normandy - group two2).pdf · the normandy area defences were planned by field marshal karl gerd...

Normandy

Key Stage 3 Study Pack

Contents

Before the Invasion

The German Defences in Europe

Preparing for the Invasion

The D-Day Invasion

St Mère Église

Utah Beach and St. Marie du Mont

La Cambe German Cemetery

Pointe du Hoc

Omaha Beach and Vierville-sur-Mer

Coleville United States Cemetery

Gold Beach and Arromanches

Juno Beach and Corseulles

Sword Beach, Ouistreham and Pegasus Bridge

Bayeux

Longues-sur-Mer Battery

Ranville Cemetery

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Background to D-Day

Until 1943 the only real attacks the Allies had made on Nazi held Europe were bombing raids.

The major fighting being done against Germany was by the Russian troops on the Eastern Front.

Stalin for some time had been asking the Allies for a ‘second front’ (invasion of ‘occupied’

France) to take the pressure off Russian troops.

In November 1943 Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt met in Teheran to discuss and agree the idea

of a second front. However, before this would take place Churchill insisted that the United

States and Britain would attack Italy, the ‘soft underbelly of the Axis’ which would tie up

thousands of German troops. They would be fighting an Allied advance in Italy, thus weakening

numbers in other parts of Europe. About 400000 German soldiers were used in the Italian

campaign. Stalin was not best pleased because the Russians would continue to suffer terrible

casualties and he suspected Churchill and Roosevelt of delaying the second front because of

their hostility towards communism.

Planning for the Allied invasion of Europe, codenamed Operation Overlord, started in early

1944.

Before the Invasion

1. Why was there no major fighting between Britain and the Germans in

Europe before 1944?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. What did Stalin mean by a second front?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Who were the main Axis powers in Europe?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Why was Stalin so upset about a second front not being established

sooner?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ypres Salient Before the Invasion

By May 1944 southern England had become a gigantic air base, storage depot and mobilisation camp.

The First Battle of Ypres

Planning the Invasion

General Dwight D. Eisenhower (US) was made Supreme Allied Commander of the invasion. He

was a tactful and good team leader. General Sir Bernard Montgomery (GB) was put in charge of

land forces and eventually just British command. The plan was to invade France from the south

coast of England, land on the beaches of Normandy and push forward forcing the Germans back.

This required careful planning, organisation and the involvement of many men, both in Britain

and in France by the Resistance.

Plans were drawn up from the start of 1944 and it was vital that the Germans should not know

where on the French coast the Allies planned to land. Security for the plan had to be total.

Everything possible was done to make the Germans believe the invasion would take place near

to Calais.

For the actual invasion 6000 ships were needed for the day and future cross channel trips. Over

the first three days it was planned to move over 100,000 men and nearly 13,000 vehicles. Also

planned was an artificial harbour to ensure men, supplies and materials could be landed more

easily once the beaches had been taken. All this equipment had to be transported without

raising German suspicion.

Detailed research of landing sites had to be carried out. How?

Low level aerial reconnaissance photos.

French holiday guide books.

The BBC asked for holiday photos of the area.

Sailing books.

French spies.

Colonel Sam Bassett landed secretly at night to test the sand was hard enough for bearing the weight of tanks.

The coast between Dorset and

Cornwall had become ‘occupied

England’.

Before the Invasion

1. Who were the Resistance?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. What practical things could they do on D-Day to help with the invasion?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. How could holiday guides and holiday photographs help with the planning? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. In the quote, what do you think was meant by “occupied England”? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before the Invasion

The Germans called it Festung Europa.

(Fortress Europe)

Concrete and steel defences stretching

along the coast from Norway to the

French / Spanish border.


It would not be easy just to invade France on

the beaches of Normandy because the

Germans had built a series of defences along

the coast of Europe. This was known as the

Atlantic Wall and was intended to go along the

entire coast of Europe (France to Denmark) and

along the Norwegian coast. The aim was to

stop any invasion from Britain.

Up until the spring of 1942 defences had been

weak and Führer Directive 40 ordered the

creation of the Atlantic Wall. After the naval

raid on the port of St. Nazaire in April 1942 by

HMS Campbeltown and 18 smaller craft, and

the unsuccessful Dieppe Raid in August 1942,

Hitler ordered naval and submarine bases to be

heavily defended. Ports remained fortified and

in 1943 defences were stepped up in other

areas.

The "Atlantic Wall" really began in spring of

1942 and involved the construction of

minefields, concrete walls and bunkers, barbed

wire fences, and fortified artillery

emplacements. The work was done by

compulsory, effectively slave labour from the

occupied countries.

The Normandy area defences were planned by

Field Marshal Karl Gerd von Rundstedt.

‘Believe me. The first 24 hours of the invasion will decide it. For the Allies as well as for Germany it will be the longest day.’ Field Marshall Erwin Rommel (German) 22nd April 1944

Early in 1944, Field Marshall Erwin Rommel was put in charge of the Normandy Wall's defences. After his inspection, Rommel could see the existing coastal fortifications were inadequate and began work to strengthen them. Under his command reinforced concrete pillboxes were built along the beaches and particularly at Omaha beach they could create a murderous crossfire along the beach. The beaches were mined and strewn with obstacles to stop tanks, and offshore, more underwater obstacles and mines were positioned to wreck landing craft.

The Germans had laid several million mines in northern France already. Second lines of defences, with gun emplacements and minefields, extended inland along the roads from the beaches. The hedges and natural features of the Normandy ‘bocage’ country would provide a distinct advantage to the German defenders, and pre-prepared fortifications would allow them to ambush Allied advances.

To prevent parachutists and gliders, likely landing spots had spear-like poles with sharpened tops which the Germans called Rommelspargel ("Rommel's asparagus"). Low-lying areas of land were flooded.

Rommel firmly believed that Germany would lose the war unless the invasion could be stopped at the beaches and the Allies defeated there. If the Allies broke out from the beaches and were able to reinforce the landings, then, with their superior air power, it would be very difficult to prevent their advance.

Although the work on the Atlantic Wall was never completed, it did serve as a reason to explain to the beleaguered Russians why a second front could not be started earlier.


1. What was the Atlantic Wall?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Why were the German Naval bases so heavily defended?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Who built the Atlantic Wall?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. How did Rommel strengthen the defences?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. What advantages would the German defenders have?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Preparation for Operation Overlord Operation Fortitude

Huge forces of men trained all over the

south of England.

