More D-Day Beaches

 MORE D-DAY BEACHES

October 25

After a quick hotel breakfast, I left my bride resting comfortably and met Ed for a drive back through the rural Normandy countryside to the landing beaches.  [In case you wondered, the geography of the land in Normandy reminds me of central Tennessee south of Nashville -- rolling hills and lots of agriculture, cattle, horses, etc. Since it's along the same latitude as the northern borders of Washington, Montana, and North Dakota, even being on the coast, it's a bit cooler than east central Mississippi. Typical days in Normandy the last week in October were lows in the high 40's F. and highs in the high 50's or low 60's F. ... so jacket weather.] The roads are like you'd find in most rural states, i.e., 2 lane and winding with lots of woods around them. (A few we traveled still had the hedgerows which students of D-Day have read and heard about.)

Today we would begin with Omaha Beach and travel eastward through Gold (British) and Juno (Canadian) Beaches. Yesterday Ed had made sure that we made a quick stop at Omaha at high tide so that I could see (and make photos) of the beach at both high and low tides since this morning it would be low tide. This was significant because there is a big difference between high and low tides in Normandy (only slightly less than Canada's Bay of Fundy), which had a major impact on the Allies' planning for the invasion. Let me begin by showing you a contrast of Omaha Beach at low then high tide:

Omaha Beach at high tide

  

... and at low tide

Whether because it was sunny when we were at Utah Beach yesterday and overcast at Omaha Beach this day, or because I knew how different the fighting and casualties were from Utah, my mood and impressions of the two beaches were very different. My spirits at Utah were upbeat; at Omaha they were very heavy. 34,000 Allied troops landed on Omaha on D-Day, and they suffered 2,400 casualties. (Think of the opening scene in Saving Private Ryan.) Some never made it to the beach because they drowned; others were shot by artillery or machine guns or stepped on mines. The Germans were in a number of well-fortified positions on and around Omaha Beach, and the Americans landed right in the teeth.  

A well-camouflaged German artillery position
right on Omaha

  

German machine gun nests on ridge 
above Omaha

Omaha at low tide with only 1 ship
on the horizon this day

   

Bedford Boys monument
at Omaha Beach

From Omaha we traveled a few miles to one of the most well-preserved German batteries at Longues-sur-Mer. These observation posts and artillery positions were about 1/2 mile off the beach, and thus not readily observed from the sea by the Allies. They were, however, in a position to rain shells on the beaches.

Looking seaward from behind battery

German battery at Longues-sur-Mer

Looking from behind big gun;
clearly they both gave and received

Another battery at Longues-sur-Mer

As we neared lunch time we drove to what quickly became my favorite town on the Normandy coast, Arromanches-les-Bains, which was on Gold, the westernmost British landing beach. Today it's a quaint village with a wide, scenic beach bracketed by cliffs, with good seafood restaurants and 2 popular museums. In 1944, however, Arromanches was the site of Port Winston, a huge artificial harbor that had been conceived of by Winston Churchill and the British and constructed by American engineers in England. Massive concrete blocks called Mulberries were hauled across the Channel on D-Day and put in place, then topped by floating metal bridge-like structures that were called Whales for the unloading of heavy equipment and supplies. In its 5 months of use Port Winston is believed to have served to unload 2.5 million men, 500, 000 vehicles, and 4 million tons of supplies!  Today a number of the concrete building blocks dot the coast in a somewhat random chain from the beach well out into the Channel, and some of the metal Whales that topped the blocks are on display in and around town. Photos of the Mulberries and Whales follow:

After having lunch and exploring Arromanches, we drove along Gold Beach past a number of small beach towns toward Courselles-sur-Mer and Juno Beach, the Canadian landing beach. Juno was also heavily defended, and there were 1,200 casualties among the 21,400 Canadian and British troops who landed there. Pictured below are a German fortification on Juno, a British tank designed to float, and monuments to the Canadian troops:

  

  

As we turned towards Bayeux at the end of the day, like the Canadians and British who in June 1944 had fought their way off the beaches and advanced on German positions, we passed through the town of Beny-sur-Mer, which today is the site of the Canadian cemetery. Buried there are 2,044 Canadians, 3 British, and 1 French soldier, all of whom died in the fighting on D-Day and ensuing battles in Normandy. It is a quiet and beautiful cemetery.

 

Upon arriving back in Bayeux I said goodbye and thanks to Ed, then went to the little hotel bar and had a drink. Susan came in not long afterwards and reported that she had spent the day exploring in town, got lost and didn't mind, ate at a boulangerie (bakery), and visited the Tapestry Museum (but didn't find it as interesting as I did -- not a surprise). I had found a neat little restaurant called Le Volet du Panche (The Leaning Shutter) in an old building -- yes, with a leaning shutter -- in an alley beside the River Aure. It's a small, intimate restaurant with limited seating, and I was glad I had made reservations because they turned several people away while we ate. The food and service were excellent, as was the wine. Reasonable prices too. We both felt that we had had a true French dining experience. We had a short stroll through the beautiful little down and enjoyed views of the massive cathedral one last time. I'd enjoy coming back to Bayeux some day just to relax, although I know that there are many things I'd like to see on the beaches that I've missed on this trip ... so maybe I'd not relax that much.

 

Again we "hit the hay" early because we'd have a full day on our own. I was a little nervous about doing the driving, but it didn't keep me awake.