Sixty Two Years Six Months, to the Day November 6, 2006
The reason we find ourselves in Normandy is to see the D-Day landing sites, visit the cemeteries and learn more about this bloody page of history. We had tried to book a tour on-line but had been notified a that it was full so today we started from scratch. We like to have plans and reservations in place when possible so that we make the most of our time, but sometime it doesn’t work out.
We visited the Visitor Information Center in this still quaint town and were given the information about tour companies. Unlike Scandinavia or the UK, French info centers will not book tours or hotels in fact they would not even call us a taxi. They provide information and that is about all. The pay phones only take prepaid cards, which we don’t have so we walked back to the hotel made some calls and booked a tour for this afternoon. In the meantime we went to see the Bayeux Tapestry. This is a piece of needlework 70 x .7 meters ( 230 x 2.2 feet) which tells the story of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 and the resulting coronation of William the Conqueror. They have done a nice job of displaying the tapestry and there is a short film which interprets the scenes stitched into the fabric. The tapestry was completed in 1077 in time for the opening of the Bayeux cathedral. After that it was only shown twice a year for short periods which explains its excellent condition.
After lunch we joined our D-day tour with Samuel, our English speaking guide.
D-Day part of Operation Overlord which was the invasion and liberation of continental Europe began here in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The Allied forces including Americans, British, Canadians, free French, Polish and Chech forces assaulted the French coast first with airborne troops shortly after midnight, followed by an amphibious landing that stretched along 60 kilometers of coastline. The German defenses while well made and manned were unable to hold out and the Allies in all sections were off the beach by the end of the day but still faced almost a year of intense fighting before ending the war in Europe. The beaches were divided into sectors with Americans forces assaulting Utah and Omaha Beaches while joint forces commanded by the British attacked Sword, Juno and Gold Beaches. The heaviest casualties were on Omaha Beach where 1000 Americans were killed landing on these beaches protected by 30 meter high cliffs and well designed defenses manned by experienced German troops.
Our first stop was Arromanches a village that overlooks Gold Beach and the site of enormous floating harbors. They had a slide show in the Musee du Debarquement along with equipment and pictures that helped us understand the size and scope of this operation. After the landing, two floating harbors, pieces of which had been built in Britain, were towed to the French coast. The one at Omaha Beach was destroyed by a storm a couple of weeks into the campaign and although the harbour at Gold Beach was damaged it was repaired and allowed the Allies to unload untold thousands of tons of equipment during the following months.
We then proceeded to German gun emplacements with large guns in impressive reinforced concrete bunkers pointing seaward and few being damaged by the aerial and ship bombardments in the hours prior to the landing. It made me wonder how much the average soldier knew about the defenses they would face as they made their way ashore.
Our next stop was the most sobering, the American Cemetery. 9386 American soldiers are buried here and it is a powerful sight. The crosses, all of uniform size the only differentiating feature being the Star of David on some of the crosses, are arranged in precise rows and seem to stretch forever. It is a beautiful place, one of peace yet a place that tells a story of the sacrifice of so many young men that were fighting for a cause that I believe was clear to them especially when you put in the frame of current reference. I found myself with a feeling of gratefulness to these men that were able to put themselves in harms way to protect and preserve freedom in a world that had been turned upside down by a small group of fanatical people. I don’t have the words to describe the impact that a visit to this place had as we walked through the cemetery. I just hope that somehow these men knew that the world would appreciate the sacrifice they made.
We then moved to Omaha beach where 1000 men were killed in the first days fighting. The soldiers coming ashore were faced with several hundred yards of open beach before they reached any sort of cover while moving toward fortifications that were designed to stop precisely this movement. I cannot imagine the courage it took to board the landing craft much less the feeling when the ramp dropped and there was nothing between them and their enemy. The fire from the defenses was intense yet these soldiers kept pushing forward and at the end of the day had established a beachhead. The monuments on Omaha felt hollow to me but I cannot begin to picture a monument that would befit these courageous souls.
Lastly, was Pointe du Hoc where US Army Rangers scaled a 100’ high cliff using grappling hooks, ropes and rope ladders. Facing tremendous automatic weapon fire power they overcame all obstacles only to find that the big guns they had expected to find had been moved. Out of the 225 men that began the day 150 made it to the top. After taking the cliff top and repulsing counter attacks they were relieved on June 8 at which time 81 had been killed and 58 wounded.
