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Afternoon Tour of the British Battlefields and beaches |
Normal Itinerary
I usually commence at your hotel or B&B in Bayeux (or nearby) at 1.00pm and we will return around 6.00pm. First we visit the British Airborne sector and then we will visits the Gold beach sector which was attacked by the 50th Division of the British army on June 6th and is also the sector where the Allied engineers built one of the two Mulberry harbours put into operation after the initial landings.
I usually commence at your hotel or B&B in Bayeux (or nearby) at 1.00pm and we will return around 6.00pm. First we visit the British Airborne sector and then we will visits the Gold beach sector which was attacked by the 50th Division of the British army on June 6th and is also the sector where the Allied engineers built one of the two Mulberry harbours put into operation after the initial landings.
Pegasus Bridge
Ranville
Longues sur Mer
Arromanches les Bains
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Pegasus Bridge
The most audacious raid of Operation Overlord. Part of the mission for the 6th Airborne Division on the night of June 5/6th was the capture of 2 bridges over the crucial waterways, the Benouville bridge (later called Pegasus) on the Caen canal and half a mile to the East the Orne River bridge near the village of Ranville. The Coup de main is to be carried out by Major Howard and 180 men of the Ox & Bucks regiment. Their objective was to land in 6 horsa gliders shortly after midnight and capture intact those two bridges to prevent any German counter attacks from reaching "Sword beach" 6 miles to the North, where the 3rd Division of the British Army was due to land at 7.30 on the morning of June 6th. They were to hold these bridges until relieved - which is one of the most famous scenes in the movie - THE LONGEST DAY (filmed on location in Normandy in 1961). Ranville War Cemetery Less than a mile from Pegasus bridge is Ranville one of 18 Commonwealth War Cemeteries in Normandy and the first village liberated in France. The cemetery is the final resting place for 2564 soldiers, many of them belonging to the airborne forces who lost their lives in the first days of Operation Overlord and were buried by local people. Arromanches Les Bains The site of Mulberry B - the amazing artificial harbour - one of Winston Churchill's ideas, where you will be able to see its' remains, truly one of the greatest feats of British engineering of the 20th Century. There are many other artifacts of war situated around the town. German Battery - Longues sur Mer Part of the Atlantic Wall, this is the battery most preserved in Normandy with the original 152mm guns manufactured by the Skoda Company in the Czech Republic. the guns are still in situ located on top of the cliffs between Omaha and Gold sectors, the battery was a threat on D-Day for both sectors and the Allied naval fleet. The site was liberated on the June 7th by 2nd Battalion Devonshire Regiment part of the British 50th Division. This itinerary is only a suggestion. Other locations can be included. If you have any questions please contact me. This half day tour costs 370 Euros (Total) for 1 to 7 people |