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This tour focuses on the US
Fith Corps sectors. We start the tour with a
visit of the German Longues sur Mer Battery.
This battery is a truly impressive site to see,
the fortifications are still very much intact.
You can imagine the advancing Allied invasion
by sea on June 6th, 1944 as you visit this location.
Following this, we will take you to the American
invasion sectors on Omaha Beach, the American
Cemetery at Colleville sur Mer and the historic
Ranger landing site at the Pointe du Hoc. Without
visiting these sites, you cannot comprehend the
extent of planning and execution of the American
Invasion during D-Day. You will not want to miss
this tour and we have the guides who will personally
and intimately acquaint you with these areas.
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Starting at the Longues
sur Mer Battery located in the sector liberated
by the 50th British Infantry Division, this
tour will take you to the infamous Omaha Beach
and to the Pointe du Hoc. The detailed story
of what was the most deadly part of the liberation
of Europe will be described in this historical
tour which will be supplemented with maps and
pictures of this area.
From the WN 62 with its unmistakeable view
on Easy and Fox sectors and the "D1" beach
exit of Vierville sur Mer, we will take you
60 years back and relive History.
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The Longues sur
Mer Battery
The Atlantic
Wall was a system of fortifications built by
Nazi Germany, which extended along the coast
of Western Europe. The Longues sur Mer battery
is a classic example of the pattern that was
used for the Atlantic Wall.
Come and discover the four - only surviving -
152 mm German naval guns in their casemates.
This site has been very well preserved to this
day as a Memorial.
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American
Infantry Sectors
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Général Collins
V Corps sectors |
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Omaha
Beach
We will
see many WN’s - (Wiederstandnest - strong
point of defense) from Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes
to Vierville. We will visit some of these strong
points, which were the better-defended German
positions along Omaha. We will stop on WN 62
and WN 65 on Fox Green and Easy Red sectors,
and WN 73 on Dog Green at Vierville.
This
beach assault was a difficult assignment given
to US Fith Corps commanded by General Gerow
whose Force “O” was made up of the
1st Infantry Division, 29th Infantry Division,
two Rangers battalions and several attached
units.
We will be stopping on many spots so you can
take time and experience reverence for
the heroic efforts of these liberators. You
will be able to walk on the beach that was
consecrated by their sacrifice.
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The American Cemetery
This is probably the most
moving, sacred and reverent place that exists
today to pay tribute to the American liberators
that paid the ultimate sacrifice during D-Day
and the subsequent days of the Battle of Normandy.
This beautifully and meticulously kept Cemetery
extends over 172.5 acres, and is one of fourteen
permanent American World War II cemeteries constructed
on foreign soil. It contains the remains of 9387
servicemen and women killed for our freedom.
The American Cemetery conveys an unforgettable
feeling of honour, peace and serenity.
At this location, you will visit some very special
places, including General Teddy Roosevelt Jr’s
grave and some other locations within the cemetery
of significant importance to the American men
buried there. It would be an understatement to
say that a visit to this cemetery would be an
emotional focal point of your visit to Normandy
and the American sectors of this historic Invasion.
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The Pointe du
Hoc
Located
on a cliff 8 miles West the US Cemetery, this
monument was built by France to honour the 225
men of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, under the command
of LTC James E. RUDDER, who scaled the 100-feet
high cliff. Admiral Hall’s Intelligence
officer remarked: “It can’t be done.
Three old women with brooms could stop the Rangers
scaling that cliff!”
RUDDER replied to General BRADLEY: “Sir,
my Rangers can do the job for you"
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-------------------- LUNCH
TO OMAHA BEACH --------------------
(Not included) |
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VII Corps sectors |
General Gerow
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Utah Beach
“I
am ashore with Colonel Simmons and General Roosevelt,
advancing steadily (0940). ... Everything is
going OK (1025).... Defense is not stubborn (2400)." :
Col. James A. Van Fleet to Gen. Raymond O. Barton,
D-Day.
This is the place where the
successful landing of the 4th American “Ivy” Infantry
Division occurred under orders of General Barton
and General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. with other
support units in the first  attack wave on Utah Beach. You
will understand why the 4th U.S. Infantry Division
landed there with relatively little resistance
in contrast to Omaha Beach where the fightings
were fierce. Utah Beach, about three miles long,
was the westernmost of the five landing beaches,
located between Pouppeville and La Madeleine. |
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Sainte-Marie-du-Mont
Today,
St. Marie du Mont appears to be a typical
Norman village. Here, Marshall Erwin Rommel,
who was in charge of the Atlantic defenses,
inspected them several times between January
and May 1944.
While evaluating and inspecting
the German defenses, Rommel stayed in a 17th
century manor situated at the Western entrance
of the village.