Months of training and practising attacking replicas of Nazi emplacements. Some of these were so realistic that many men were killed in these exercises.

Mulberry harbours were built. These were concrete blocks towed over and then sunk. This ensured calm conditions inside the ‘harbour’.

Specialist machines were built. Crab tanks to clear mines and bridge- carrying tanks. These were nicknamed Hobart’s Funnies, after the man who invented them.

The Times crossword had clues with answers with reference to Operation Overlord in May 1944.

Tanks, landing craft, planes, ships, flexible steel roadways, cranes, jeeps and other artillery were gathered to take across the English Channel.

A phantom army of 150000 men were sent to Kent They were known as Patton’s 1st Army (named after the American General) in order to make the Germans believe the attack would be on Calais. There were dummy tanks, artillery pieces, trucks, jeeps, planes, jetties and even dummy ships.

German spies from the Abwehr were turned by the British and sent back false information to the Germans.

Other spies, code named Garbo, Mutt and Jeff sent back information that the invasion would be into Norway.

A Spanish double agent convinced the Germans that the attack would take place near Calais and Normandy was a diversion.

Radio was used to confuse the Germans with misinformation.

Calais was bombed twice as much as

Normandy.


Preparations for Operation Overlord went ahead with men training for the invasion. It was vital the Germans did not find out find out where the invasion was actually going to take place so every effort was made by the Allies to lead the Germans into believing the attack would be around Calais. This was known as Operation Fortitude.

Five landing beaches in Normandy were selected and were codenamed: UTAH US attack OMAHA US attack GOLD British attack JUNO Canadian attack SWORD British attack

The plan was for the British troops to seize Caen and hold the German troops off whilst the US

troops landed at Cherbourg and pour in men and supplies until they were strong enough to

attack. The Allies would have control of the sea and the air and plenty of men. Three Divisions

would land by parachute and glider in the early hours of the morning.

Could the Allied Forces hold off the Germans until reinforcements arrived?

Why was it called D-Day? In military terms, a proposed attack might not have its date finalised until just before the start. When planning Operation Overlord, the date was first decided to be 5 June, but was then put back 24 hours to 6 June. D was a flexible way of indicating the day, H was the hour and M was the minute.


1. What was the most important aspect of Operation Fortitude? What was

the least important? Explain your answers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. What was the most important aspect of Operation Overlord? What was

the least important? Explain your answers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. What were the objectives of Operation Overlord?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The D-Day Invasion

This was delayed by one day until June 6th 1944 because of poor weather conditions.

Just before midnight on June 5th, Eisenhower decided “O.K., We’ll go”.

In the early hours of the 6th June, 20,000 paratroopers and soldiers in gliders landed in Normandy, helped by the Resistance and covered by 11,000 aircraft which also attacked the Germans. Battleships, cruisers and destroyers bombarded the sheltered German shoreline defences. The airborne landings on D-Day did not go entirely according to plan. However, radio communications, railways, crucial bridges, road junctions and gun batteries were captured, and many German troops were diverted to try and deal with them.

6000 ships including 864 converted merchant ships and 4126 landing craft set sail for Normandy

with 185 000 soldiers.

By the end of the first day 156000

Allied soldiers had landed, 3600 British

and Canadian soldiers had been killed

or wounded and the US had lost 6000.

Soldiers were equipped with a rubber tube life preserver, weapons, entrenching tools, gas masks, first aid kits, canteens, knives and rations. They carried extra grenades, explosives and ammunition. As well as this they carried specialist equipment depending on their task on landing. For the soldiers packed into the landing craft the noise was deafening. Many of these men were vomiting as their boats were tossed about in heavy seas. The soldiers were wet, shivering and sick with fear as they waited for their boat to land. They tried to see where they were going, but thick grey cloud from the bombardment made it difficult to see the German defences.

The infantry then went ashore and what followed did not always go according to plan.

Most of the tanks sent to Normandy never made it ashore.

1. What role did the paratroopers have?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. How would soldiers in the landing craft have felt?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Why did most of the tanks never get ashore?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The D-Day Invasion

St. Mère Église was the first village liberated

by the Allies in the early hours of June 6th. In

the bombing, which preceded the airdrop, a

stray bomb had set fire to a house in the main

square and the Germans gave permission for

the villagers to put out the fire using buckets

of water and a primitive pump. When the drop

began about 30 paratroopers from the 82nd

Airborne Division were blown off-course by

strong winds and landed in the main square or

just around it. Some actually fell into the

burning building and were blown up by their

own ammunition. The German garrison was in

just the right place to meet those descending

into the square and those unlucky enough to

be outlined by the flames against the night or

caught up in the trees surrounding the square

were mown down.

Private John Steele was shot in the foot as he

descended over the main square and his

parachute canopy became caught on the

church steeple, leaving the paratrooper

suspended. His head was only feet away from

the church bell which was tolling because of

the fire and continued to toll as Steele avoided

being shot by pretending to be dead as he

hung there. On the church spire is an effigy of

John Steele with a parachute.

The Germans went back to bed after this

action.

Inside the church there are two stained

glass windows, one shows the Virgin

Mary surrounded by paratroopers; the

other shows St. Michael (patron saint of

the paratroopers) and was dedicated in

1972.

St. Mère Église

The commander of 3rd Battalion, 505th PIR

(Parachute Infantry Regiment), Lt. Col. Ed

Krause, had landed one mile west of the village

and quickly began gathering stray men. Within

an hour, he had managed to round up around

180 men and began heading straight into the

village. Krause entered the town unhindered

and was shown the German billets by a local

Frenchman. 30 Germans were captured and

about 10 were killed - while others fled to the

nearby woods. By 4.30 am the village was in

Allied hands. However, heavy German counter-

attacks began later in the day and into the next.

The lightly armed troops held the town until

reinforced by tanks from nearby Utah Beach in

the afternoon of 7 June.

St. Mère Église

Across the square from the church, is the Airborne Museum and this is partly built on the site of

the house which was bombed and caught fire immediately prior to the parachute drop. The

museum opened in 1964 and tells the story of the battles undertaken by the United States 82nd

and 101st airborne divisions who parachuted into France on the night of 5th June. The road

where the museum is located is called Rue Eisenhower in honour of the commanding General of

the Normandy invasion.

The museum contains artefacts of the invasion including a Waco glider of the type which landed

in the fields west of St. Mère Église, and a Douglas C-47 aircraft, codenamed Argonia, which

towed a glider and dropped paratroopers.

