Operation Normandy - Mon 13th April - Day 2 Arromanches

 

Part 2 of 2

(Part 1 of 2 here)

 

Our next destination was Arromanches and Gold beach. In particular the 360 museum and the musee du debarquement.

At the centre of the Gold Beach landing zone, Arromanches was spared the brunt of the fighting on D-Day so the installation and operation of the port could proceed as quickly as possible without damaging the beach and destroying surrounding lines of communication. The port was commissioned on 14 June 1944.
This location was one of two sites chosen to establish the necessary port facilities to unload quantities of supplies and troops needed for the invasion during June 1944, the other was built further West at Omaha Beach. The British built huge floating concrete caissons which, after being towed from England, then had to be assembled to form walls and piers forming and defining the artificial port called the Mulberry harbour. These comprised of pontoons linked to the land by floating roadways. One of these ports was assembled at Arromanches and even today sections of the Mulberry harbour still remain with huge concrete blocks sitting on the sand and more can be seen further out at sea.

We left Ranville and the Pegasus bridge in sunshine and temperatures of 22c. However, on reaching  the coast a sea fret had come in and reduced the temperature to 15c.  Pulling in to the car park next to the 360 museum you are now charged 6euros for parking a motorhome, and they don’t allow overnight parking anymore.  There was plenty of parking and space for motorhomes of various sizes. We had hoped to have lunch in the van with a view over the cliff to the beach and out to sea but had to settle with a very foggy view.

Lunch eaten we headed off to the 360 museum.  This museum was small but again worth every cent charge of 5euros per person to get in. The film was about to start and with a large group about to enter we went in to the cinema and missed the few exhibits outside. We thought we would come back out on this side but you exit in to the shop.  The cinema projects in High Definition on 9 screens in a circle, hence 360, telling the story of the Battle of Normandy  thanks to archive images they have gathered from around the world. You are put into the shoes of a soldier landing on the beaches during D-Day,  be it by plane or boat. This film is a tribute to all who were involved during this invasion and battle for the liberation of Europe. The film is very dramatic with loud music and sounds which stirs up your emotions. The best viewing is from either the middle of the room or by viewing twice and being at opposite sides of the room. We were on one side and even though some of the pictures seem to be repeated on the screen you do instinctively move your head around to try and capture all the detail.

After the film is over you enter in to the very well stocked shop which then leads you back outside on to the cliff tops overlooking Arromanches. Had it not been for a heavy sea fret it would give you the most magnificent views of the D-Day beaches.

The area is renowned for the two artificial Mulberry harbours that were built by the Allied forces after D-Day. Mulberry "B" was the harbour assembled on Gold Beach at Arromanches for use by the British and Canadian invasion forces. It was finally decommissioned 6 months after D-Day as allied forces were able to use the recently captured port of Antwerp to offload troops and supplies.

So from here you can either walk or as we did  catch a little road train that takes you down the very steep hill to the other museum, musee du debarquement.  Motorhomes aren’t allowed near the beach front where the next museum is located. On the way down you pass a Sherman tank standing guard overlooking  the town and the beach.

We then went in to the next museum, which was heaving with numerous coach parties.  Entry is 7.90euros per person.  The museum is packed with information and visual displays but it was a bit hard to see some it due to the amount of people. I would advise trying to find out when the quieter times to visit are.  There is an excellent model display and info on the Mulberry Harbour.

Outside we wandered around the shops and restaurants along the front. We went down on to the beach and walked along.

 

We caught the train back up to the cliff top and back to Monty where we decided that we should try the Municipal campsite in Arromanches.

The Municipal site, Camping Muncipal Arromanches des bain,  is located just 5-10minute walk from the shops, sea front and musee du debarquement. Beware though as there is a height limit of  3.3metres at the entrance to the site.

 

   

Reception was very friendly and welcoming and English was spoken.  It was quiet as the site had only opened for the season on the 1st of April.  Cost for 2 of us for the night with electric was 18euros. Toilet block was very clean, pitches and surrounding appeared well maintained. There is an aire that backs on to the campsite which is free, but this was full and parking seemed very tight next to each other. 

Also a basketball/football court backs on to the aire and we noticed some noise from the court, but would have been more so on the aire.  The aire was obviously a well used place as we noticed when dining in the 6 Juin restaurant/Brasserie a non ending stream of campers going to the aire, from 5pm to 7pm.  We later went for a walk along the front as the sea fret was clearing to reveal through the mist the remains of the mulberry harbour.

When we got back there were 4 motorhomes, a caravan and a tent pitched up.  We had a peaceful nights sleep, ready for our next days busy schedule.

www.montythemotorhome.com

Operation Normandy - Sunday 12th April - Day 1

 

We woke up and then breakfasted at the buffet again. There was another good spread with full English & continental. Completely stuffed we packed our overnight things up and waited for the announcement that we could return to the car deck. As the ferry wasn’t overly busy we were soon off, through passport control and heading through Belgium into France.

