Day Five - Remembering June 6, 1944 on Christmas 2012

Old British Tank

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It needs a new paint job, but this is very nice restoration; maybe the best of the lot we saw. It's a shame all the little shops near the bridge were closed because I could've spent hours looking around. Someday I'd like to return and have a beer on the deck.

A Different Angle

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In the movie and in all the video games involving D-Day, the upper part of the bridge made for an excellent observation point for oncoming traffic in either direction. Along the sides of the bridge beams the Germans had strung explosives in order to blow up the bridge should they lose control. British sappers shiinied along the beams removing the explosives almost as soon as they arrived.

Site of the Glider Landings

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What appeals to me most about this part of the D-Day scenario was that this was probably the most successful event of the proceedings. The British gliders silently landed just a few yards from the bride. Totally undetected by the Germans. When I got to the other side of the bridge and saw just how small the landing area was, it made the story even more amazing.

Cafe Gondree

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The sign says that this is the first house liberated in France during the last hour of June 5, 1944. It served as a field hospital during the ensuing days.

Horsa Glider

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On the other side of the river was a fascinating looking musuem, closed naturally. Gail and I got out of the car leaping over rain puddles everywhere and took some pictures over the 6 foot high fence surrounding the museum grounds.

The Original Pegasus Bridge (I Think)

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Within the museum grounds stood a nice collection of vintage weapons and vehicles. So far this was the sunniest day of the trip and would've been perfect for looking around the outdoor museum. I seriously considered hopping the fence.

Ham and Jam

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The sign goes on to say: "These were the codewords used by Major Howard's men to signal that the two bridges had been captured. The winged horse "Pegasus" was the emblem of 6th British Airborne Division; soldiers landed in "Horsa" gliders between the canal and Orne River.... Space on the ground was very short with trees in the way and the gliders had to crashland near their objectives. At 0.16 hours, Major Howard's touched down within 50 yards of the bridge. In under two minutes there followed two others, one of which broke up. At the same moment, two more Horsas landed near the bridge at Ranville. A sixth had been lost. Within a few minutes, Howard's men neutralized the German defenders and cut the leads to explosive charges that had been set. "Ham and Jam". The thousands of men under Major General Gale could in turn land in the Ranville sector. They arrived at 3 am to reinforce the hundred paratroopers defending the bridge against German assaults. Two minutes behind the planned timetable, under intense gunfire, the bagpipes of Bill Millin, personal piper to Lord Lovat, heralded the arrival of Number 4 Commando to the paratroops."

Exploring on My Own

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I was losing the rest of the group by this point in the day. I wanted to look around some more but the others stayed in the car while I checked out the LZ.

Missed It By That Much....

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These two concrete markers indicate exactly where the gliders landed in the dark of night. Those pilots should have gotten medals for that feat alone.

The Last Picture, Believe Me

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I couldn't be more pleased with how gorgeous the weather was when we got to the place I most wanted to investigate. It's odd how these places you read about and even see in old pictures, movies and even video games look so much different in real life. So much smaller scale than I expected.

Manoir de Colleville-Montgomey

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When we left Pegasus Bridge we drove north to see Sword Beach. The trip took us first to Ouistreham. This looked to be a pretty happening town on any other day but Christmas. It seemed more like one of our Jersey Shore towns with its bright white buildings and matching sand. Oddly enough, the casino was open for business. I considered stopping here for lunch, but when the remaining macaroon cookies were passed around, I kept driving along the shoreline up through long stretches of beach houses and more beach cabanas. When the senery became a little repetitious we made a left turn to Colleville-Montgomery. We suddenly went from bright wide-open white surroundings into a world of dark green woods and narrow country roads. Somewhere along the way we noted a huge long brick fence that beckoned us to stop and look over it.

This Doesn't Qualify as a "Chateau"

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Online research reveals this to be a "Manoir" instead. The little bit of information I found indicates it was built by Louis XVI's physician. Smart move building it miles away from Versailles I'd say.

