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| DAY 1 |
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.
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
Sector
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Général
Collins
V Corps sectors |
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Omaha Beach
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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
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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.
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The works at the La Cambe cemetery
started in 1948. 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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A 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 |
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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The 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.
Now crossing
the four strategic Bridges to Carentan and running
forward Bloody Gulch.
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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