FEATURE: NORMANDY TOUR

OVERLORDING IT!

IT MAY HAVE BECOME APPARENT FOR REGULAR READERS OF AIRSOFT ACTION THAT BILL IS SOMEWHAT OF A MILITARY HISTORIAN, AND AS WELL AS HAVING PLAYED AIRSOFT FOR MANY YEARS, HIS TRAVELS HAVE TAKEN HIM TO MANY HISTORICAL BATTLEFIELDS ALL OVER THE WORLD! HE NOW SHARES HIS EXPERIENCES OF VISITING NORMANDY AND GIVES SOME POINTERS FOR IF YOU WISH TO VISIT THE D DAY BEACHES YOURSELF!

I’ve written in Red Cell this month about the journey I made to retrace the footsteps of my father on 6th June 1944, but of course all of us are the sum of two parents, and whilst the story of my dad may be more pertinent to this Issue of Airsoft Action, the fact is that my mother was a history teacher, and she instilled in a me a strong adherence to the principles of When, Where, How and, probably most importantly, Why when it comes to putting history in context.

Of course when it comes to D Day I know without any shadow of a doubt the “Where, When and Why” but it’s the “How” that fascinates me and continues to intrigue me to this day, and I’ve travelled to Normandy many times, both on my own and with my wife and wider family over the years to find out more, always more…

I’m lucky that my wife understands both my passion for airsoft and my fascination with all things “military history”, and over the years we’ve developed what we refer to as our “Outdoor/Gastro/ History Tours”; in essence this means that we head somewhere on vacation to enjoy being in the big outdoors, eating great local food, and for me at least feeding my inner truth-seeker. It’s a good model, and one that I’m lucky enough to have experienced with someone very special.

Our last visit to Normandy was pre-pandemic, summer 2019 and as I said before it was a very special trip for me, and it really concentrated my thoughts on how I could best tell the tale of D Day to my younger relatives. Some of you may have undertaken a similar trip, but when recently I was speaking to Tom at NUPROL he expressed to me that he would love to visit the places and sites that he’d seen on-screen in TV series and games, places like Carentan and Sainte-Mère-Église…

Sometimes I fear that some of you young ‘uns out there may have lost the spirit of true adventure that I had when I was your age, and then one of you comes along and says “I’d love to see THAT place, and I WILL!”

So, with Tom in mind, and yes, I’ve already loaned him some books and maps (Michelin 102 “Battle Of Normandy” is a must-have!) to help him plan his own trip to Normandy, so I’ve put together this little “crib sheet” of good places to visit that I hope may give some of you a starting point in your own “Normandy Adventure”. I tend to drive down to Normandy and therefore tend to begin my journey at the SWORD Beach end near Ouisterham and then head along the coast to Cherbourg over the course of a week, but in fairness you can do the route in either direction.

On most of my journeys through Normandy I have camped, and there are great campsites a-plenty along the coastal route, although last time with my extended family we stayed in a rather grand mini-chateau in the super little town of Douvresla-Délivrande. There’s also a bakery and traiteur in every town and village (pretty much!) and remember that Normandy is the land of cider, calvados, Pontl’Évêque, Livarot, Neufchâtel and Camembert cheeses, Andouille de Vire, meadow-salted lamb, and Marmite Dieppoise… no, not THAT kind of marmite, look it up!

In my opinion a trip to Normandy, to visit the museums, memorials and the landing beaches themselves is an odyssey that should be made by any self-respecting airsofter that has any interest at all in military history, but trust me when I say that I’m certain that when you’ve been once you’ll discover that there is much more to see and experience than one visit will allow… Perhaps I’ll see you along the D Day Route one day as I am sure to return now that things are back to some normality!

PACKING IT IN!

I’ve tried here to give a sensible selection of museums and memorials, one that is in no way complete or exhaustive, you could happily see in a long weekend, but in reality would be better visited over a week with some other activities thrown in! With many of the venues you can now access all information on your smartphone via QR Codes inside the museums, or indeed take part in numerous interactive tours.

THE PEGASUS MEMORIAL MUSEUM

https://musee.memorial-pegasus.com The Pegasus Memorial Museum, located between Caen and the sea, tells the story of when the very first liberators from the British 6th Airborne Division landed on the night of the 5th to the 6th of June 1944. Period documents, films and objects, along with guided tours of the museum, of Pegasus Bridge and of the reproduction of a WWII glider. If you hit this museum early in the day, then the Café Gondrée across the street serves a very good coffee and pastries! Address: 1 Avenue du Major Howard, 14860 RANVILLE

THE NUMBER 4 COMMANDO MUSEUM

https://www.musee-4commando.fr This is located in Ouistreham where Allied forces landed at SWORD Beach and deals with landings in the regions of Calvados and Cotentin and, above all, the destiny of the 177 French Navy fighters who, integrated into British troops, were representative of the French forces that took part in Operation Overlord! Address: Place Alfred Thomas, 14150 Ouistreham

THE D DAY MUSEUM

https://www.arromanches-museum.com/ The official website tells me that “Ten years after the Allied forces landed, an exhibition was set up in Arromanches, and inaugurated by President of the French Republic, René Coty. It’s the first D-Day museum that recounts June 6, 1944, with the objective of commemorating the Battle at Normandy” This is still one of my favourite museums to visit as both the main exhibition and the surroundings are constantly updated. It’s also the place to get up close and personal with the remains of the “Mulberry Harbour”, and within the museum itself is a fabulously detailed scale model of the harbour in all its glory along with some super static weapon, uniform and equipment displays! Address: Place du Six Juin 1944, 14117 Arromanchesles-Bains

