Stop on Omaha Beach, you will start your visit with your private guide by POINTE DU HOC, where the Germans had built 6 case mates to house a battery of 155 mm guns. Situated between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach, these guns threatened Allied landings, risking heavy casualties in the landing forces. The US 2nd Ranger Battalion under the command of Colonel James Rudder was given the task of destroying the strong point from the sea. Their heroic struggle and final success has entered into history.Your journey will continue with the drive to OMAHA BEACH that since June 6th 1944 has become the symbol of the sacrifice of American soldiers in WWII.
The primary objective of Omaha was to secure a beachhead of some 5 miles between Port en Bessin and the Vire River, linking up with the British landings at Gold Beach and the Americans at Utah Beach.
Opposing the landings was the German 352nd Infantry Division a large portion of whom had fought on the Eastern Front. Very little went as planned during the landing at Omaha Beach.
The defenses were unexpectedly strong and inflicted extremely heavy casualties on landing US troops.
Small penetrations were eventually achieved by groups of survivors making improvised assaults, scaling the bluffs between the most heavily defended points.After lunch your journey continues with an exhaustive visit of the AMERICAN CEMETERY of Colleville, that covers 172 ,5 acres and that contains the graves of 9387 military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations (visit of the Memorial, the wall of Missing, the Chapel, many special tombs – Medals of Honor etc).
Your visit will be followed with a stop at the AMERICAN INTERPRETATIVE CENTER where you will have the opportunity to view remarkable films and documentaries relating the DDAY and Battle of Normandy operations.Other World War Two locations that you will see are Arromanches with its vestiges of the artificial harbor (Mulberry Bridge), Longues-sur-Mer and the German artillery battery, which gave the allies a pounding on the morning of 6th June.
It is actually the only coastal battery to have kept its guns, giving an impressive picture of what an Atlantic wall gun emplacement was really like.
At the end of your day you will be given free time to explore the Caen Peace Memorial, a place for contemplating war in general and why it is important not to forget the legacy of the Second World War.
