Every day, dozens of ferries and trains arrive at the Port of Calais from across the English Channel full of daytrippers on a mission to storm the D-Day World War II invasion beaches of Normandy, 203 miles away. Five invasion beaches are spread across 50 miles of coastline in a sequence east to west: Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah. Stops at each beach, and its associated memorials, museums and cemeteries, provide an opportunity for visitors to better understand the enormous scale of the D-Day operation and the massive losses suffered on June 6, 1944.
Sword Beach
- Early in the morning of June 6, 1944, British and American paratroopers began parachuting inland in northern Normandy. While some of the American drops did not go according to plan for the Allies, the attack at Sword Beach, 223 miles west of Calais, did. Using code names for the attack, the British focused on Sword Beach and Gold Beach while the Americans landed on Omaha Beach and Utah Beach. Some 29,000 British soldiers stormed Sword, suffering 630 casualties, then successfully moved inland as the day wore on, beginning the liberation of France. Memorials, museums, monuments and military cemeteries are found in the town of Ouistreham, a pretty seaside fishing village. The cemetery at Ranville has 2,235 graves of RAF paratroopers and glider pilots.
Juno Beach
- The 5 miles of Juno Beach were considered strategic due to their location between Sword Beach and Gold Beach, proximity to Caen and its German airfield. Responsibility for Juno was assigned to the Royal Canadian military forces with British support. Heavy Allied casualties were suffered when weather delays affected the first wave of landings, but by nightfall, one Canadian infantry division managed to advance farther inland than other Allied troops. Walk along the beach near the village of Bernieres-sur-Mer where a German bunker gives views of the sea. The town center at Courceulles-sur-Mer has a recovered Sherman tank on display. A highlight of the visitor experience at Juno Beach's modern visitor center is a 12-minute film, "They Walk With You," featuring re-enactments and actual newsreel footage to immerse visitors in the infantryman's experience. In Reviers, the Beny-sur-Mer cemetery is the final resting place for 2,044 Canadian war heroes.
- Gold Beach
- At Arromanches-les-Bains, visitors can survey Gold Beach from above or walk along a seawall beside the wide beach. At The Landing Museum, a nine-screen documentary film, "The Price of Freedom" mounted in a circular theater surrounds the audience with vintage footage while explaining the floating docks established here as an offshore provisions launchpad. At Longues-sur-Mer, a startling example still exists of a German gun battery used on D-Day against the British amphibious landings. At Port-en-Bessin, a monument to the 47th Royal Marine Commando pays tribute to a battle many say was a turning point in favor of the Allies.
Omaha Beach
- The invasion's heaviest price for the Allied victory was paid for at Omaha Beach, involving battleships, destroyers, tanks, cruisers, machine gun stands, rocket launchers and more than 50,000 soldiers. From weather to logistics, little went as planned for the American invasion. On a grassy bluff overlooking the beach, from where German troops fired upon Allied forces, simple headstones numbering 9,387 are lined up with military precision in rows to mark a poignant final resting place of American troops. A semi-circular memorial garden with commemorative art and a reflecting pool honor the missing, with 1,557 names inscribed on its wall. Below, on the beach, a striking steel sculpture called "Les Braves" is dedicated to their memory. Opened in 2007, American Battle Monuments Commission operates the Normandy beaches' most comprehensive museum.
Utah Beach
- Utah Beach, the westernmost flank of the huge Operation Overlord, was a more successful effort for the Americans. Records indicate they managed to land 23,250 troops and 1,700 vehicles on the beach with a loss of about 200. Utah Beach Landing Museum opposite the beach displays armored vehicles and landing ships supported by interpretive films. The Airborne Museum at Sainte-Mere-Eglise features a Douglas C47, a glider and a Sherman tank. In Quineville, visitors interested in the life of a French citizen of Normandy during the German occupation can learn more at the Freedom Museum. Inland at Bayeux, the Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy is found where the battle to liberate France continued on June 7, 1944.
