Cycle Touring in France: Normandy Battlefields

For the past few days we have been exploring the battlefields, landing beaches and cemeteries of Normandy. We travelled across country from Granville to Coutances and then up to Isigny-sur-mer where we set out the following day to see the battery and trenches at Maisy, the Rangers museum and the cliff top site at Point du Hoc, where the bomb craters have been left intact as a reminder of the intense shelling that rained down on the German defences. It was too late in the day to visit the American cemetery, so we had a walk on the nearby hill and down onto the beach. That night we stayed at a chambre d'hôte just up the road and went back the following morning for an early visit. It is hard not to be affected by the site of thousands of identical white marble gravestones, particularly when most of the men died in their early twenties. The visits to the battle sites the previous day had given us some idea of the history of the landings and filled in many gaps from the knowledge we had before. I probably knew more about the Romans and Greeks than the 2nd World War before this week. We carried on along the coast to Arromanches where the British had constructed a port just after the landings that proved vital to the success of the invasion. Some of the pontoons are still in the water and the museum on the sea front has all the detail, plus some models and war time films. The day end at Bayeux and we gave the tapestry a miss. Although we did look in the extensive gift shop, which was probably just as good as it is full of pictures, cards and embroidery. Bayeux is also the location of the main British cemetery. The others are scattered around Normandy where the troops fell. And it was touching to see a section that contained German graves. All the cemeteries are maintained extremely well with manicured lawns, gardens and trees. Today we headed north east from Bayeux before coming down the river to Caen. We visited a prehistoric tumulus and the Canadian cemetery on the way to Pegasus Bridge. British paratroopers landed here on June 5th, 1944, the day before the main attack and liberated a French couple in a house by the bridge. It is now a cafe and full of memorabilia as it was the first place freed from German occupation. The whole of this part of Normandy is full of tourists of all nationalities, mainly looking at the wartime sites, and it is certainly an experience I will remember.

Bomb craters at Point du Hoc. The Germans had placed several large guns on this cliff top with ranges that covered the two landing beaches. It was shelled heavily before the attack but the Germans had pulled their guns back beyond where the shells were hitting. The Americans had trained a special Ranger group in cliff top assaults in the UK and they attacked and put these guns out of action. They had several problems with the grappling hooks not reaching the cliff top as the ropes had got wet, some of the reinforcements were misdirected and they had to hold out on their own. They suffered heavy losses but it was critical operation in the scheme of things. I think the story is covered in the film 'The Longest Day'