Gatehouse of the Manor

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There were no historic plaques or signs around so I guess the estate is still privately owned. I hope they didn't mind me stopping in their driveway and taking pictures. Had I taken a different road I might have run into a big German fortification, Le site fortifié Hillman. It sounds like it was a large complex of 18 buildings housing artillery and machinegun emplacements.

Why Did I Take a Picture of an Empty Field?

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Just to show that even in late December things are growing in Normandy. The grass was still green and crops were coming up in all the fields we passed by. In a couple of places we saw huge piles of sugar beets. This might have been potatoes in this field.

Interesting Stuff Even Out in the Middle of Nowhere

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We were no taking the road toward Caen figuring that if any business was open today, it would be in the biggest city in the area. By now the others were all asleep, but I was seeing all kinds of stuff that interested me. This sign stood in front of a little chapel in a modern residential area. Also from the "Battle of Normandy" website: "Although meant to be captured on June 6th, 1944, when the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division dug in on the night of June 6 th, they were still 4 miles (six kilometers) short of their objective. Wanting to make up for lost time, and believing that the German forces in front of them were negligible, the Canadian 9th Brigade pushed forward on the morning of June 7th. You will be driven along the road that the Canadians took, advancing rapidly southwards until they had reached the hamlet of Franqueville. From here, the lead Canadian tanks could see the airfield just eight hundred meters (half a mile)away. Unfortunately, the Canadian forces had underestimated the German resolve and in their haste that morning had failed to notice that the 12th SS Panzer Division was moving into the line in front of them. You will be shown the positions from where the teenage soldiers of this, the Hitler Youth SS Panzer Division, watched the Canadians advance across their front for more than three hours, some of these positions just yards from the advancing Canadian columns, before opening fire. Watching from the roof of the Chapel in the Abbaye d'Ardennes just two kilometers (less than one and a half miles) away, the leader of the SS troopers, Standartenfuhrer Kurt 'Panzer” Meyer waited until he judged the moment right, then sent his young troopers into the attack. Fighting with ruthless savagery that belied their youth, these SS child-soldiers pushed the 9th Canadian Brigade back almost to the positions they had held at night-fall the previous evening. As you will see on the monument to the 9th Brigade, the front line would not advance from this point, shortly to be christened “Hell's Corner”, for another month."

Abbaye d'Ardenne on the Outskirts of Caen

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We were totally shocked to see a huge stone complex out in the farmlands we had been driving through. I pulled off the road to investigate. The tiny parking lot by this medieval looking fort was full of cars. We parked illegally, got out of the car and the rain began to fall again. Gail's mother had had enough of rain and waited in the car while the three Lunds got out and looked around. As soon as I saw this plaque on the abbey wall I remembered the infamy of this place.

Memorial to the Murdered Canadians

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On the night of June 7, 1944 after the action at nearby Hell's Corner, 11 Canadian soldiers from Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke and the Novia Scotia Highlanders were captured and brought to the abbey which served as headquarters for the German Panzer unit in the area. Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer, the group's commander, had the 11 executed by gunshots to the back of their heads in this garden. In the following days 9 more were executed in a similar manner.

I Missed an Important Photo

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Behind this monument in the Memorial Garden were large pictures of the men (boys) that were executed. One of them looked like he was about 15. Ironically, the murderers were members of the Hitler Youth and were teenagers themselves. For more information go to this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ardenne_Abbey After the war Mayer was arrested, charged and convicted of the murders. He was sentenced to die, but had his sentence commuted to a life sentence which was later changed to just 9 years. After that he became a salesman for a brewery with sales in Canada. He led the WWII SS veterans' groups seeking pensions back in Germany. He died in 1961. So much for justice.

Walking Around the Abbey

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Since the big wooden door to the abbey was unlocked, I opened it to look inside. I couldn't figure out where all the people who parked in the lot had gone. Inside the walls of the complex there were more parked cars. We ventured inside to take a look around. Since gun laws are much stricter in Europe I assumed the worst that could happen would be somebody yelling at us in a language we didn't understand. We never saw another soul in our half hour of exploration.