Normandy Beaches

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Geo: 49.4373, 1.09181

I've read about the heroic Normandy invasion and learned about it in school (do they still teach this in our schools anymore?) but nothing takes the place of actually being there and seeing the thousands of white crosses and reading the personal stories of the young men that lost their lives.

The US Armed Forces used code names to refer to specific military operations. "Operation Overload" was the code name for the Allied invasion of Northwest Europe. The landing operations and assault phase of "Operation Overload" was known as "Operation Neptune." "Neptune" began on D-Day (June 6, 1944) and ended on June 30, 1944.

The landings commenced in two phases: an airborne assault landing 24,000 British, American and Canadian troops shortly after midnight, and an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armored divisions on the coast of France at 6:30 AM.

A total of 160,000 soldiers landed on June 6, 1944: 73,000 Americans; 61,715 British; and 21,400 Canadians. Also involved were 195,700 Allied naval and merchant naval personnel in over 5,000 ships. The landings took place along a 50 mile stretch of the Normandy coast divided across five beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. The largest amphibious invasion in the world--executed by land, sea and air elements under direct British-American command - "Operation Overload" continued until Allied Forces crossed the Seine on August 19, 1944.

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial has 9,356 tombs on 172 acres. A sobering sight on this rainy day.

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Photos

Normandy Memorial
Represents the spirits of the young men lost.