The objective of the 82nd division was to capture and hold the N13 highway from Cherbourg to

Bayeux and also to hold the crossroads at the Merderet River to prevent and slow any German

attacks on Utah beach.

Not having any substantial artillery to repel any counter-attacks, it was important that they

quickly received support from the landing at Utah Beach. In the grounds of the museum are

military vehicles and artillery pieces, which landed at Utah Beach and fought through to relieve

the beleaguered 82nd division on 7th June.

In the Hotel de Ville (Town Hall) is the

Stars and Stripes flag which Lt. Col.

Krause raised over the liberated town.

On his death, it was presented to the

town by his widow. It is flown over the

Town Hall on 6th June each year.

St. Mère Église

1. What emotions do you think John Steele would have felt whilst suspended from the church steeple? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Have a look at the stained glass windows inside the church. Describe what you see in the one of the Virgin Mary.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. There is a marker stone at St. Mère Église commemorating the Path to

Freedom. What does it say on the stone? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. What is the Path to Freedom?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

St. Mère Église

The landing at Utah Beach was added quite late

in the planning. General Eisenhower included it

in the D-Day plan after General Montgomery

wanted to ensure the early capture of the vital

port of Cherbourg, at the north of the

peninsula, to allow supplies to be landed.

The beach sectors, starting at Charlie on Omaha

Beach and working eastwards to Roger at Sword

Beach had all been allocated alphabetically, so

Utah was given the next available letters for

their sectors, Tare Green and Uncle Red.

Utah Beach was the furthest west of the five

beaches designated for the D-Day landings. It

was about three miles wide. Much of it was

made up of not very high sandy dunes - a

contrast to the high cliffs at Omaha Beach - and

the German fortifications here were weak when

compared to those of Omaha Beach. The Utah

Beach landing force departed from the Brixham,

Dartmouth and Salcombe areas of South Devon.

The plan for Utah included an airborne drop by the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions at various points two to five miles inland of the beach. The paratroopers were dropped to secure the main roads in the area and to cause general chaos, helped by the Resistance. They were dropped at 01.30 and German commanders did not know if they were a decoy to a main attack elsewhere or the primary attack force in the area. The US paratroopers suffered many casualties from drowning and enemy fire.

On the field order, dated 28th May 1944, it states ‘The Vll corps will attack Utah Beach on D-Day at H-Hour and will storm Cherbourg in the minimum of time’.

Utah Beach and St. Marie-du-Mont

Strong currents meant that the landing craft missed their intended targets. They landed on the

beach some 2000 metres away from their main landing target. This was one of the lesser-defended

areas along the entire beach front and the casualties as the Americans came ashore were minimal

when compared to Omaha.

The most senior American commander on the beach, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt,

nephew of the 26th President of the United States, told his men, “We’ll start the war from here!”

and ordered an advance. By midday, the men of the US 4th Infantry had met up with the men from

the 101st airborne unit.

TO THE OFFICERS AND SAILORS OF THE

UNITED STATES NAVY. WHOSE

COMPETENCE COURAGE AND SACRIFICE

ENABLE OPERATION OVERLORD, THE

GREATEST AMPHIBIOUS LANDING IN

HISTORY. THEIR SELFLESS CAUSE WAS TO

DESTROY TYRANNY AND RESTORE

FREEDOM AND SELF-DETERMINATION.

THE FALLEN WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.

THE VETERAN WILL EVER BE HONORED. IN

GRATEFUL APPRECIATION, THE NAVAL

ORDER OF THE UNITED STATES.


On the first full day of the landing at Utah, 20,000 men had been landed and 1,700 military vehicles. Casualties were less than 300 men with only 12 dead.

The focal point of the beach memorials is the battlefield museum around which are relics from the invasion. These include amphibious landing craft, anti-aircraft guns, anti-tank guns and a Sherman tank.

In this bunker, captured from the enemy on 6th

June 1944, NOIC of US Navy established its

communication center from 8th June to 31st

October 1944. This group of 41 men played a

great part in the success of the landing of

836000 men, 220000 vehicles and 725000 tons

of equipment.

NOIC (Naval Office In Charge) – Utah

Command Task Group 127.2.4

Lieut. W.B.MacDONALD


Around the main landing site at Utah Beach are many German bunkers which were quickly overrun

by the American soldiers storming ashore.

The village of St Marie-du-Mont is a short distance

from Utah Beach. The land around the village was

low-lying and as a defensive measure, the

Germans flooded the fields to make it more

difficult to move through.

Paratroopers from the US 82nd Airborne division

landed around the village and throughout the

night the battle to gain control ebbed and flowed

around the church, which has stained glass

windows depicting the liberation.

The road between the beach and the village

contains many monuments, as well as each

kilometre being marked with the “Path to

Freedom” milestones. In St. Mère Église, the

marker is labelled 0, however, because of

disagreements about where the invasion started

the marker at Utah Beach is labelled 00.

“Wars do not make men great, but

they do bring out the greatness in

good men”

Richard D. Winters, Easy Company,

506 Parachute Infantry Regiment,

101st Airborne Division



1. Why were the airborne divisions dropped in the early hours of the morning? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Why did the landing force not arrive at the correct place?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. What problems could this cause for the leaders of the landing units?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Why did Roosevelt say “We’ll start the war from here”?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The German war dead from the Normandy campaign were scattered over a wide area, many of them buried in isolated or field graves, or small battlefield cemeteries. After the war the German War Graves Commission decided to establish six main German cemeteries in the Normandy area. This cemetery was started in 1954 and the remains of more than 12000 German soldiers were moved in from 1400 locations to La Cambe. It was completed in 1961 and since this date more than 700 soldiers have been found on the battlefield, and are now also buried here.

In total there are 21222 German soldiers commemorated here. In the middle is a six metre mound with a granite cross on top, in which 207 unknown and 89 identified Germans are buried in a mass grave. The mound is surrounded by 49 rectangular grave fields with up to 400 graves each. On this large green grass area are granite headstones and for each of these there are a number of smaller headstones flat on the ground.

HIER RUHEN DEUTSCHE

SOLDATEN

German soldiers are

buried here


Around 80 percent of those buried

at La Cambe were less than 20

years old when they died.

German tank ace Waffen-SS Hauptsturmführer (Captain) Michael Wittmann is buried here.

Even before Normandy, Wittmann had gained a reputation on the Russian Front, and had been highly decorated gaining the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. He was also Divisional Commander of the Jugend (Hitler Youth) which was decimated in the fighting of Normandy.