 

 

 

Approach to Le Blockhaus.

Our first port of call was Le Blockhaus d’Eperlecques which is a huge Nazi concrete bunker near Watten and St Omer. There was a good sized car park so parking was easy. The Blockhaus also referred to as the “Watten bunker” was built in 1943 by NAZI Germany. 200,000 tons of concrete and 20,000 tons of steel were required to build the facility. The workforce consisted of a mixture of German specialists and forcibly conscripted Frenchmen, they were supplemented by Belgian, Dutch, French, Polish, Czech and Soviet prisoners of war and civilian conscripts, who were used as slave labour.

 

 

Designed to hold 100 V-2 ballistic missiles and capable of launching 36 per day! The V-2 rocket was one of several innovative long-range weapons developed by the Germans after the failure of the Luftwaffe to strike a decisive blow against Britain. It was a revolutionary weapon – the world's first operational SRBM – that had been developed in a secret programme begun in 1936.  The 12.5-ton missile, standing 14 metres (46 ft) high on its launch pad, was fuelled primarily by liquid oxygen (LOX) and methyl alcohol.

It was never completed thanks in part  as a result of the repeated bombing by the British and United States air forces as part of Operation Crossbow against the German V-weapons programme. The attacks caused substantial damage and rendered the bunker unusable for its original purpose. Part of the bunker was subsequently completed for use as a liquid oxygen factory. It was captured by Allied forces at the start of September 1944, though its true purpose was not discovered by the Allies until after the war. V-2s were instead launched from mobile batteries which were far less vulnerable to aerial attacks. Today, the bunker is preserved as part of a privately owned museum that presents the history of the site and the German V-weapons programme.. It was very impressive and almost looked like something out of a sci-fi movie – the villain’s lair (which indeed it was!) Despite being bombed it’s amazing how strong the structure still is. Moving inside the building itself was amazing. It was hard to comprehend the scale and size as we looked up & up. Moving back outside there was also the ramp that launched the V-1 rockets. My dad used to fly alongside the v-1 and using the wing of his Mustang tip the wing of the V-1 to push it off course and into a dive and on other occasions shoot them down, a safer alternative.   This museum cost 10 Euros each and was well worth the money.

 

 

 

Next we headed to La Coupole some 9 miles south-southeast from the less developed Blockhaus d'Eperlecques V-2 launch installation in the same area.

 

It was again built by  Nazi Germany between 1943 and 1944 to serve as a launch base for V-2 rockets directed against London and southern England, and is the earliest known precursor to modern underground missile silos still in existence. Constructed in the side of a disused chalk quarry, the most prominent feature of the complex is an immense concrete dome, to which its modern name refers. It was built above a network of tunnels housing storage areas, launch facilities and crew quarters. Again this facility was designed to store a large stockpile of V-2s, warheads and fuel and was intended to launch V-2s on an industrial scale. Dozens of missiles a day were to be fuelled, prepared and launched in rapid sequence against London and southern England. Repeated heavy bombing by Allied forces during Operation Crossbow, the Germans were unable to complete the construction works and the complex never entered service. It was captured by the Allies in September 1944, partially demolished on the orders of Winston Churchill to prevent its reuse as a military base, and then abandoned. It remained derelict until the mid-1990s. In 1997 it opened to the public for the first time, as a museum. Exhibits in the tunnels and under the dome tell the story of the German occupation of France during World War II, the V-weapons and the history of space exploration.

Again entrance fee was 10euros  but we  didn’t opt for the extra 7.5euro per adult for the  planetarium section. Again parking the motorhome was easy as there was a good sized car park and not many cars there. Staff in both places we visited also spoke good English and info was in English as well.

 

Time now was about 4pm, so our next decision was where to stop for the night. After looking in our Vicarious Book, All the Aires France ( I also use on my android tablet, Motorhome Parking, Aires and Park4Night apps) I had intended on stopping at an aire in Montreuil sur mer some 30/40 minutes down the road. We decided that we should try and get some miles in and be nearer to our next point of interest.  So we opted to drive for some 3 hours and get to an aire that we had seen at La Mailleraye sur Seine. We arrived at 7pm to find that a fete was on and the main access road to the aire was closed due to the festival.  A couple of minor roads also led to the aire but looked tight for getting down.  There was a campsite just nearby but we  decided to travel on to Fecamp and the free aire.  After a further 30 minute drive, we arrived both very tired and hungry.  We ended up parking Monty in the main part of the aire, a car park to be quite honest as the 10 bay section was full in front of the harbour.  Well there were spaces but some of the foreign motorhomes had naughtily parked taking two bays.  There were some bays to the side of the dedicated motorhome parking section but we decided not to risk parking there in case we got told off for not using the dedicated spaces.  The aire seemed pretty full by 9pm. There was a toilet on the aire but it had been blocked by paper and was out of action. We spotted just round the corner a McDonalds, as we were tired and just wanted a quick meal we decided our first nights meal was a McDonalds!

