When we arrived, we found that for the first time ever, a French strike (le greve) was working to our advantage. The money-takers and multi-lingual tour guides were on strike and admittance was free!
Inside the church:
This giant wheel was used to bring supplies up from below during the time that the monastery was used as a prison. It pulled a sled up the side of the building:
And finally, a hallway walked by generations of Monks. It almost looks like the ghost of one is at the top:
Now, on to the Normandy Landing Beaches:
June 6, 1944. We all know much of the story. The Allies landed on five beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. At Omaha, seasick soldiers struggled under the immense weight of their gear to cross the water and then the beach, to huddle at the bottom of the ridge...while the German Army fired from the top of the ridgeline above. Here is a mosaic showing troop movements from June 6 forward:
We chose to stay at Arromanches-les-Bains, which overlooks Gold Beach (a Canadian landing site). Arromanches has some of the most fascinating history in the area. A couple of days after the initial landings, construction of Port Winston was begun at Arromanches. In two weeks, the Allies sunk 15 older ships to anchor the piers, towed in concrete bunkers from England, tied them to the shore with metal bridges, and constructed a huge man-made port. This was called Mulberry B (for British). There was supposed to be a Mulberry A (for American) at Utah Beach, but weather destroyed it while under construction and Port Winston became the major supply hub for the invasion. The remains of the Mulberry are still in the water and visible from the beach:
Next, we visited Utah Beach, where troops landed and headed toward Cherbourg to take the other port. Here's the memorial at Utah:
Our next stop was the fascinating Pointe du Hoc. Pointe de Hoc was a major German gun installation, sporting five 155-mm cannon. Here's a cannon installation:
Prior to D-Day, the allies had bombarded the area heavily, scoring some good hits with some big guns. Check out this crater:
On D-Day, Rangers climbed the ridge from the beach to the gun installation, only to find that the surviving guns had been repositioned to a hedgerow south of the location...dummy guns made from wooden poles had been made to fool Allied aircraft. Rangers found and destroyed the actual guns.
A look at Pointe du Hoc, left as it has been since the landings:
And finally, a look back toward Utah Beach from Pointe du Hoc:
We visited the German cemetery at La Cambe. Different from the Allied cemeteries, but moving, especially since so many of the gravesites are young men only 18 or 19 years old:
A German Unknown Soldier:
And finally, a visit to the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach. Here, one finds so many young men from all over the United States who gave their lives on the beach on June 6, 1944.
A visit to these beaches should be mandatory for all young Americans, especially those who are currently leaning a little too far left. Socialism is not what these people died for...rather, they died to prevent Socialism and preserve our liberty. We realized that we weren't taught all that much about the Allied invasion when in school and read extensively before our visit. It was worth it...you usually only hear about the landing at Omaha, and not the whole story of that, even.
A quick overnight in Paris and we were on our way home. While enroute, Gordon pointed out that compared to the boat ride over, flying home sucks. Ah, yes, and one important thought as we close one of our best trips ever. Weiner Dog count: Gordon 11, Pati 4.
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