the rocks and there is even a chapel. Chilling to reflect that these tunnels were the safe haven for many young men before heading for death in battle. A must see experience.
The Wellington Tunnels | Wellington Tunnels Arras
An immersion 20 meters under the ground, in the bowels of history.
en.carrierewellington.com
Thiepval
Smogonsea
Well-known member
Me and the wife did the coastline using Dieppe as our base. The operation overlord sites are signposted pretty well. I think one of the highlights for me was Pegasus bridge and the museum there. I had just read the book by Stephen E Ambrose which was fascinating so was great to be there.
Also I don’t think it’s in the official overlord tour but the blockhaus d'éperlecques museum is excellent.
www.leblockhaus.com
Also I don’t think it’s in the official overlord tour but the blockhaus d'éperlecques museum is excellent.
Home
The largest blockhouse in the north of France, a witness to the dark period of 1939-1945. Visit and discover the blockhouse to learn about its history during the Second World War
Craggyjohn
Well-known member
Currently driving through Brittany. Went to Pegasus bridge and Ranville cemetery. Took my breath away walking through the cemetery arch entrance. 2500 white gravestones
redcarbob
Well-known member
We did the Blockhaus last year, staggering place. Thank god for the RAFMe and the wife did the coastline using Dieppe as our base. The operation overlord sites are signposted pretty well. I think one of the highlights for me was Pegasus bridge and the museum there. I had just read the book by Stephen E Ambrose which was fascinating so was great to be there.
Also I don’t think it’s in the official overlord tour but the blockhaus d'éperlecques museum is excellent.
Home
The largest blockhouse in the north of France, a witness to the dark period of 1939-1945. Visit and discover the blockhouse to learn about its history during the Second World War
Attachments
Smogonsea
Well-known member
It was scary stuff. We parked near the “pond” but later realised it was a crater where one of the two tall boy bombs had missed its target. If that had been operational and could provide a steady stream of V2’s who knows how it would have turned out.
Derby_Red
Well-known member
That's the hut they battered seven shades of sh t out of before realising it was a railway halt and not a strongpoint. If in doubt, I suppose.
God bless em.