 

Approach to Aire @ Fecamp.

www.montythemotorhome.com

Operation Normandy - Sat 11th April – Ferry crossing

 

We arrived nice and early at Hull ferry port. We were sailing on P&O Pride of York, Hull to Zeebrugge. After booking in we went through security. We must look dodgy as we always get checked! After a little wait boarding commenced. It was an easy drive on board. We had expected it to be busy as it was the weekend but the ferry seemed quite quiet. We collected our keys and went to our room which was very clean and equipped with TV, kettle and fridge. The bathroom was also nice with White Company toiletries, fluffy towels and robes. After checking out the room we enjoyed  a complimentary glass of champagne in the Brasserie.

There are two restaurants on board, a buffet and the Brasserie. We opted to eat in the buffet restaurant and headed there as it opened. There was plenty to choose from inc soups, salads, roast dinner, curries, ribs, burgers, chips and desserts as well. We enjoyed our meal as we set sail. After tea we went up on deck as we headed out to sea. We had a really good nights sleep with a really smooth crossing.

 

 

www.montythemotorhome.com

Operation Normandy – D-Day Invasion Trip

Planning by General Monty the Motorhome

 

Monty’s invasion of  Normandy plans  are revealed.

Embarkation from Hull via P & O ferries.

 

Disembark at Zeebrugge.

From Zeebrugge  push on towards St Omer to the first of our two objectives. Visiting  WW2 sites of interest.

 

Our next objective is to head on towards Caen.  With an overnight stop en route.

The next objective is to visit the Pegasus bridge and also the first liberated cafe in France, Cafe Gondree

On the night of 5 June 1944, a force of 181 men, led by Major John Howard, took off from RAF Tarrant Rushton in Dorset, southern England in six Horsa gliders to capture Pegasus Bridge, and also "Horsa Bridge", a few hundred yards to the east, over the Orne River. The object of this action was to prevent German armour from crossing the bridges and attacking the eastern flank of the landings at Sword Beach.

The gliders were towed across the Channel by Halifax Bombers. With perfect navigation and piloting skill, the gliders landed on time and on target within few yards of each other. Major Howard’s glider landed within a few feet of the canal bridge. The bridge was captured after a fierce ten minute fire fight, the action all over by 0026, a full six hours before the
beach landings.

So, just 90 minutes after taking off from RAF Tarrant Rushton in England, Major Howard was able to send the code words "Ham and Jam", indicating that both bridges had been captured. In this early action of D-Day, the first house on French soil was liberated, and the first British soldier of the Normandy Invasion was killed in action:
Lieutenant Den Brotheridge.

 

 

Then on to the D Day beaches and museums.

Also calling in at Bayeux to visit the Bayeux Tapestry.

Visiting :-

Sword beach

First Allied troops to land: 3rd British Division, led by 8th Infantry Brigade Group. More info here

Juno Beach

First Allied troops to land: 3rd Canadian Division, led by 7th and 8th Brigades, and 6th Armoured Regiment. More info on here

The Juno beach centre at Courseulles-sur-Mer

Musee du debarquement at Arromanches

Gold beach

First Allied troops to land: 50th (Northumbrian) Division, led by 69th and 231st Brigades, 8th Armoured Brigade. More info on here

Longues-sur-Mer battery

Cimetière américain de Normandie

Omaha beach

First Allied troops to land: 16th Regimental Combat Team (US 1st Division) and 116th Regimental Combat Team (29th Division), 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions. More info on here

Pointe du Hoc

Sainte-Mère-Eglise

The town's main claim to fame is that it played a significant part in the World War II Normandy landings because this village stood right in the middle of route N13, which the Germans would have most likely used on any significant counterattack on the troops landing on Utah and Omaha Beaches. In the early morning of 6 June 1944 mixed units of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and U.S. 101st Airborne Divisions occupied the town in Operation Boston, giving it the claim to be one of the first towns liberated in the invasion.

Musée du Débarquement Utah Beach

First Allied troops to land: US 4th Infantry Division, led by 8th Regimental Combat Team. More info here.

Then we divert from our WW2 history and head down to Mont St Michel, which we only quickly stopped at on our last trip to Brittany last year.

 

From Mont Saint-Michel we then head for some Chateaux visits. This depends on what time we have in hand and to which ones we visit.

Our list includes :-

Château d'Azay-le-Rideau

 

Château Royal d'Amboise

Château de Chenonceau

 

Château de Chambord

 

Châteaudun Castle

 

Then we need to push on to Ypres.

But en-route we may call in at Château-Thierry.

 

 

We are booked in at Camping Jeugdstadion in Ypres so we can re -visit  the Menin Gate. Again if time we will also visit some of the WW1 sites we saw when here last year or ones we didn’t get to.

Then we head to Bruges for possibly one night again depending on time.  We fancy another look round this fantastic city.

Then we head back to Blighty. Via our landing ship waiting for us at Zeebrugge.

All this in 12 days…..