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The
gothic bell tower was a key reference point for
the 101st Airborne General Maxwell Taylor who
landed in the early hours of the Invasion and
spent the night regrouping misdropped soldiers.
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 The
Crisbecq-Saint-Marcouf Battery
 The Marineküstenbatterie (navy
coastal battery) St. Marcouf (3./1261 HKAR)
situated on the Eastern side of the Cherbourg
peninsula was equipped with three 21-cm Skoda
K 39/40 (cz) canons, a 15,5-cm-K 420 (cz) canon
and six French 7,5-cm anti-aircraft guns. In
the early hours of the initial Invasion on Utah,
the battery fired on the Allied fleet which immediately
responded to the German fire. The USS Corry and
the USS Glennon were directly hit by the battery
and sunk.
This site will acquaint you with this historic
exchange of fire and the ironic counter-fire
by German batteries on themselves. |
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  Meautis
You have visited General
Theodore Roosevelt Jr.’s
grave at the American Cemetery and the spot where
he landed on Utah Beach… Now you have
the privilege to stop in Meautis where he died
of a heart attack.
A plaque commemorates the
event and original pictures exist...
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La Cambe German
Cemetery
The German soldiers killed
during the Normandy campaign were scattered over
a wide area, many of them buried in isolated
or field graves - or small temporary cemeteries.
In the years following WW2, the German War Graves
Commission, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge,
decided to establish six main German cemeteries
in the Normandy area. The works at the La Cambe
cemetery started in 1948.
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 During this period, the remains
of more than 12,000 German soldiers were moved
in from 1,400 locations in the departments of
Calvados and the Orne. The cemetery was finished
in 1961 and inaugurated in September of this
year. Since this date, more than 700 soldiers
have been found on the battlefield and are now
buried in this cemetery.
In total, 21,222 German soldiers rest in this cemetery, of which 207 unknown
and 89 identified are buried in a kamaradengraben (or mass grave) below the central
tumulus.
We can spend a time focusing on one of the most successful and famous SS tank
commanders, SS-Hauptsturmführer Michael Wittmann, killed on August 8th,
1944. Wittmann and his crew had total kills of 141 tanks and 132 anti-tank canons! |
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DAY 2 |
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American Airborne
Sectors
82nd and 101st Airborne |
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This unique tour focuses on
the American 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions
who established positions behind the Utah invasion
sector during the drop on Drop Zones deep behind
German defense lines. This day-tour will retrace
the footprints of these two historic units including
the famous “Easy Company” under Lt.
Dick Winters’s command, 101st Airborne- “Band
of Brothers” fame. This is an in-depth
tour with many stops on key areas.
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Graignes
During the night, about 170
paratroopers (HQ Coy, 3rd Battalion, 507 PIR,
82nd Airborne Division) and other misdropped
and isolated members of the 101st Airborne Division,
landed 12 miles South from their assigned Drop
Zone. Graignes was the scene of a terrible massacre
conducted by elements of the 17th German SS “Götz
von Berlichingen” Division. Nowadays, this
village overlooks a calm countryside and peaceful
marshes. Visiting this place is the key to understand
the misdrops.
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Sainte-Mère-Eglise
Sainte-Mere-Eglise is one of
the most memorable places depicted in the famous
movie- The Longest Day. This tour will show you
the famous church tower upon which the American
paratrooper John Steele landed. A mannequin hangs
with a parachute on the church tower to commemorate
his courageous jump.
“Dog”, “Easy” and “Fox” Companies,
2nd Battalion, 506th PIR, were also to jump at
1 AM on DZ “C” near Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.
Some elements of Easy Company jumped near this
village.
Sainte-Mere-Eglise was officially the first town
liberated at 4:30 AM on D-Day.
You will see a
CG 4 Waco glider, a C-47 transport plane and
a number of historical military artifacts which
have been professionally displayed to commemorate
and honour the D-day invasion.
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film comprised of archive material is available
to visitors retracing the mission and footsteps
of the US paratroopers who landed in Normandy. |
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Sainte-Mère-Eglise Museum
Here you will see an actual
CG 4 Waco glider, a C-47 transport plane, and
a number of historical military artefacts, which
have been professionally displayed to commemorate
and honour the D-day invasion. A film comprised
of archive material is available to visitors
retracing the mission and footsteps of the many
paratroopers who landed in Normandy. This museum
is one to see in any D-Day tour!
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La Fière Bridge
You will
have a clear view of the inland areas that had
been flooded by the Germans and the marshes of
the river Merderet. This is the place where many
men of the 82nd Airborne were located under orders
of General Gavin to resist the German counter-attacks
and hold two strategic bridges for the defence
of the town of Sainte- Mère-Eglise and
the future use of the D15 to cut the Cherbourg
peninsula in two.