THE D-DAY SHIPWRECK MUSEUM

www.dday-overlord.com What made D Day so unique was its amphibious nature, where troops arrived in many different highly specialized boats and landing craft. Unfortunately, some of these craft didn’t make it to the coastline, and artillery, vehicles and tanks all became wreckage without ever having even landed. The D Day Shipwreck Museum displays these artefacts that have been reclaimed from the sea. Port-en-Bessin itself is a “must visit” as it lies between OMAHA Beach to the west in the American V Corps sector, and GOLD Beach to the east in the British XXX Corps sector. An objective during Operation Overlord, the fortified port was captured by No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando of the 4th Special Service Brigade, and subsequently fuel was supplied through the small port by coastal tankers to support the advance into Normandy until the PLUTO system could come fully online. This is now a lovely little harbour town to either stop at, or indeed stay overnight in as there are numerous well-priced hotels, and some VERY fine restaurants; the Bar de la Criée at the top of the main street overlooking the harbour serves particularly fine “steak frites” Address: Route de Bayeux 14520, Commes – Port-enBessin

THE OVERLORD MUSEUM

www.overlordmuseum.com The Overlord Museum was a new one for me when I visited in 2019, and it’s SO worth visiting! Named after the code-name for the Battle of Normandy, this D Day museum is particularly impressive with its full-scale displays of the armies who fought on the battlefield. There’s also a REALLY good café and even a gift shop selling Warlord games wargame miniatures… I couldn’t resist picking up some Commonwealth Infantry and a Universal (BREN Gun) Carrier for my own WWII games! Address: Lotissement Omaha Center, 14710 Collevillesur-Mer

THE OMAHA BEACH MEMORIAL MUSEUM

www.musee-memorial-omaha.com OMAHA Beach is one of the beaches on which American, Canadian, English and French troops landed on June 6, 1944, and sadly it’s on this beach that the largest number of casualties were taken by the Allied forces, so many in fact that it was nicknamed as “Bloody Omaha”. It’s a slightly more sobering visit, but there’s a wealth of information about the technicalities of the landings themselves, so it’s well worth the time. Address: Avenue de la Libération 14710, SaintLaurent-sur-mer

POINTE DU HOC MEMORIAL

www.abmc.gov/Pointe-du-Hoc As airsofters The Pointe Du Hoc Memorial probably

has most direct resonance as it commemorates the “small unit action” by the American Second Ranger Battalion who fought there on 6 June 1944 as part of the D-Day landings in World War Two. Pointe Du Hoc overlooks OMAHA Beach, which was a vital landing point for Allied troops during the D-Day operation. Led by Lieutenant Colonel James E. Rudder, the Second Ranger Battalion of Army Rangers was tasked with capturing German artillery at Pointe Du Hoc to ensure the safety of the troops landing on the beaches below. During the American assault of Omaha and Utah beaches, these U.S. Army Rangers scaled the 100foot cliffs and seized the German artillery pieces that could have fired on the American landing troops at OMAHA and UTAH beaches. This is a very open memorial site best visited on a fine day, but it is 100% worth it as you’ll be able to walk amongst the remains of the fortifications (especially the quite unique “tobruks”), and standing by the memorial itself you’ll get a true idea of the amazing achievement of those brave Rangers… not a place to stand if you suffer from vertigo! Address: 14450 Cricqueville-en-Bessin

MUSEUMS IN CARENTAN

“Dead Man’s Corner” https://dday-experience.com Of course “Carentan” will be a name familiar with any of you who have watched “Band of Brothers”, and it’s an important stop on any tour of D Day Normandy! In or around Carentan you’ll find “The D Day Experience”, “The Normandy Tank Museum”, and “The Normandy Victory Museum” amongst other interesting points of note. My favourite though, if I can call it that, is “Dead Man’s Corner” as this unprepossessing house was actually the HQ of the German paratroopers; it’s here that the 6th German parachute infantry regiment, nicknamed the “Green Devils”, fought for three days against the American paratroopers of the 101stAirborne Division. It’s now a museum dedicated to those paratroopers so actually shows a different side to the conflict. Visit this small museum to discover the story and to check out a unique and authentic collection of memorabilia. Address: 2 Village de l’Amont, 50500 Carentan-lesMarais

THE AIRBORNE MUSEUM

www.airborne-museum.org Again, who could know anything about D Day and not have heard of Sainte-Mère-Église? Famous for the image of the US paratrooper hanging from the church spire (he’s still there in dummy form!) at the very centre of the town is The Airborne Museum, and this has become the largest museum in Europe dedicated to the American paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne engaged in the Normandy invasion! With aircraft and glider displays alongside many fabulous static displays of uniforms, weapons and gear, the museum now also offers a host of interactive exhibits to really make a visit quite spectacular and memorable; if you’re heading back to Cherbourg to catch a ferry, then this makes a fabulous end to a roadtrip! Address: 14 rue Eisenhower, 50480 Sainte-MèreEglise. AA

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