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On
the 6th of June 1944 the Allies launched Operation
Overlord, which remains the largest seaborne invasion in history.
Around 140,000 troops were landed from 6,900 ships and supported
by 12,000 aircraft at five beachheads along the Normandy
coast. Sword and Gold beaches were British, Juno Beach Canadian
and Utah and Omaha beaches were US forces. Omaha
Beach was the bloodiest landing of the five and was the setting
for the opening scenes of Steven Spielberg’s film ‘Saving
Private Ryan’. The 70 hectare US war cemetery at Colville-sur-Mer
(the town near Omaha Beach) is a sobering reminder of this desperate
struggle.
There are museums and monuments all over Normandy commemorating
World War Two:
The Musée
des Rangers (Ranger Museum) in the small village of Grandcamp-Maisy
(14450) commemorates the US
Army Ranger Division who were the first wave onto Omaha Beach
There is an excellent museum in Arromanches
with separate exhibitions relating to the airborne and seaborne
operations of the Battle of Normandy.
Bayeux
as the first significant town liberated also has a museum.
Few Anzac
troops were involved in this action as the bulk of the Australian
forces were fighting the Japanese in the Pacific whilst New Zealand
forces were kept in the Italian theatre.
Operation Overlord was a success and allowed the Allies a foothold
in ‘Fortress Europe’. Whilst the war in Europe was to
last almost another year, it was a decisive blow meaning that the
Germans were defending three fronts simultaneously.
The Normandy Coast is within two hours drive of Paris. If coming
from the UK there are ferry services from Portsmouth to Caen and
Cherbourg with Brittany
Ferries.
Paris (75000) to Grandcamp-Maisy (14450) via Autoroutes is approximately
290 km (see Viamichelin.com
Routeplanner)
The film Saving
Private Ryan and the TV series Band
of Brothers deal extensively with the American experience of
the Battle of Normandy.
For background reading try, A Traveller's Guide to D-Day and the
Battle for Normandy by
Carl Shilleto & Mike Tolhurst.
Publisher: Interlink, Date Published: 1/6/2004 ISBN: 1566565553
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