At Villers-Bocage in June 1944, he played havoc with the advance guard of 7th (Armoured) Division and caught them unawares with his Tiger I tank, inflicting heavy losses before he was forced to abandon the attack. In the space of 15 minutes he destroyed 14 tanks and 15 personnel carriers as well as 2 anti-tank guns.

He finally met his match south of Caen on 8th August 1944, when his Tiger tank was knocked out and all the crew killed, including Wittman.

The Youth inflicted devastating losses on the British and Canadian forces. The training which

Wittman had developed maintained his unit’s morale and fighting ability.


1. What do you notice about the upright German headstones compared to

those found in a British cemetery?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. What is different about the memorial stones for the German soldiers at

La Cambe?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. In general, how many names are on each memorial stone?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Find the grave of Michael Wittmann and his crew. When was he born and when did he die? How old was he?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. What were the names of his tank crew and how old were they when they

were killed?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Pointe-du-Hoc

Pointe du Hoc

Pointe du Hoc is a jagged promontory close to Omaha Beach and was protected by some of the

Germans biggest defence guns. It was thought these guns would play havoc with the landings on

both Omaha and Utah beaches. It was the task of the 2nd Battalion US Rangers, led by Lt Col JF

Rudder to scale the 100 foot cliffs from the sea below and blow up the guns before they could be

brought into action when the landings started.

The Rangers approached the point with their flotilla of ten landing craft, with another two

carrying supplies, and four DUKW's. These were carrying 100 foot (30 m) ladders, requisitioned

from the London Fire Brigade. The seas were rough. One landing craft carrying troops sank and

all but one of its occupants drowned, another was swamped. One supply craft sank and the other

put the stores overboard to stay afloat.

The DUKW (colloquially known as Duck)

was a six-wheel-drive amphibious truck for

transporting goods and troops over land

and water and for approaching and

crossing beaches.

Pointe-du-Hoc

Pointe du Hoc

Lieutenant Eikner remembered "bailing

water with our helmets, dodging bullets,

and vomiting all at the same time."

As the Rangers landed they were met by a hail of grenades and small arms fire which rained down

on them from the cliff top. Despite all this, by using rocket fired grapnels, ropes and extending

ladders, the Rangers slowly but surely fought their way to the top and to the gun emplacements.

Once there they were horrified to find them empty of guns. They were found two hours after scaling

the cliffs by a Ranger patrol about a mile inland in an orchard. They were destroyed by thermite

bombs.

Apart from casual reinforcements who had broken through from Omaha, the Rangers had to hold out

alone around the Pointe against Germen counter-attack until they were finally relieved at noon on 8th

June. Only 90 men remained able to fight from the 225 who had first attempted to scale the cliffs.

Pointe du Hoc

Today Pointe du Hoc is much the same as it was on that Tuesday morning in June 1944. The whole

area is littered with debris and craters made by naval and aerial bombardment. The remains of the

emplacements can clearly be seen.

“These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. And these are the heroes who helped end a war”. Ronald Reagan 1984

They did it so that the world could be free.

General Dwight D Eisenhower, US Army

Pointe du Hoc What impression do you get from Reagan’s speech in 1984 about the US Rangers?Explain your answer. (4)

1. What is a promontory?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Describe the cliff top landscape at Pointe du Hoc?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. What would have caused it to look like this?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. What is a grapnel?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. What problems and difficulties would the Rangers have had in climbing

the cliff?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Who is President Reagan referring to in his speech in 1984?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The landings on OMAHA & UTAH were scheduled to take place first. This was to ensure arrival at low tide so German defence obstructions could be seen openly, rather than hidden underwater during the rising tide.

Omaha Beach was the most intensely fought over beach on D-Day. It stretched over six miles and was the largest of all the five beaches. The western third of the beach was backed by a 3 metre high seawall, and the whole beach was overlooked by 30 metre high cliffs. There were five exits from the sand and shingle beach; the best was a paved road in a ravine leading to the village of Vierville-sur-Mer at the junction of beach sectors Charlie and Dog Green, two were only dirt paths, and two were dirt roads leading to the villages of Colleville-sur-Mer and Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.

Troops destined for Omaha Beach assembled mainly in Weymouth,

Portland and Poole, just west of the main British assembly area in

Southampton Water.

Omaha beach was divided into eight sectors for the landings. At the west end was Charlie sector,

then Dog Green, Dog White and Dog Red, Easy Green, Easy Red, Fox Green and at the eastern end

Fox Red.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/D-Day.htm


Of all the landing areas, Omaha beach had probably the strongest defences. Rommel had strengthened these defences including the use of what were known as “dragon’s teeth”, a reinforced concrete pyramid shape designed to rip the bottom out of landing craft. The high ground behind the beach consisted of fortified positions which linked to each other by trenches. This allowed the safe, easy movement of troops in case the Allies managed to breakthrough. There were 13 strong points called Widerstandsnester (Resistance Nests). The defending forces consisted of three battalions of the veteran 352nd Infantry Division who had learned much of their craft fighting in Russia. The veterans were supplemented with teenaged conscripts who had not had much training and little, if any, battle experience. Their weapons were fixed to cover the beach. Omaha beach was a classic killing zone. Facing the Germans were troops from the US 1st Army led by General Omar Bradley. The attack on the beach was timed for 0630. The plan was to land infantry troops alongside armoured vehicles - amphibious Sherman tanks. Many tanks never made it. The 29 tanks were released from their landing craft too far away from the beach. There was a much greater swell further out to sea than the Americans had bargained for, and all but two of the amphibious DD tanks were swamped with water soon after leaving their landing craft. Once they started to sink, nothing could be done to help them or the crew. But it also meant that troops on the beach, expecting armoured cover, did not get it.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/omar_bradley.htm


Throughout the landing, German gunners poured deadly fire into the ranks of the invading Americans. Bodies lay on the beach or floated in the water. Men sought refuge behind beach obstacles, contemplating the deadly sprint across the beach to the seawall at the base of the cliff which offered some safety. Destroyed craft and vehicles littered the water’s edge and beach.

The terrain at the very eastern end of Omaha gave enough protection to allow 125 survivors from one unit to organize and begin an assault of the bluffs. They were the only company in the first wave able to operate as a unit.

