One thing that I did mention previously is that I am very interested in the 101st AB (Probably gave that away a bit by the title of this post eh). To be fair, my interest lies in the period between 1943 and the end of the war. My interest began with the mini series 'Band of Brothers' but continued beyond that after doing some research...I have to personally thank, and recommend, my friend Ian Gardner for his help in learning more about the 101st AB. Ian is an excellent author with three fantastic books which detail the 3/506 from D-Day to the end of the war. I would recommend looking him up and buying his books..
Ian Gardner Bio...
Enough of the waffling...on to the blog.
This blog is a reflection on my trip to Normandy during May 2014. I had tried to plan the trip to coincide with the 70th anniversary but, due to a significant lack of planning on my part, could not get a place to stay within 100 miles! Amazing to think that I've been a Project Manager for almost a quarter of a century and struggle with planning!
Travel:
There are a number of points of entry to Normandy...
1. Cherbourg which is on the Northern tip of the Cotentin peninsula.
2. Caen which is further east and slightly inland and is served by a ferry port which is approximately 10kms North.
3. Dieppe.
4. Calais.
All of the above are serviced by Ferries from ports such as Portsmouth and Dover. We decided to use Portsmouth for this trip and took the ferry directly to Caen. The prices vary depending on how far in advance you book, what time of day you travel and the accommodation. The trip itself was very easy...the ferry terminal at Portsmouth has long stay parking within a 5 minutes walk of the actual terminal. There isn't much to do in the terminal, a Costa and pretty much that's all. The ferry trip itself was nice, approximately 5 hours with nice weather. Arrival at the port in Caen was, again, easy with the only downside being a 15 minute wait to get a bus from the ship to the immigration/customs. Nevertheless, once at the terminal it took literally minutes to pass through. Once you get through immigration then it is a short walk to the bus stop and then it's a 15 minute ride into Caen.
Caen, itself, has some very nice areas, unfortunately, none are around the bus/train station. If you get a chance then do walk, or better yet get a cab, into the city where there's a nice castle and many great places to eat but that's for another blog!. I took the train to Bayeux which is located about 30 kms west of Caen. It is central for sightseeing and is only 10 kms from the D-Day beaches but, more importantly, it is where our tour started from...
Tips/Hints:
As with most things, book well in advance to get the cheapest fares. I would also suggest that, for the longer ferry trips, you consider booking a cabin. It costs approximately 20 GBP but gives you a place to sleep and have a shower. The alternative is to try to find a seat among the gazillion Brits who started drinking before boarding or are use the deck as a creche for their kids! Final tip...take the train in France. They are cheap (or at least cheaper than the UK) and generally reliable. I remember our trains arriving early...something you don't see in good ole England!
Sightseeing and History:
Obviously, the main focus of the trip was to see where a lot of the scenes depicted in BoB's, The Longest Day, and other movies were suppose to have taken place and to try to get a feel for the history. As this was a short trip of only a few days, it was decided to go with an organised tour...something that I usually try to avoid. In this instance it was the perfect decision...! The tour group that we decided upon was Overlord tours. The company provide many tours specifically for those interested in WW2 history. The tours range from 1/2 day tours up to multi-day tours. They have many choices so do your research and make sure you pick the one best suited for what your interests are. For me it had to be Tour 5 which was a full day tour which focused on the 101st AB.
D-Day Tour
The tour started with meeting our guide, Dominique, at the center of Bayeux. There were 8 of us on the tour in a people carrier which was fine for the day. The first stop was at one of the locks used to control the flooding of the fields across Normandy (Just inland from the beaches). The locks were used as a deterrent by the Germans to try to dissuade the use of airborne troops.
Normandy Lock...
The next stop was St Mere Eglise (SME). The town is well known to WW2 history buffs and hs been well represented in movies such as the Longest Day. To be fair, it is a fantastic place...it, obviously, is now well focused on the tourist trade so you can expect a lot of tourist shops. However, they have a wonderful museum dedicated to the Airborne Troops and have many nice shops which cater to those who follow the 101st and 82nd ABs. It is worth noting that, despite what is portrayed in BoB, SME was an 82nd objective and most of the soldiers engaged there were, in fact 82nd AB.
There is so much history in SME that I cannot do it justice in one short blog...take my word for it, it was worth the visit.
You will notice that, in the top picture, you can see the representation of John Steele who got caught on the steeple and then proceeded to spend the next couple of hours pretending to be dead while the battle took place below him (He was captured later then escaped...pretty much a folk hero in SME where they celebrated him). The bottom picture shows battle damage to the chimney incurred during the fighting the 6th of June, 1944.
NB: Major Winters landed just west of the town..follow the road under the La Fiere bridge to get to the actual location which is near the N-13 which goes around SME.
After lunch in SME (try the baguettes, excellent!) the next stop was to a farm house just back from Utah beach. There were a number of 'exit' points from the beach. These exit points were of huge strategic importance as they were the routes for troops exiting the landing areas and, as such, were objectives of the 101st AB on D-Day. The farmhouse was special as there are a number of pictures associated with the 101st and this farmhouse. Specifically, there is a picture of a group of soldiers with one wearing a German helmet..that was Forrest Guth. The picture below was taken on the same spot and shows how little thins have changed in 70 years.
I am going to end this post here and pickup the remainder of the trip later...there's too much to tell in one post and I don't want to bore people.
Parting comment...personally, it means a lot to me to be able to stand where so much took place. I can, honestly, say that I feel something when I visit such places. I am not sure whether it is just me or the fact that, even after 70 years, the history is still not so far in the past that we cannot almost touch it. In some cases we can touch history and celebrate those that gave so much in such a different time..the following picture is of two heroes. The man on the left is Bob Noody who was one of the faces of the 101st AB having had the distinction of his picture taken whilst on the plane heading for D-Day (second picture). I had the pleasure of meeting this man, spending an afternoon with him...drinking whisky and singing Irish songs. I will never forget that experience...
See you next time.....
No comments:
Post a Comment