Allied planners for the Normandy Invasion scheduled for the late Spring or early Summer of 1944 knew that Air Superiority for the invasion would be vital. 70 yrs ago in February 1944 the Allies launched a series of air raids to target and destroy the German Luftwaffe. Thousands of bombers would set out to bomb German aircraft production forcing the Luftwaffe up to confront them or be destroyed without putting up a fight at [...]
A Serving US Army Captain Reviews D-Day Tours of Normandy "... the only person I would hire to take my family and friends to the D-Day battlefields" It's always satisfying to get a good review but it's a little bit sweeter to get one from a professional, someone who's in the business, so to speak. I was privileged to guide a serving captain in the United States Army and his wife who wanted to visit [...]
Battle of the North Cape, 26 December 1943 The German Battlecruiser Scharnhorst Battle of the North Cape and the sinking of the Scharnhorst 70 years ago this week, on 26 December 1943, the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst was brought to battle and sunk by the Royal Navy. Scharnhorst had been a thorn in the side of the allies since the outbreak of the war in 1939. In 1940 [...]
Omaha Beach, Fox Sector and WN60. D-Day Landings Floundered U.S. infantry on Fox Sector seek shelter from German fire from WN60 beneath the low cliffs WN60, The first resistance nest to be captured on D-Day WN60 was the most easterly of the resistance nests guarding OMAHA Beach. It overlooked Fox Sector and the beach exit Fox-1 Draw. It was manned by 40 German soldiers. On D-Day, June 6th [...]
U.S. WW2 cemeteries in Normandy Closed U.S. Cemetery Closures due to US Government Shutdown Hello everyone, if you are planning a trip to Normandy in the near future, please note that as a consequence of the U.S. budget problems the United States Cemeteries at Colleville sur Mer and St James are closed. Access to the Pointe du Hoc is also restricted.
French President Francois Hollande and German President Joachim Gauck stand hand in hand with Robert Hebras, a survivor of the massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane on 10th June 1944 Oradour-sur-Glane. On 4th September 2013 The French President Francois Hollande and the German President Joachim Gauck stood hand in hand with Robert Hebras, a survivor of the massacre of Oradour in 1944. It was a gesture of reconciliation at the scene of one of the worst [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
