In the morning, we have a beautiful view of the sunrise over the Honfleur harbor.
We are on our way for a full-day tour of D-Day discoveries. The D-Day landings, code-named "Operation Overlord", were the largest military campaigns in recorded history with the beaches of Normandy bearing the brunt of the invasion.
Beginning at 6:30 am on June 6, 1944, nearly 7,000 landing craft hit the highly-fortified coastline. Those vessels carried tens of thousands of soldiers from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and many other Allied nations, all of who arrived determined to carry out General Eisenhower's order, "Full victory--nothing else".
We visit the American landing locations, beginning with Pointe du Hoc. This point of land was the Germans' most heavily fortified position along the Utah and Omaha beaches.
It was here that the Allied forces scaled 328-foot cliffs as they sought to silence German artillery.
The cliffs are so severe here that the Germans turned their defenses around to face what they assumed would be an attack from inland. The Germans had not prepared for an attack up the cliffs.
The US Army Rangers famously scaled the impossibly steep cliffs to disable the gun battery. Here is a viewing platform on top of one of the remaining bunkers.
There are numerous craters from bombs around the area. The craters are the result of bombs dropped over seven weeks in preparation for the landings. This area was a huge German gun battery which could fire as far as 13 miles, covering several beaches. For the American D-Day landings to succeed, this nest of guns had to be taken out.
Ponte du Hoc Memorial and German bunker
Back on the bus, we headed over to Omaha Beach where the first Allied footing was achieved in German-occupied France. When they arrived on shore, the Allies were met with a deafening barrage of German gunfire.
As Nazis soldiers shot from secure concrete pillboxes built high above the open sand, Allied fighters were mowed down while exiting the Higgins boats and wading to shore.
This memorial was erected in memory of the fallen Allied soldiers who landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. Omaha was the most difficult of the D-Day beaches to assault. Nicknamed "Bloody Omaha", nearly half of all D-Day casualties were suffered here.
A modern metal statue entitled, "The Brave" rises from the waves in honor of the liberating forces and symbolizes the rise of freedom on the wings of hope.
We had time to walk on the beach and reflect, trying to imagine what it must have been like to be a soldier battling his way through the water and onto the beach.
Next, we headed to the American Cemetery located on a bluff above Omaha Beach,
Our program leaders arranged for our group to lay flowers in remembrance. The veterans in our group did the honor.
"These men came here to storm these beaches for one purpose only, not to gain anything for ourselves, not to fulfill any ambition that America had for conquest, but just to preserve freedom, systems of self-government in the world." Dwight D. Eisenhower, President, Commander in Chief
After walking among the crosses and reflecting, we entered the Omaha Beach Memorial Museum next to the cemetery.
The museum traces the story of the US Army's D-Day landing's on Omaha Beach.
On display is a rusted metal obstacle called a "Czech hedgehog.
Thousands of these were placed on the beaches by the Germans to stop and immobilize landing craft. Remember the opening scenes in the movie, "Saving Private Ryan"?
And what I also remember from the WWII movies is the "cricket".
We left the cemetery and museum with these final words.
The bus ride back to the ship was very quiet as we all reflected on what we had seen and learned today.
To continue reading, scroll down and click "Newer Post". It's off to the Cliffs of Etretat
No comments:
Post a Comment