All the other companies were disorganised, mostly leaderless and pinned down behind the shingle

with no hope of carrying out their assault missions. They had ceased to exist as fighting units. The

only way off the beach was to scale the cliffs. Led by US Rangers 2nd Battalion, this is how the

American soldiers escaped from the beach as was featured as the opening scenes in the film

“Saving Private Ryan”.

The Ranger Battalion landed in sectors Charlie and Dog Green. Small naval craft had got as close in

as they could and attacked the German gun emplacements. Their impact was important as they

took away the Germans desire to solely concentrate on the Americans on the beach. By midday,

German resistance was considerably lessened as the defensive positions were taken from the rear.

Then one by one the exits were opened.

Omaha Beach was also the location of one of the Mulberry harbours. “Mulberry A” arrived off Omaha Beach on June 9th and immediately started to reinforce the troops who had landed on the previous days.


Supplies were essential in order to keep up the momentum of the invasion and for the break-out from the beach-head. However, a fierce storm on 19th June destroyed “Mulberry A” which had not been anchored sufficiently. At its height, “Mulberry A” was landing more than 24000 men, 3500 vehicles and 15000 tons of supplies. At the junction of Charlie and Dog Green sectors is a beached segment of “Mulberry A” and on the road to the beach from the village of Vierville-sur-Mer are several of the bridges used to span between the island segments of the Mulberry harbour. Although the landing at Omaha was throroughly planned, very little of the attack actually went to plan. The amphibious tanks were mostly lost, and in the smoke and confusion landing craft arrived at the wrong sectors. The murderous defensive fire caused much higher casualties than had been predicted. This in turn meant that the surviving US forces were desperately under strength to overcome the German forces. Much of the success in turning around this situation can be attributed the Colonel George Taylor who landed at around 0800 and immediately started bringing order and convincing the exhausted troops who had landed earlier, many of whom were shell-shocked and terrified, to move forward.

"There are two kinds of people who are staying on this beach: those who are dead

and those who are going to die. Now let’s get the hell out of here”.

Colonel George Taylor to the soldiers taking cover on the beach.


1. What problems would the troops have when they landed on Omaha

Beach?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. What advantage did the Germans have over the US troops?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Why did the tanks fail to get to the beach?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. What were “Dragon’s Teeth” and “Resistance Nests”?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Which Hollywood film was set at Omaha Beach?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The World War II Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial is situated on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel in the village of Colleville-sur-Mer, France. The Normandy American cemetery is the largest from World War II. It is 172 acres in size with 9,387 graves, marked with a cross or Star of David. Out of this number some 307 are unknown, three are Medal of Honour Winners and four are women. There are 33 pairs of brothers buried side by side. The bodies of 14000 Americans killed in the region were transported home at the request of their relatives. A huge semi-circular colonnade dominates one end of the cemetery containing a 22 foot bronze statue "The Spirit of American Youth Rising From The Waves", a tribute to all those Americans who died in operations. There are also three bronze and enamel maps which show the naval operations for the landings, the whole of the Normandy operations and the huge bombing campaigns.


Behind the statue is the Garden of the Missing. On the walls of the semi-circular garden on the east side of the memorial are inscribed the names of a further 1557 soldiers, sailors and airmen who fell in Normandy but whose remains were not located or identified and have no known grave. Those whose remains have been found since the war are indicated with an asterisk. The servicemen commemorated here represent all but one of the 50 States. The Chapel is built from limestone and the main inscription inside reads "I Give Unto Them Eternal Life and They Shall Never Perish". There is a mosaic on the ceiling which represents the partnership between France and USA. Every day, at the end of the afternoon, visitors can watch the ceremony of the ‘Lowering of the Colours’. To the sound of a military hymn, the American flag is lowered and folded. The American ceremony in the cemetery is the biggest, most well-known and the most moving in Normandy.

The average age of the dead at

Normandy was twenty two.

Where known, each grave identifies the fallen

soldier, and includes their home state.

There is a Viewing Platform with a map and

paths which take you down the slopes and

onto the beach.


1. Why are there two main types of cross in the cemetery?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. There are 33 pairs of brothers buried side by side in the cemetery. Try to

find some of their graves, write down their names and the dates they

died.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Find the grave of Theodore Roosevelt. What military award had he been

given?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Who was Theodore Roosevelt and how did he die?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Look at the crosses and write down as many examples of military awards

as you can find.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Arromanches was vital to the Allied plans for

success as it was one of two places where the

famous Mulberry Harbours were to be based.

The Allies obviously needed somewhere to land

lots of men, vehicles and supplies but could not

attack and use the ports of Normandy as they

were too heavily defended.

Instead they brought their own harbours with

them – the Mulberries!

At Arromanches, beside Gold Beach, is a

monument to the important role that the

Mulberry harbours, particularly Mulberry B,

played in ensuring the invasion momentum

could be sustained.

The inscription reads

“Here at Arromanches, from 6 June 1944,

close behind the assault troops, a great

floating harbour codenamed ‘Mulberry B’,

was assembled and operated by men of the

Royal Engineers (Transportation) under the

command of Brigadier A.E.M.Walter CBE

Royal Engineers.

The concept of a floating harbour, inspired

personally by Winston Churchill, Prime

Minister of Great Britain, stimulated the

design and construction of the Mulberry

Harbours by engineering companies large and

small throughout the United Kingdom. After

marshalling in mid-channel by the Royal Navy

and Merchant Navy, ‘Mulberry B’ was towed

to this Normandy beach.

Having survived the great storm of 19 to 23

June, ‘Mulberry B’ remained the main supply

port to the Allied Armies, until the Port of

Antwerp was re-opened on 23 November

1944, thus far exceeding its planned life.

Without ‘Mulberry B’ the liberation of Europe

would not have been possible. The deeds of

those who created, launched and planted

‘Mulberry B’ remain unsurpassed in the annals

of British Military Engineering.

This monument also commemorates the

participation throughout the European

Theatre of Operations, of Beach, port,

Railway, Inland Water Transport and

movement control units of the Royal

Engineers.”

Mulberry B became known as Port

Winston in honour of Winston Churchill


Once tanks and reinforcements had landed

on 6th June, the troops moved inland quickly.

The British entered Arromanches in the

evening of 6th June around 2100.

By 9 June, just 3 days after D-Day, two

harbours codenamed Mulberry "A" and "B"

were constructed at Omaha Beach and

Arromanches, respectively. However, a large

storm on 19 June destroyed the American

harbour at Omaha, leaving only the British

harbour at Arromanches which came to be

known as Port Winston.

