D-Day 0700 St Marie Eglise

D-Day 0800 Utah Beach

D-Day 1000 Carentan

D-Day 1030 Pushing Forward

D-Day 1100 Pointe du Hoc

D-Day 1200 Omaha Beach

This was the beach I dearly wanted to see. Mainly due to such films as The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan had fuelled my imagination and empathy for what our ancestors had done in the face of bitter odds. We reached Omaha Beach to find a large stretch of beach still with its German defences in tact. On top of a former 88-gun emplacement is built the main D-Day Allied Memorial that looks over the coastline all the way to Quiesteram and Sword Beach. It was here that the American 29^th Infantry and 1^st Ranger Divisions needed to breach the German defences to allow allied armour inland. In fact it was well known by Allied Supreme Command that Omaha was the lynch pin in the operation to gain a foothold in France. Omaha was significant as it was the main entry for Allied armour, the sight of one of the Mulberry ports to be constructed to supply the Allied advance inland. This beach also saw the heaviest fighting and consequently the highest casualty figures. While most beaches had been conquered by midday Omaha was not secured until late afternoon as the troops on the beach became trapped by strong German gunfire and defences and later threatened by the approaching high tides. General Cota, Commanding officer of American forces on Omaha beach famously said ‘There will be two types of soldiers on this beach. Those that are going to die and those that are dead already’. American soldier eventually broke through at Dog 1 in the Green sector allowing troops to stream inland. Omaha Beach was an extremely profound place to visit as you could truly appreciate the difficulties and hardships the troops faced. The fear and bloodshed must have been thick on that beach, and as you sit on the sea wall you can almost hear and smell the carnage as they ran towards the shingle and sea wall. It was here you truly appreciate what so many brave people aged between 18 and 26 years of age did here. It was here you ask yourself whether you would have acted with the same bravery as they did? Quietly I knew disappointingly, perhaps I would not.

D-Day 1430-1700 Juno, Gold, Sword Beach

For the next few hours we followed the coast road linking up with the major coastal towns as we advanced. As we reached each key beach we stopped to look at the numerous monuments and take in the geography and emotion of the spot. I was taken back by every beach at the distance these young men had to clamber towards the shingle for cover. In my head I could hear the pounding sound of anti tank gun fire, the sound of ripping canvas symbolising the numerous HMGs along the coast that took the lives of so many even before they had a chance to get off the landing craft. As we journeyed along the coast we would often see military vehicles proudly displayed as monuments to heroic divisions, companies and even individuals. My favourite was a Priest 25lb Gun Carrier in Sun Sur Mer.

D-Day 1730 Pegasus Bridge and Caan Canal

As we drove along the main road west out of Quisteram we headed for the canal. Then out of nowhere we saw a bridge and a huge sign with the British Airborne maroon insignia. We had reached Pegasus Bridge…or had we? It was at this point I phoned Mike Pert and uncontrollably screamed down the phone like a small child ‘I’m here on Pegasus Bridge!!!!’. I had to phone someone to share my moment and I knew Mike would understand! However it was not the original bridge! The bridge presently sited across the Caan Canal is a new bridge that had replaced the older original bridge due to its age.  Disappointedly we headed for the museum and bought some books, badges, etc. We crossed the canal planning our way forward to the Merville Battery when we saw in the distance another museum which was home to the original bridge as well as lots of other d-day items such as 25lb guns, allied M5 Halftracks, jeeps, a complete Horsa Glider (the only one left in the world) as well as British Airborne equipment, uniforms and guns. Again, this military site was significant to me as I had so many memories of my Great Uncle telling me of how he was involved in the capture of Pegasus Bridge. Furthermore the capture of Pegasus Bridge is regarded by military historians as one of the most inspiring events of the whole war. Pegasus Bridge needed to be captured and secured to prevent the 21^st Panzer Division from crossing the Caan Canal threatening the troops landing on the beaches. Therefore British airborne was dispatched with significant anti-tank weaponry such as Piats, 6lb anti tank guns and battle engineers. At 0100 hrs on D-Day British 6^th Airborne landed gliders within feet of the Bridge and assaulted it with thunderclap surprise. Major Howard, CO of the 6^th Airborne had famously been given the order to ‘Hold until relieved’ by British Commandos under Lord Lovat and Armour of the 11^th Armoured Division. Howard and his men held off numerous attacked from German mechanised units through the night until they were eventually relieved at 2pm. I was like a little boy as I walked across the original bridge throwing my imaginary handgrenades! So exciting!!!!

D-Day 1900 Merville Battery

Abbi had to physically drag me away from Pegasus Bridge as time was pressing and we need to reach our final destination on our D-Day tour – The Melville Gun Battery at Merville. This extensive gun emplacement and battery was constructed by the Germans to support their coastal defences the site was home to 6 large calibre howitzers which had range to attack anything that landed on Sword Beach, especially armour which the British intended to land lots of. Therefore this was a major military target. Once again, British Airborne were given the task to land, take the battery and destroy the guns. It was planned that over 400 men would parachute just outside Merville and launch an attack. Unfortunately due to weather conditions on 50 men were mustered on the ground at Merville. The CO on the ground decided that the mission was so important that they needed to attempt the guns capture and destruction. After heavy fighting the British managed to destroy the 250 man strong battery and guns eliminating the threat to Sword Beach. The site itself was very impressive with the structures still in good condition. However this was the only site we had to pay to get in to (only 6 Euros) which wasn’t bad. The Museum there was very good with models illustrating the action, photos as well as the normal uniforms, guns, etc.

Exhausted, we walked back to the car and looked at our map and what we achieved. We had travelled along 80 miles of coast, seen 5 beaches, countless military vehicles, bunkers, emplacements, Pegasus Bridge, Horsa Gliders. We had achieved our mission! That said, this was a whirlwind tour and there were still much more to see. For every army company that was involved in D-Day has its own museum and artefacts for you to explore and discover. We hope to return very soon to see the Military Graves and other places we did not have time to see.

D-Day + infinity

I would love to arrange a club visit to the Normandy Beaches for its members (and WAGS) sometime in 2008.

The costs would be quite minimal and would break down approx like this. For Three day Tour of Normandy for 12 people -

Mini Bus Hire £12 each

Ferry from Portsmouth to Quiesteram £200 each

Overnight Accommodation £15 – £40 per room per night can sleep up to three. Weekend costs approx = £250 er person