Paris Day 3: Normandy

We got up at 4:40 for the train to Normandy. I didn't sleep well because I was worried about making the train. Good news: we made it without issue! The metro line was having construction work so we took an express bus that had been set up. The bus was early and went fast so we ended up being about 40 minutes early. U's step count for the day was 11,796.

We got off the train in Bayeux where we met our guide Steven who was with Overlord Tours. He is from north of Manchester in the UK but has been living in France for over 16 years. His English definitely has a French accent. We learned a lot from him! (Although not all of it appears to have been accurate...) 

Fun fact: Jean-Christophe d'Isigny (from d’Isigny-sur-mer) fought with William the Conqueror, who hailed from Normandy, in the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He settled in England. His descendants eventually emigrated to Canada and then the United States. The family name was shortened to Disney and one of his descendants was Walt Disney.

Bayeux cathedral

One of the first things the Allied troops did after successfully invading Normandy was to set up fuel lines. Louis Mountbatten (a relative of the British royal family) had commented about the possibility of making a portable harbor which was when this idea was first floated around. (He was later killed by the Irish during an uprising.) Port en Bessin is where they initially set up gas pipeline from boats for Allied vehicles. It was on the border of Gold sector (UK)/Omaha (US). Pluto was the name of the whole operation to get a pipeline under the ocean from the UK to France. Bambi was the first permanent station set up. It was on the on Isle of Wight and looked like an ice cream shop. Dumbo was the station where gas ran (roughly) from Dover to Calais and opened later.

One story about the UK troops: A bagpiper had been ordered not to play by English officers. When getting off boat, the bagpiper was told to play; he said he’d been ordered not to play. The officers said not to worry, they were Scottish. So the bagpiper played. When the English officers heard the bagpipe coming toward their rendezvous point so they could take control of bridge, they were glad to know the Scottish were coming.

To get to Omaha Beach there are 3 small cities all with "sur mer" at the end of the name. This means "on the sea."

Photo from the liberation of Colleville-Sur-Mer. This summer was the 80th anniversary of D Day. Steven said there were 9 days of celebration. 

This German bunker is how far the 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One) got on D Day. It was fairly close to Colleville-Sur-Mer. 

It was mostly windy, cloudy and rainy, but we saw glimpses of sun such as when we saw this rainbow at Omaha Beach.

Omaha Beach

Omaha was the largest sector and consisted of a lot of cliffs. The Germans defended the beach only with no weapons facing out to sea. Everywhere on the beach could be hit by artillery. Germans put a lot of deterrents on the beach: Belgian gates (what the Belgians used to try to stop the Germans; it did not work), spikes (some with mines), ramps facing up with teeth to rip open a boat if it tried to go back to the ocean, hedgehogs (made of three pieces of crisscrossed metal), shingles (natural ball bearings making it so the vehicles could not drive). There were high waves on the morning of June 6, 1944 which made it hard to get off the boats and also to land the troops. The planes that were supposed to take out some of the artillery could not see the beach and so held their fire too long. They ended up hitting cows and civilians miles inland. Only a few of the tanks in the initial wave made it shore so battleships were ordered to come as close as possible to shore to fire on German artillery. A coxswain bringing in troops commented on how weird it was to have a battleship passing them. Over 34,000 Americans came ashore at Omaha on D Day with 1500 soldiers coming ashore every 30 minutes. The Omaha sector suffered the most causalities (dead, wounded and missing) on D Day at around 2400 (although exact figures are hard to come by).

We went to the American Cemetery in Colleville-Sur-Mer.

Memorial

So many crosses. Over 9000. There are also 152 Stars of David (although there were likely more Jews since many hid their religion). 4 women are buried there.

Me, Megan, Matthew and Steven walking towards the chapel.

Some pictures from inside the chapel

Some pictures of the burial plots. One thing that is interesting is how much you can see the melting pot that is America by looking at the headstones. The last names of the soldiers came from so many different countries and yet here they were, fighting side-by-side for a common cause. Note that the state listed on the headstone is where the man enlisted in the military.

Headstones that had flags had recently been visited.

With the headstone of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. He received a Medal of Honor for his actions on D Day. Despite initially being denied his requests to go ashore with the first wave of troops on Utah Beach, he was persistent and was eventually granted his request. He was the only general in the first wave of troops. He knew Utah Beach well and was able to calmly and confidently direct the troops where to go and how to change objectives based on where they landed. His brother Quentin, who died in WWI, is buried beside him.

Unknown soldier

Maps showing military action on and around D Day.

The five main sectors on D Day. The HMS Belfast, which we saw in London, was located between the Juno and Gold Sectors.

The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves by Donald De Lue

Walls of the Missing contain 1557 names of those missing. A rosette beside a name indicates that the remains were later recovered, identified and buried.

Matthew with the Memorial

A couple of tanks used in the war

Belgian gate. This is what the Belgians tried to use to stop the Nazis from taking over their cities. It didn't work. The Nazis used them as deterrents on the beaches.

Anti aircraft gun

Tank with a hedgehog in front of it

Another part of Omaha Beach

Site of the first cemetery on Omaha Beach. It was later moved as they didn't want it to be the first thing soldiers would see when arriving on the beach.