While the harbour at Omaha was destroyed

sooner than expected, Port Winston saw heavy

use for 8 months—despite being designed to

last only 3 months. In the months after D-Day,

it was used to land over 2.5 million men,

500000 vehicles and 4 million tonnes of

supplies, providing much needed

reinforcements in France.

The concrete harbour casements were linked

using steel bridges similar to those used on

pontoon bridges.

“To construct our defences we had in two years used some 13 million cubic

metres of concrete and 1½ million tons of steel. A fortnight after the Normandy

Landings, this costly effort was brought to nothing because of an idea of simple

genius. As we now know, the invasion force brought their own harbours, and

built, at Arromanches and Omaha, on unprotected coast, the necessary landing

ramps." Albert Speer – Nazi Minister of Armaments


The landing areas at Gold Beach were divided into

sectors from west to east, Item, Jig Green, Jig Red,

King Green and King Red. A further site to the

west was an option and this was codenamed

How, but this sector was not used.

Just outside the town, on a headland, there is an

excellent observation point to see the whole of

the bay – it was originally the site of a German

radar station.

The museum at Arromanches was opened in 1954

and was built on the site of the original artificial

harbour. It contains many artefacts and also has a

small cinema showing an excellent film of the

events of D-Day. Outside the museum is a

collection of guns, an original landing craft and up

the road is a Sherman tank. Also in Arromanches

is the 360 cinema where you can be plunged back

in the thick of the action of 1944.


1. Why was Arromanches so important to the D-Day landings?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Why did Port Winston become so important?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. What point is Albert Speer making?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Who was Albert Speer?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At Courseulles the Germans had fortified the

mouth of the river Seulles. The attack started

at 0745 with the launching of amphibious

tanks 3km off the coast. Most of these sank

because of the rough seas. The picture shows

an amphibious tank that was recovered after

sinking during the assault.

However those that did reach the beach

immediately opened fire on the Germans and

cleared a pathway for the invading soldiers. By

the evening of 6th June over 20000 men and

3000 vehicles had been landed.

The Juno Beach Centre is in Courseulles

and is a large museum with many

contemporary exhibits. It is located at

the exact spot where the Canadians

landed.

Close to Courseulles is Beny-Reviers

military cemetery which contains the

graves of over 2,000 Canadian troops,

335 who fell on the first day of the

invasion.

Courseulles is in the middle of Juno beach which was stormed by more than 14000 Canadian

soldiers on 6th June 1944. They were followed by an additional 150000 Canadian troops over the

next few months. The Canadian troops reached almost 10km inland on the first day of fighting –

the furthest of all the Allied landing forces. On the first day they suffered 1074 casualties

including 369 killed.

A Sherman tank is still on display in the town with badges of most the troops who landed there

attached to it. There is also the remains of a German defence gun on display as well as

monuments to General de Gaulle, the Free French leader, who landed at Courseulles on 14th June

1944.

Juno Beach and Courseulles

To the west of Juno beach was Gold beach and

to the east was Sword beach. Attacking the

beach were the 3rd Canadian Division,

supported by elements of the Royal Marine

Commandos. Juno Beach was divided into

sectors Love, Mike, Nan Green and Nan Red.

In the sand dunes in front of the Juno Beach

Centre is a German bunker which was used as

an observation post at the time of the invasion.

Between the centre and the dunes is a

sculpture called Remembrance and Renewal,

created by Canadian artist Colin Gibson.

It depicts five soldier figures and was

unveiled on June 6th 2003, 59 years after the

event of the invasion.

The memorial honours all those who

participated in the Canadian war effort to

achieve a final victory.


Close to the Remembrance and Renewal statue

is a stone landmark, called an Inuksuk, built in

the tradition of the Inuit Eskimo of Canada.

In the barren Inuit regions, where there are few

natural landmarks, it is used as a navigation

reference point.

On a series of monuments at the side of the

Juno Centre are listed the names of soldiers

who fought at Juno Beach, with their service

start dates and end dates, or, if they fell in

battle, the date that they died.


1. Why do you think Courseulles was important to the Juno landings? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Look around – how easy would it have been to defend? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. What is an amphibious tank? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. How successful were the landings around Courseulles? Why was this?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Where was the Sherman tank discovered?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Who was General de Gaulle?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Courseulles Sword Beach was the most easterly of all the landing sites. It was divided into sectors, Oboe in the west, then Peter, Queen Red, Queen White and Queen Green and Roger at the east end. There are still a number of bunkers along the beach promenade. Sword Beach was about 16 Km from the vital city of Caen which had to be captured as it controlled all of the major roads in most directions.

The landing area was only lightly defended because the Germans had concentrated their forces

around the artillery emplacements away from the beach. The first landings by British and French

commandos took place at 0725 on the 6th June. They quickly joined up with paratroopers who had

landed further inland and by 1300 the fighting at the beach had finished and troops had reached the

River Orne waterways inland from Ouistreham.

However it was at Sword Beach that the only real German counter attack on D-Day took place.

British troops had not managed to join up with Canadian troops from Juno Beach. They were

attacked by the German 21st Panzer Division and supporting German troops of the 192nd Panzer

Grenadier Regiment who actually got to Sword Beach that evening. The counter attack failed though

because the Germans vehicles were destroyed by Allied fighter planes and tanks. However, the

Germans fought a skilful retreat which held up the British attack on Caen for almost a month.

By the end of D-Day over 29,000 men had been landed at Sword with only 630 casualties. Allied

troops were now about four miles inland and had secured the beach and had linked up with the

Canadian troops at Juno Beach.

“If they come, they will come here”.

German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel

on a visit to the 1716th Artillery

Regiment at Ouistreham in May 1944.


Courseulles Ouistreham was a very important target for the invading forces to capture. Although just a fishing

village before the war, it was the place where the locks were located for the entry to the port of

Caen.

Marines from No.4 Commando, part of the 1st Special Service Brigade commanded by Brigadier

Lord Lovat, along with 177 Free French soldiers under the command of Capitaine Phillippe Kieffer

were assigned to capture Ouistreham. Having fought their way off of the beach, Kieffer was guided

to a good place to start his attack by a French gendarme who braved the firefight to assist the

invaders. During the attack, Kieffer was wounded in the leg twice by shrapnel, but refused to be

evacuated during the battle. It was two days before he finally consented to leave the battle area for

medical treatment.

