I set out towards the British and Canadian sectors today with a long drive in the Willys jeep from Omaha to Pegasus bridge. I would be travelling along, Gold beach (British), Juno beach (Canadian) and Sword beach (British).
My first stop was Gold beach and the town of Arromanches-les-Bains. During D-Day the Allies could not capture a deep-water port which was crucial to bringing in supplies so they did the unthinkable, they brought their own which was known as a Mulberry Harbour. It was made from concrete blocks and steel roadways, transported across the channel then sunk in place off the small town of Arromanche. The remnants of the harbour are still here. There was a second Mulberry harbour built at Omaha, yet it was destroyed by a storm. It was not until the Allies captured the port of Antwerp, that Arromanches ceased operation many months after D-Day. Over 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles, and 4 million tons of supplies were landed before it was fully decommissioned.
I then travelled to the new British Normandy Memorial overlooking Gold beach. It lists all soldiers under British command who died between 6th June 1944 and the 31st of August 1944 which was the end of the Normandy campaign. It has 22,442 names from 30 different countries listed on its pillars.
I then travelled to Juno beach (Canadian) where we saw a Churchill AVRE one of Hobart’s Funnies named after Major General Hobart who designed special purpose tanks such as the AVRE and the Crab Flail Sherman. This AVRE on show slipped into a flooded bomb crater in one of the roads leading off the beach. It was trying to lay a temporary cover over the flooded crater. Half the crew were killed by German gunfire while trying to escape the tank. It was then used as support for a bridge cover while sitting in the crater. EVEN WINSTON CHURCHILL drove over the tank. After this the hole was filled in with the Churchill in it where it was left. It was dug up and restored in 1976 and left as a monument.
Also at Juno, I saw a DD (Duplex Drive) Tank. DD tanks could float due to a watertight hull and a large canvas surround. They could be launched from landing craft before getting to the shore and thus provide armour cover for the troops as soon as they hit the beach. The only one still with its canvas cover is at Bovington Tank Museum. One of the reasons for the trouble at Omaha beach is that the DD tanks were launched too far from the shore, and many sank, thus leaving the troops on the beach with little protection. Near the DD tank is a German anti-tank gun which had battle damage or spang from the Sherman’s main gun.
I then travelled the length of Juno and along Sword beach. Unfortunately, the heavens opened, and we had our first rain of the week. We diverted past Hillman Fortress which was a German bunker complex and command post overlooking Sword beach. It took until the 7th of June to capture the complex which was very well protected and delayed the advance on the 6th of June.
With the rain pouring down I headed to Pegasus Bridge located slightly inland to the east of Sword Beach. This was the site of the first action of D-Day, when 6 gliders took off from Tarrant Rushton on the evening of the 5th of June. The gliders were to land close to two bridges over the River Orne and the Caen canal. Pegasus Bridge crossed the Caen Canal. 5 of the gliders landed as close as 47 yards from their targets at sixteen minutes past midnight in the dark. An amazing achievement. The current bridge is not the original. The original is now maintained in the Pegasus Museum. Operation Deadstick which was the codename for this action, resulted in the capture of both bridges, the first Allied soldier killed on D-day and the first house to be liberated on D-Day.
It was a long wet drive back to base and with the weather meant to be even worse tomorrow, we will have to plan ahead for my next trip.