The house in the background was there on D Day.

The owners of the home have written up a history of what happened.

The west end of Omaha Beach around where some of the Bedford Boys landed. About 20 men from the small community in Virginia died on D Day.

The guide told us about the British Commando raids during WWII and how much they helped with the war effort. As early as 1942, they were doing raids on the Normandy beaches to gather information. 

Next stop: Pointe du Hoc where 2nd Army Ranger Battalion scaled 100 foot cliffs to take over German fortifications and artillery. Things did not go according to plan due to currents in the English Channel and the artillery not being where they thought it would be. 

Because it took longer than anticipated, they did not receive the expected reinforcements (the 5th Ranger Battalion). Those reinforcements ended up on the west end of Omaha Beach and helped achieve objectives there on D Day. They eventually reached Pointe du Hoc two days later and helped the 2nd Battalion keep control of the point.

Looking out of the overlook

Matthew and Megan

Memorial to the Rangers

Heading out of the overlook area

Matthew in the shower just inside the entrance. The Germans had one there because of concerns about chemical warfare.

Looking down into the overlook bunker

Pointe du Hoc Memorial

Structure the Germans had built to house the artillery. However, they were empty as they did not have the hardware to attach the guns to the floor.

Anti aircraft gun barrel

Church in Sainte-Mère-Église

Where we ate lunch

Sandwiches

Some memorials and monuments from around the town

There were many shop windows throughout the region painted with pictures of GIs and American flags.

Another photo of the church. See the parachutist high up on the roof? Paratrooper John Steele of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) claimed that his parachute got caught on the tower roof and spire of the church where he hung for two hours, pretending to be dead until the Germans took him prisoner. It is unclear whether or not the story is true.

Inside the church. Notice the multiple references to paratroopers and D Day in the stained glass windows.

We next stopped at Marmion Farm. There was a German force here on D Day. Allied paratroopers attacked and took over the farm and then used it as a staging ground for further operations.

The wire mesh in the windows came from the Allies' temporary airstrips.  They are used all over the area. 

U with a picture of one of the paratroopers in the same spot his picture was taken.

Memorial to the 101st Airborne Division Pathfinders who were the first to jump.

Flags were placed beside the monument to mark those who perished.

There were monuments to different soldiers all over. Roads, monuments, farms and other things were named after them.

The attack on Utah Beach went much smoother than that on Omaha Beach, thanks in large part to the paratroopers. There were over 13,000 paratroopers with objectives that included capturing key sites, securing river crossings and causeways and securing the flanks of the assault areas. They experienced heavy causalities: around 2500 in the US divisions. However, this was less than the 60-75% casualty rate they had been expecting. Because the paratroopers were largely successful at achieving their objectives, there were relatively few casualties on Utah Beach: fewer than 200 men died with over 20,000 men landing on the beach. Due to strong currents and the confusion of the control craft, they landed 2000 yards east of where initially planned in a much less defended area. Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. quickly realized what had happened and revamped plans accordingly. Uttering his famous remark “We’ll start the war from here!” he ordered the division to advance. Paratroopers in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, the first town liberated on D Day, were surprised by how quickly members of the 4th Division arrived, initially thinking they were Germans. The town was liberated by early afternoon.

Me and Megan assaulting Utah beach with the troops.

Matthew skippering the landing craft

The Lone Sailor statue.  There is a matching statue at Pearl Harbor that we saw in March.

The Lone Sailor memorial. These "Frogmen" were some of the first on Omaha and Utah Beaches and were the precursors of Navy SEALs.

Utah Beach was a lot shallower and longer.  

Megan on Utah Beach.  It was pretty windy.

Matthew loved the tanks.

U with a naval monument listing all the boats that were included in the action.

The white and blue monument is the start of the Liberty Road which marks the route followed by US 3rd Army commanded by General Patton during the Operation Cobra from Utah Beach to Bastogne, Belgium.

The light posts had pictures of different American servicemen.

The chapel at Angoville-Au-Plain. This was where Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore set up a field hospital and treated anyone they could, including German soldiers and a 12 year old boy. During the fighting, pieces of the roof fell and a shell came down inside the church. When the Germans found them and saw they were treating German soldiers as well, they left them alone.

A stained glass window in the chapel celebrating the paratroopers.

A sea shell built into the carvings indicated this was on a pilgrimage route.

Memorial to the two servicemen who worked there. They had only very basic supplies. They were 19 and 20 years old with 2 weeks and 2 months of training respectively.

Another stained glass window celebrating the US paratroopers.

Hole in the ceiling where a shell dropped in during the fighting.

The cracked floor tile where it fell.

View of the chapel including part of the graveyard.

Memorial for Robert Wright. He remained very involved in the community throughout his life and wanted some of his cremated remains buried in the churchyard. However, French law does not allow for partial burials. The town did honor him with this memorial.

What Normandy looks like in general: lots of fields and sheep.

There had been a Renaissance Festival in Bayeux and these knights graced a roundabout.

We ate dinner in Bayeux before catching a train back to Paris. Definitely glad to have made the trek! Such a sobering reminder of the price of freedom.