The Germans had created a strongpoint at the casino building and it was too much for the lightly

armed commandos to overcome. Kieffer got armoured support from 13 / 18th Hussars of the 27th

Armoured Brigade and by the early afternoon the Germans had surrendered or retreated.

What remains of the Atlantic Wall at Ouistreham has been turned into the Grand Bunker Museum.

Outside the building are a number of military vehicles including a landing craft. The Grand Bunker

was the command centre for the German forces and was heavily defended. Initial attacks by the

invaders were unsuccessful and so the decision was made to leave it until sufficient forces became

available. After three days, Royal Engineers under the command of Lieutenant Orrell managed to

get to the armoured entrance door and after several attempts, blew the door open with

explosives. The German officers and men, now completely surrounded, immediately surrendered.


Courseulles Benouville is the site of the famous Pegasus Bridge, over

the Caen canal, named after the insignia of the British

Airborne Divisions. Major John Howard and 65 men of

the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light

Infantry, 6th Airborne Division captured it just after

midnight on 5th June. The village was the first one in

France to fall to the Allies. Close to the bridge is a café

and museum which is still owned by the family who lived

there in 1944. A plaque on the café records the fact that

it was the first house in France to be liberated and

nearby is a wooden memorial, bearing the Pegasus

badge, recording the capture of the bridge. The Germans

had prepared the bridge for demolition but the Royal

Engineers removed the unset charges.

The plaque on the café reads:

This was the first house in France to be

liberated during the last hour of the 5th

June 1944 by men of the Oxfordshire &

Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in the

British 6th Airborne Division under the

command of Major R. John Howard.

There was a massive German counter attack to try to retake the bridge but they were kept at bay

and finally the exhausted troops were relieved by the arrival from the D-Day beaches of

commandos led by Lord Lovat. During this action the first British soldier to be killed in the

Normandy invasion was Lieutenant Herbert Denham Brotheridge MC.

On the far side of the bridge, where Howard’s gliders landed, there are reminders of the assault.

These include an originally sited German 50mm anti-tank gun, in its concrete emplacement, and a

British Mk. IV Centaur tank. This tank had been “knocked out” near Lion-sur-Mer on D-Day but

was salvaged and restored in 1977 and moved to this site. Nearby are three concrete markers,

which lie on the exact spots where Howard’s gliders landed.


Courseulles

The original Pegasus bridge is

now located in the new

Museum Memorial Pegasus

which also has lots of artefacts,

vehicles and an excellent film

show.

“Our job was to clear the ground for our gliders to land near Pegasus Bridge. Photo

reconnaissance had shown the enemy had laid out heavy posts of concrete or steel all

over the proposed landing area…We had such a lot of weaponry and kit to carry. As

well as the explosive packs , I had the Bren gun, which I dropped…I was more worried

about what would happen to me for losing the Bren gun than I was about anything the

enemy might do to me! We landed at about 0050 in small arms fire. Once we were

down, it was discovered the posts were just light timber stakes which could be easily

pulled out…mission accomplished.”

Ivor Anderson – Parachute Regiment

One of the legends of Sword beach and Pegasus Bridge is the story of Piper Millin. His legend is honoured with a statue of him at Sword Beach.

Private William “Bill” Millin had been appointed as the personal piper to Brigadier Lord Lovat, who commanded the 1st Special Service Brigade, a commando unit whose objective was to relieve the airborne troops at Pegasus Bridge. During the landing, armed only with his bagpipes and a ceremonial knife (Sgian-dubh) in his right sock hose, he played the pipes as the British forces came ashore. After the landing, Millin was relieved to learn that German snipers had not shot at him because they thought his behaviour indicated he had lost his mind and was no serious threat.

Orders were that the playing of bagpipes was not allowed in front line areas, but encouraged by Lord Lovat who stated “Ah but that’s the English War office. You and I are both Scots and that doesn’t apply”, Millin played on as casualties fell around him.

The objective for the commandos was to reach Pegasus Bridge by noon of the first day, but because of the fighting, they were delayed by about an hour. However, hearing Millin playing the bagpipes in the distance announced to the troops defending the bridge that help was on the way.

The bagpipes are now amongst the exhibits at the Pegasus Bridge museum.


Courseulles

“If they remember the bagpiper, then

they won’t forget those who served and

fell on the beaches”

Private William “Bill” Millin

1. Why did the Allies need to capture Pegasus Bridge? -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Why do you think Benouville is such a famous place in France?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. What evidence is there that the Germans were not expecting an attack?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. What was Ivor Anderson worried about when he parachuted down to Pegasus Bridge? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Courseulles

Bayeux is a very old city and was the first major

city on the Continent to fall to the Allies. The

Germans retreated from the city as the British

advanced, which meant the buildings, which

had stood there since before the 1st World War,

were left largely untouched by the D-Day

invasion.

The cathedral dates back to the time of William

the Conquerer and was the place where Harold

Godwinson was forced to take the oath by

William, which he later broke causing the

Norman invasion of England in 1066. Nearly 900

years later, Bayeux was scene of an invasion

from England.

The cathedral was originally the home of the

Bayeux Tapestry which depicts the events of the

Norman invasion of England in 1066. The

tapestry is now in its own museum. After the

Second World War, a D-Day Tapestry, inspired

by the Bayeux Tapestry, was commissioned by

Lord Dulverton of Batsford. The D-Day Tapestry

is located in the D-Day museum in Portsmouth.

In Gold beach sector the objective of the British

troops was to take Bayeux. The 50th Infantry

division reached the outskirts of Bayeux by the

evening of 6th June and sent patrols to areas of

north-east Bayeux, where they distributed

cigarettes and promised to return the next day.

On 7th June the city was liberated without

fighting and a week later on 14th June General

de Gaulle arrived in Bayeux and proclaimed it

the new capital of Free France.

Bayeux

Bayeux has a British war cemetery containing the

graves of nearly 4000 servicemen. These came

from all of the services, Army, Air Force and Navy.

Buried here are three Royal Navy sailors, R

Church, DJ Harris and JM McCoy. They were

involved in supporting the US Rangers in their

attack on the German guns at Pointe du Hoc.

Their landing craft, HMLCA 914, was incorrectly

directed towards Omaha beach and when they

turned to go parallel to the shore towards the

point, their craft was swamped by waves and

they drowned.

Also buried at Bayeux is Corporal Sydney Bates of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Norfolk Regiment who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallant actions on 6 August 1944 near Sourdeval.

