NORMANDY Day 1

 A visit to Normandy has long been on my travel list, because so much of the history of WWII that we see is based there. from the movies like "Saving Private Ryan" to Band of Brothers, Hollywood has offered us a depiction of the war that would have you believe that it may have started thereSo I wanted to view for myself what it is/was all about along the northern coast of France.

BAYEUX

Bayeux is a midievel town That lies about 6 miles south of the English Channel and is central to the D-Day beaches. So, it was a natural choice for my base to explore.

Bayeux has the distinction of being one of a very few near coastal towns that was not bombed prior to and during the D-Day invasion. It seems that the Resistance informed the Allied planners that the Nazis had abandoned the town and since they needed a good base of operations, it was spared. It is where DeGaulle made his triumphant return to French soil on D-Day +1. It is a nice little town with lots of shops and restaurants.

I stayed at Hotel Le Lion, a nice little boutique hotel that has a history as a 17th century Post Office. It is charming with cobbled driveways, an intimate bar with a constantly burning fireplace and quite comfortable rooms.

The European breakfast buffet is always impressive.

I travelled to Bayeux via a rented car from Paris and arrived early in the afternoon. After settling in, I looked to explore a bit of the town on foot. My first stop was an immense church that sits in the center of the town. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Bayeux is actually a big as is Notre Dame in Paris. When you walk in ooo are greeted by a plaque dedicated to The British forces that occupied this area after D-Day

The contrast between this church and the restored Notre Dame of just a day before was striking. This had that "old church" smell and grey/brown look. 

One of the more interesting features of this church was the catacombs beneath the church which were open to viewing. I am not sure who might be buried there but it was interesting to see this subterranean burial place.

After spending a good hour or so in the Cathedral, I headed out for my first of many D-Day museums, this one in Bayeux is "Musee Memorial 1944 Bataille De Normaidie". As I approached the museum, I was struck by the amount of artifacts that are displayed outside the Museum. Everything from concrete tetrahedrons that were used as anti invasion defense barriers on the beaches to Sherman and Panzer tanks was on display.

As I explored the museum one thing became clear and would be a part of the narrative of my visit here. As Americans, we have been given this history much from the American point of view. Here though, the story is told from the point of view of all of the parties. The Americans and Germans of course but also the British, Canadian and other Allied countries that participated in the D-Day invasions.

The above picture captures the German ingenuity and probably desperation in that they mounted a captured French Turret to add to their castle defense.

Breech barrel of a German "Flack 40" anti aircraft gun

Diorama featuring both British, American. and German battle gear and equipment

Inside of an American Signal Corp truck

This is the route that the American armies followed on and after D-day to complete the capture of Normandy

German "Flack 18" gun

German personal weapons

German soldiers with beach defenses including mines

British Forces with armament and equipment

American weapons

The Bayeux War Cemetery Sits on a hill above the museum. Commonly called the "British" cemetery, it contains the remains of soldiers from many of the nationals killed in the invasion. Among the nations are: United Kingdom, Canada, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, France, Czech Republic, Italy and Nazi Germany. It is a testament to the fact that it was indeed a world war.

After a day of driving and exploring, I was ready for a good meal and a good night sleep.