Normandy

Today was a big day for Jim. When we realized we had to go through Paris to get from London to Munich, we originally thought of taking an early train and spending the day in Paris to see the Eiffel Tower and then getting an evening train to Munich (Paris was not on our must-see list at all). However, Jim spoke up and said we're not going to go through France and miss Normandy so our London and Munich trip suddenly became a London-Paris-Munich trip (Rome was added on at the very end).

After a late night at the Eiffel Tower we were able to sleep in a bit as our train to Bayeux, France was not scheduled to leave until 10:00ish. We arrived at the train station, boarded the train and sat...and sat...and sat...Apparently there were problems with the train as the conductor was making announcements (in French of course, which we could not understand) followed by large signs and groans from the rest of the passengers. We were at least able to figure out that this was not a good sign and the train wasn't leaving. We had about 45 minutes between the time we arrived in Bayeux and the time our tour started...just enough time to get lunch we hoped. Around 10:30 we started to get nervous...if the train did not leave soon, we were going to miss the tour and it seemed silly to take a 4 hour round trip train ride to nowhere. The train finally left at 11:00. There weren't many stops on this train, the first being Caen where we were at noon, when our tour was to begin. Jim called the tour company, told them the situation, and they said we "should" be ok. We finally made it to Bayeux and LUCKILY they held the tour for us.

The tour was a small group, only 8 of us plus the tour guide. Two mates from London, and 6 Americans. Two from New York and two from, believe it or not, Grand Rapids, Mi. They knew exactly where Hesperia was and have driven through it. How funny.

The tour was supposed to be about 5 hours and we were able to get through all of the sites even though we started late. The tour guide was phenomenal. He was extremely knowledgeable in the history of Normandy and provided SO much great information. I would not hesitate to recommend him or to take the tour again myself. The tour started at Pointe du Hoc, where the infamous German gun position threatened the Allied ships all the way to Utah and Omaha Beaches. The site was attacked by the elite 2nd U.S. Rangers, commanded by Lt. Col. James Rudder, who scaled the cliffs to get there. With its huge fortifications blown to pieces, the important site remains as it was when the Rangers left it.

From there we headed to Omaha Beach where soldiers of the 29th and 1st Divisions landed, fought and died. This operation was the bloodiest of the five beaches and almost failed, but the bravery of those young men turned this operation into a victory.

After that we went to the American Cemetery which overlooks Omaha Beach. This cemetery holds the bodies of 9,387 soldiers who came to liberate Western Europe from the Germans.

The last stop of the tour was the battery at Longues-sur-Mer. It was composed of four guns of 152 mm calibre, capable of firing shells to a maximum range of 15 miles, allowing them to reach not only Omaha Beach, 8 miles to the west, but also the British landing zone of Gold Beach, 5 miles to the east. The Allies had tried to knock out this battery with aerial bombardment leading up to the landings, but like so many things leading up to D-Day they were unsuccessful and it was not until D-Day itself that the guns were finally silenced by the off-shore Allied Navies. The damage inflicted on the guns themselves can still be clearly seen.

We ate dinner near the train station and headed back to Paris around 8:00 that evening.