To tour the Normandy battlefields today is a moving experience both because of recognition of the accomplishments of these brave men and the disturbing disconnect with the current state of affairs in the world and what our troops face today in the Middle East.
We visited the Visitor Information Center in this still quaint town and were given the information about tour companies. Unlike Scandinavia or the UK, French info centers will not book tours or hotels in fact they would not even call us a taxi. They provide information and that is about all. The pay phones only take prepaid cards, which we don’t have so we walked back to the hotel made some calls and booked a tour for this afternoon. In the meantime we went to see the Bayeux Tapestry. This is a piece of needlework 70 x .7 meters ( 230 x 2.2 feet) which tells the story of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 and the resulting coronation of William the Conqueror. They have done a nice job of displaying the tapestry and there is a short film which interprets the scenes stitched into the fabric. The tapestry was completed in 1077 in time for the opening of the Bayeux cathedral. After that it was only shown twice a year for short periods which explains its excellent condition.
After lunch we joined our D-day tour with Samuel, our English speaking guide.
D-Day part of Operation Overlord which was the invasion and liberation of continental Europe began here in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The Allied forces including Americans, British, Canadians, free French, Polish and Chech forces assaulted the French coast first with airborne troops shortly after midnight, followed by an amphibious landing that stretched along 60 kilometers of coastline. The German defenses while well made and manned were unable to hold out and the Allies in all sections were off the beach by the end of the day but still faced almost a year of intense fighting before ending the war in Europe. The beaches were divided into sectors with Americans forces assaulting Utah and Omaha Beaches while joint forces commanded by the British attacked Sword, Juno and Gold Beaches. The heaviest casualties were on Omaha Beach where 1000 Americans were killed landing on these beaches protected by 30 meter high cliffs and well designed defenses manned by experienced German troops.
Our first stop was Arromanches a village that overlooks Gold Beach and the site of enormous floating harbors. They had a slide show in the Musee du Debarquement along with equipment and pictures that helped us understand the size and scope of this operation. After the landing, two floating harbors, pieces of which had been built in Britain, were towed to the French coast. The one at Omaha Beach was destroyed by a storm a couple of weeks into the campaign and although the harbour at Gold Beach was damaged it was repaired and allowed the Allies to unload untold thousands of tons of equipment during the following months.
We then proceeded to German gun emplacements with large guns in impressive reinforced concrete bunkers pointing seaward and few being damaged by the aerial and ship bombardments in the hours prior to the landing. It made me wonder how much the average soldier knew about the defenses they would face as they made their way ashore.
Our next stop was the most sobering, the American Cemetery. 9386 American soldiers are buried here and it is a powerful sight. The crosses, all of uniform size the only differentiating feature being the Star of David on some of the crosses, are arranged in precise rows and seem to stretch forever. It is a beautiful place, one of peace yet a place that tells a story of the sacrifice of so many young men that were fighting for a cause that I believe was clear to them especially when you put in the frame of current reference. I found myself with a feeling of gratefulness to these men that were able to put themselves in harms way to protect and preserve freedom in a world that had been turned upside down by a small group of fanatical people. I don’t have the words to describe the impact that a visit to this place had as we walked through the cemetery. I just hope that somehow these men knew that the world would appreciate the sacrifice they made.
We then moved to Omaha beach where 1000 men were killed in the first days fighting. The soldiers coming ashore were faced with several hundred yards of open beach before they reached any sort of cover while moving toward fortifications that were designed to stop precisely this movement. I cannot imagine the courage it took to board the landing craft much less the feeling when the ramp dropped and there was nothing between them and their enemy. The fire from the defenses was intense yet these soldiers kept pushing forward and at the end of the day had established a beachhead. The monuments on Omaha felt hollow to me but I cannot begin to picture a monument that would befit these courageous souls.
Lastly, was Pointe du Hoc where US Army Rangers scaled a 100’ high cliff using grappling hooks, ropes and rope ladders. Facing tremendous automatic weapon fire power they overcame all obstacles only to find that the big guns they had expected to find had been moved. Out of the 225 men that began the day 150 made it to the top. After taking the cliff top and repulsing counter attacks they were relieved on June 8 at which time 81 had been killed and 58 wounded.
To tour the Normandy battlefields today is a moving experience both because of recognition of the accomplishments of these brave men and the disturbing disconnect with the current state of affairs in the world and what our troops face today in the Middle East.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 9:37 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home