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-------------------- LUNCH
TO SAINTE MERE EGLISE -------------------- |
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| Crash of the C47# 66
at Beuzeville au Plain |
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1LT
Thomas Meehan III
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We will take advantage of this
way running forward the next halt for showing
you the Memorial erected in honour of some brave
of “Easy Company”.
On June 5th, 1st Lieutenant
Thomas Meehan III boarded a C-47 to parachute
into Normandy. Prior to the jump however, he
had just been appointed “E” Company
Commander, replacing Captain Sobel. Meehan was
in plane 66, along with the Company’s staff
comprised of 16 paratroopers. His plane crashed
in a field at Beuzeville au Plain. A tour of
the crashsite will enable you to see the monument
erected in memory of Lt. Meehan, but also the
field where the crash actually occurred.
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Marmion’s
Farm
The very first newsreel of
the airborne invasion in Normandy shown in movie
theatres in the United States was filmed at this
particular farmhouse. Due to special permission
given by the owner to our company, you will have
the privilege of entering this farm and being
in the exact location of many of the best-known
American press photographs taken during WWII
at this site. Some of the photos show Stopka’s
task force displaying the first Nazi flag captured
by the 101st Airborne Division. Many famous photographs
in D-Day and WWII books were taken at this site.
OVERLORDTOUR has obtained a
very special permission to enter this farm.
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Brecourt Manor
On D-Day, Easy Company, 506
PIR, fought one of its most important battles
at this location. In a field between Le Grand
Chemin and Brecourt Manor, a ditch line with
trees bordered the property. Spaced at intervals
along that ditch were 4 German 105mm cannons
hidden under the thick and high hedgerow.
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guns were zeroed in on U.S. forces landing
on Utah Beach near Exit #2. Lt. Dick Winters
, Easy Company, led a small group of men and
systematically took out all four guns He was
awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for
this attack. Other soldiers were also awarded
medals for their action as well. It is said
that the tactic employed by Lt Winters at this
particular field is still taught at the American
Academy of West Point.
Come and discover the field where Lieutenant
Winters and a group of paratroopers instinctively
led the attack on these batterys without an
elaborate plan or briefing, saving countless
American lives on Utah beach.
OVERLORDTOUR has obtained a very special
permission to enter this farm
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General Pratt
Memorial
General Pratt, 101st Airborne
Division, was initially supposed to land and
arrive on Utah Beach during the afternoon of
D-Day. Prior to General Pratt's jump, however,
General Maxwell D. Taylor persuaded Pratt to
join the first wave of gliders to land in Normandy,
instead. Pratt would have preferred to jump with
his men but he had not completed the necessary
training to qualify him to make a parachute jump
at the time. Unknown to Pratt, his glider had
been seriously overloaded and it crashed in a
field. A plaque commemorates the crash. He was
the first United States General to be killed
in action during the D-Day Invasion. |
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Hiesville
Le
Cauday farmhouse was the first General Maxwell
Taylor Headquarters. General Taylor kept his
Headquarters at this location for 8 days following
June 6th, 1944.
…On the way, you will see the first 506th
PIR Command Post to Culloville.
We will cross the village of Vierville where
a fierce battle between elements of 101st Airborne
and 6th German PIR took place. |
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Angoville au Plain
Here you will visit a very old
and quaint church from the 12 century, in which
Bob Wright, and Kenneth Moore -two medics from
the 501st PIR, 101st Airborne Division, tended
to over 80 American and German wounded soldiers
for over 72 non-stop hours. It was near this
church also that Colonel Sink, 506th PIR, established
his second command post on D-day +1.
On the way, you will see Drop
Zone D…
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Dead Man Corner Museum
This excellent Museum is located
at the spot where men of the 101st Airborne Division
encountered the Green Devils (the German paratroopers
of the 6th Fallschirmjager Regiment)  for the
first time. You can get an insight of the horror
of the battle for Carentan on the site which
has remained largely intact.
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Now crossing the four strategic Bridges to Carentan
and running forward Bloody Gulch. |
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After securing Carentan, Easy
Company took up position on the western side
of the town. Two other companies of the second
Battalion were positioned on the left when German
Paratroopers and elements of the 17 SS launched
a counter-attack on the Americans. We now enter
Carentan by the way taken by 2nd Battalion, 506th,
on the June 12th, 1944. It’s somewhere
on this road that Lt. Dick Winters of Easy Company
motivated his men to take the town under German
machine gun fire, along with other paratrooper
units in the area.
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Carentan
The hinge-town needed to be taken to link up
both Utah and Omaha beachheads. Carentan was
defended by the battle-hardened 6th Parachute
Infantry Regiment, led by Colonel Frederick von
der Heydte. His orders were to defend the town
to the last man.
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