Operation Husky. The Invasion of Sicily 70 years ago this week on 9th-10th July 1943, the Western Allies launched Operation Husky, the Invasion of Sicily. It was the starting point for the assault on Hitler's forces in Europe. Churchill described Sicily and Italy as "the sofe underbelly of Europe". Strategically Husky achieved all the goals set out for it. The Allies drove all the Axis air, land and naval forces from the island, opening the [...]
D Day Tours Video. We have made a short video to give you some flavour of what our tours are like and some of the things you could do and see on a tour with www.d-daytoursnormandy.com This video gives only the briefest look at what we can do, but even so, we think it's clear how different our tours are from the big coach tours and the regimented on-the-bus-off-the-bus nature of some other tours. A tour [...]
Alongside the Memorial Day Service at the U.S. Cemetery at St. James, the town hosts 'The Fete De La Liberation' A weekend programme of events featuring veteran WW2 vehicles both military and civilian. The vehicles were parked up around the town, so as you wandered around you never knew quite what was around the next corner. Many of the owners dress in period costume and those whom I chatted to were very knowledgeable about their [...]
St James US Cemetery. Memorial Day 26 May 2013. Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial The cemetery at St James on the Normandy/Brittany border is less well known than the cemetery at Colleville sur Mer on OMAHA Beach. Officially known as the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial, 4,410 U.S. forces personnel were buried here in a beautiful and tranquil setting. The US cemetery at St James does not attract the huge visitor numbers [...]
The Longues Sur Mer battery is strategically situated on the cliffs between Arromanches and Port en Bessin overlooking the D-Day Normandy Landing beaches. The four 155mm guns with a range of eight miles were in a position to threaten either the Americans landing on OMAHA Beach or the British Landing on GOLD Beach. The guns were naval guns taken from a decomissioned destroyer, therefore the battery was manned by 143 German Navy personnel. On [...]
Following on from yesterday's post on the Dambusters Raid. Seventy years ago today the crew of the U.S. Army 8th Airforce Bomber 'The Memphis Belle' completed the 25th and final mission of their tour. They were the first crew to complete a full tour of 25 operations since the U.S. Army Air Force arrived in England in 1942. This was a most significant feat, and it was a huge boost to the morale of [...]
70 yrs ago today, 19 Lancaster bombers of 617 Squadron RAF skilfully attacked the great dams of Western Germany using an innovative new Bouncing Bomb developed by Barnes Wallis to breach the dam defences . 'Operation Chastise' the official title of the Dambusters Raid was a partial success. Of the five intended targets only two of the dams were breached. Nevertheless the raid is rightly one of the greatest moments in R.A.F. history and lives [...]
Pvte John Steele of F Company 505th PIR 82nd Airborne Division jumped into Normandy on the night of 5th-6th June 1944. Poor weather conditions led to a scattered drop and 36 men of Steele's company came down into the Church square of St Mere Eglise where they were captured or killed. Some buildings in the village were on fire and the fires illuminated the night sky, making easy targets of the descending paratroopers. Steele's [...]
Lt. Richard Winters Statue, Utah beach Offically dedicated to all the Allied leaders who saw action on D-Day and in the Normandy Campaign. The statue is unmistakably one of Lt. Richard Winters. Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Anyone who has seen the HBO Mini-Series 'Band of Brothers' will know instantly who he was. The statue was unveiled in June 2012 shortly after the death of Major Richard Winters the previous [...]
Everyone involved in D Day Tours Normandy is delighted to hear that at long last the British Government has recognised the efforts of the men who sailed the Arctic Convoys during the Second World War. these brave men not only had to fight the enemy, but the harshest of sea conditions. We also acknowledge the long overdue award of the Bomber Command Clasp to U.K. and Commonwealth Bomber aircrews.
