This beach was landed by American troops and was the more successful out of the two the US were dealt. The first beach that you’ll get to if you are coming from Cherbourg or doing the tour West to East is Utah. I’m focusing this guide on the D-Day beaches and the war history of the area, but there’s so much to enjoy here that’s not just war related so go enjoy the food, the countryside and the people too! Lastly, Normandy is a beautiful place in its own right. By supporting these places you’re also helping to preserve the historic sites for future generations – definitely worth it. Museums help to keep the information of each area in an organised manner and you’ll find many enthusiasts willing to speak to you about the history if you take the time to ask. No matter what I know about a place or piece of history I can’t fail to get something out of experiencing the place in real life. This is recent history and an important piece of the huge story that is the second world war. Many people come as a pilgrimage to pay their respects to family members who fought there.įor others, and I include myself personally in this, it’s just a really interesting place to go. Seeing that area and visiting the nearby graves really brings home the personal sacrifices.įor many of us it’s important to visit because we have a personal connection to the day too. You can know that soldiers lost their lives on a beach, but it’s just words. I feel that we must always remember the sacrifices made for us and while watching documentaries, reading books and enjoying movies about it can keep the stories alive, visiting the sites really gives a new dimension. If D-Day hadn’t turned out as it did the outcome of the war might have been very different. It’s an iconic moment in history and one where we can look back and see the huge sacrifice that was made actually did make a difference. Of course D-Day has been immortalised in films and tv series over the years and it’s one of the biggest and most well known operations from the Second World War. The history of this time is vast and I’ve researched thoroughly for this article but I’m not a historian so please forgive me if there are any inaccuracies – and also let me know so I can put it right! For more in depth research of this time period Wikipedia is a good start and from there explore their related links at the bottom. The overall operation was called Operation Overlord and the landings themselves Operation Neptune. The British landed at Sword and Gold and Juno was mainly Canadians. The Americans were charged with the Utah and Omaha landings. There were many different areas of the coastline that troops landed on but they were generally split in to 5 sections and each had a different armed force in charge of landing there.Įach area was given a code name – Utah, Omaha, Sword, Gold and Juno. Many, many lives were lost on both sides which is a terrible tragedy no matter the outcome.Ī note on the names of the beaches in case you don’t know.
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It certainly wasn’t easy but eventually they took the areas one by one, strategic towns and points were gained and the Allied forces pushed the Germans back.Īlthough the operation as a whole was a success there were many stories within D-Day where it seems the opposite. They fought with the soldiers and guards of the Atlantic Wall that Hitler built. On the day itself, the Allies began by parachuting in airborne forces behind the enemy lines where they took strategic points and would meet up with the troops that began to land in the early hours of June 6th. Further to this there was an operation whereby the coastal defences were bombed in advance of the invasion. It was so much more than D-Day itself though – there was months of preparation which included simulating the Normandy coastline in areas of the UK coast, practicing their manoeuvres and training the personnel. There were many attempts to throw off the scent and the Germans did think the invasion would come further up the French coast in Calais or Dunkirk where it was much closer to the UK coast but of course that never happened. What’s interesting is that the Germans actually knew that an invasion was likely to be happening, but they didn’t know where from and where the Allies would land. The Allies needed to have a foothold in Europe in order to have any hope of turning the tide. Prior to it happening, France was under occupation from the Germans and their advancement throughout Europe was continuing. The Normandy invasion on D-Day, 6th June 1944, were truly immense undertakings from the armed forces of not only Britain but also the USA and Canada. It was one of the largest organised invasions of all time that incorporated naval, air and land troops and it was a turning point for the Allies in World War 2.