Month: March 2015

Museum at Utah Beach

Utah-beach

Utah Beach was the westernmost sector of the combined Allied landings on June 6, 1944. The invading troops were American and they were brought ashore by the US and British Navies, as well as being supported by the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. This foothold on the Contentin Peninsula allowed Allied forces to march on Cherbourg and take the important port near the end of July. They also captured the V-2 rocket base which rained bombs on London.
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Pegasus Bridge

Pegasus-bridge

Pegasus Bridge and the nearby Ranville Bridge were the primary objectives of British airborne and glider troops in the first few minutes of D-Day. The British troops captured the bridges intact, with some gliders landing almost on top of them. The action took the Germans completely by surprise and thus allowed British troops to prevent a German counterattack. They held the bridges until they linked up with Allied troops later on June 6, 1944.
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Storm over the Channel

English-channel-1

The English Channel divides Britain and France and has provided protection for both countries from each other for millennia. In 1066, it provided William the Conqueror with the means to invade England. Early on the morning of June 6, 1944, the waters were black with the hulls of ships steaming from England to Normandy. They brought a storm of Allied troops which wrested control of the Continent away from oppressors and freed the peoples of Europe.
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Port Winston & PLUTO

port-winston-arromanches

A colorful sunset at day’s end over the town of Arromanches and remnants of Mulberry Harbor B. This was the site of Port Winston, the concrete harbor and dock which was floated in from England just after June 6, 1944, and which provided the invading troops with an artificial harbor. Millions of tons of war materiel came ashore.
PLUTO (Pipe Line Under The Ocean) brought millions of gallons of fuel to France. It was delivered by the dedicated drivers of the Red Ball Express.
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Monuments, Omaha Beach

Les-Braves

The Les Braves and other D-Day monuments commemorate the millions of soldiers who invaded France to liberate Europeans from oppression on D-Day. I cannot praise them enough.
D-Day ensured the seaborne invasion of France to release the populace from oppression and will never be forgotten.
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2nd Ranger Battalion Monument

pointe-du-hoc

The German Pointe du Hoc artillery positions were flattened by bombing prior to D-Day. The bunkers were so heavily damaged that when the US 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled the cliffs, they found the artillery had been removed. The Rangers located the missing artillery and put a thermite grenade in each to render them inoperable. Whew! That was close.
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The New Forest

RAF Beaulieu Runway

RAF/USAAF Beaulieu was used by both air forces, but under the aegis of the USAAF, it was the home of 365th Fighter Group flying P-47 Thunderbolts and 323rd Bombardment Group’s B-26 Marauders. Today the remains of the airfield are on managed land in the New Forest where wild ponies roam. A short piece of original runway exists for use with model aircraft and parts of the perimeter roads are for the use of visitors.
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