Also buried here are 466 German soldiers

Bayeux Cemetery is the largest British

cemetery of World War II in France.

British – 3935 French - 3

Australian – 17 Czechs - 2

New Zealanders – 8 Italian - 2

South African – 1 Russian - 7

Polish – 25 German - 466

Unknown - 1 Canada - 181

Bayeux

Across the road from the cemetery is the Bayeux Memorial which the names of 1807 soldiers,

1536 British, 270 Canadian and 1 South African who died in the Normandy campaign and have no

known grave.

Nearby is the Battle of Normandy Museum which has many artefacts including nearly 100 dummies

wearing the uniforms of the fighting forces of the time. In the forecourt of the museum are 3 Allied

tanks which fought in the battle for Normandy.

Bayeux

1. Why do you think the capture of Bayeux was so important?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Why was there no fighting in the city? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Why do you think General de Gaulle was so keen to visit Bayeux? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. What links the events of 1066 and 1944? Compare and contrast the two events. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bayeux

Longues is famous for its four gun

emplacements and the command post that

directed them. The battery was manned by

personnel of the German Naval Artillery and

contained 155 mm guns.

The battery at Longues-sur-Mer was

situated just east of Omaha Beach and just

west of Gold Beach, with a commanding

view out over the English Channel.

On the night before D-Day, RAF Bomber

Command bombed the battery, but many

bombs fell on the village nearby.

One gun was destroyed and another gun

damaged so it could not fire. On D-Day, at

dawn, the two remaining guns began to fire

at the Allied fleet.

British ships then pounded the battery and

took out two more of its guns.

After repairs, later in the afternoon the

damaged battery gun opened fire but was

then also silenced.

The battery was captured the following

morning by the 2nd Devonshire Regiment

who took over 180 prisoners.


It was estimated that the battery fired over

150 rounds at the fleet but did no damage

at all.

The problem for the battery was that the

bombing had destroyed the telephone

cables linking the observation bunker with

the gun emplacements. They had a back-up

system of signal flags but the smoke from

the guns made these impossible to see.

The gun crews finally took their own visual

sightings and used the traditional

technique of "creeping fire". Not one Allied

ship was damaged by these guns, the crews

had not received adequate training, firstly

because of lack of ammunition and also

lack of time.

Today the battery is very well preserved,

three of the emplacements displaying their

original guns. Forward of these, the

concrete command post still lies on the cliff

edge and shows just what a commanding

view the observers would have had.



1. Why was it necessary to take out this German battery before D-Day?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Why do you think that the German Navy operated the battery? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Why was the battery unsuccessful in hitting Allied ships? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ranville Cemetery

Ranville was captured during the same operation to capture the bridges on the river Orne and

the canal at Caen as well as to take out the heavy German guns at Merville battery. The village

was captured by the 13th (Lancashire) Battalion, Parachute Regiment at about 1400 on 6th June.

The village is dominated by the British military cemetery there, which contains the graves of

over 2000 soldiers killed in the early fighting, including 323 German graves. The churchyard was

used for immediate burials, and some soldiers from the 6th Airborne Division were laid to rest at

this location as the fighting in the surrounding area continued. After the Second World War the

site was chosen to regroup burials from this part of the battlefield and graves were brought in

from a number of areas. The cemetery was finally closed in 1946. A very high proportion of the

dead here are men from the 6th Airborne Division.

Brothers buried side by side.

Lieutenant J Maurice Rousseau

1st Canadian Parachute Battalion.

Lieutenant J Phillippe Rousseau

1st Canadian Parachute Battalion

Killed 7th June 1944

The Reverend G A Harris, a

chaplain to the Canadian forces

His elder brothers had died in

France during the First World

War

Killed 7th June 1944

Ranville Cemetery

Other Notable graves at Ranville

Private E.S Corteil

9th Battalion, Parachute Regiment.

Killed 6th June 1944, aged 19

Buried in the same grave as his dog, Glenn,

the mascot of 9th Parachute Regiment.

Private R.J.Johns

13th Battalion, Parachute Regiment

Killed 23rd July 1944, aged 16

The youngest British Paratrooper killed in

WW2 – and possibly the youngest British

soldier to die in the whole war.

Lieutenant Herbert Denham Brotheridge MC

2nd Battalion The Oxfordshire and

Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.

Killed 6th June 1944, aged 28

Lt. Brotheridge was the first British officer to

die during the attack on Pegasus Bridge.

He was buried in the churchyard at Ranville.

The cemetery did not exist at the time of his

death. His Military Cross was awarded

posthumously by Field Marshall Montgomery

on 16th June 1944.

Ranville Cemetery

1. What are the differences in the graves that you see at Ranville between

the different nationalities?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. The youngest soldier to die in World War I was probably only 13 / 14

years old. How would you explain that in World War II, the youngest

soldier dying was older?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. On the wall of the pigeon loft, opposite Ranville cemetery, there is a

plaque to the Piron Brigade. Who were they and why were they not part

of the main invasion?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Why is the grave of Lieutenant Brotheridge so famous?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everyone has a relative who lived through or during the First World War. Many of

you may well have relatives who died on the Western Front.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible for running all of the

British and Commonwealth cemeteries that you will see on your tour. They also

have a record of all the servicemen who were killed in World War One.

It would be amazing to find a relative’s grave on your tour and be able to pay your

respects!

Follow these simple steps and make it happen!

STEP ONE

Complete as much of the “My Family Tree” worksheet as you can. Allow a few

weeks if possible. Go as far back in history as you can and if need be include other

relatives, for example, uncles.

STEP TWO

Once you have reached back to relatives from the time of World War One make a

careful note of their names and as many other details about them as you can such

as if they died in the War, when and where they died and what service they were in

eg Army.

STEP THREE


After entering the information click SEARCH


STEP TWO

Once you have reached back to relatives from the time of World War One make

a careful note of their names and as many other details about them as you can,

such as if they died in the War, when and where they died and what service they

were in, for example, the Army.

STEP THREE

Go to www.cwgc.org . On the homepage there is a simple form to enter the

details that looks like this:-

The example shows J Smith, serving in the Army in World War 1.

http://www.cwgc.org/

You will then be shown the CWGC records that look like this:-

Then click Filter Results

To narrow your search try to put

in as many other details that you

have found in the Filter Results

form that looks like this:-


STEP FOUR

Click on their name and you will see more details about them and where they are

buried.


normandy - group two2).pdf · the normandy area defences were planned by field marshal karl gerd...

Documents