Normandie: Deuxieme Jour

At the moment, I am on the train back to Paris, enjoying the beautiful Normandy countryside to my left. I honestly believe everyone should visit this part of France if they are visiting the country. As for my visit here, let me go over just what I saw yesterday on my adventures out. We started the day by driving towards Omaha Beach at Coleville Sur Mer. We drove through a small town where the second to the last battle of the 100 Years War was held between France and England. James pointed out the field along with the points of defense of the English army, and then the flanking route the French Calvary took. Although I am not very knowledgeable on that war, it was still very interesting nonetheless. We then continued our trip to the beach. He brought me first to the furthest point east on Omaha Beach, which is the most untouched part since the war. We drove down to the beach via the Easy Red exit of the beach, one of the major tank and vehicle roads off of Omaha Beach. Actually, the famous picture of the row of GIs walking past a bunker on the bluff is right where I am speaking of. We walked around the beach at mid-tide, and I was very surprised at just how wide the sand was. The GIs landed at low tide, which meant that they had even more sand to cross. To walk from the water to the seawall, which supplied very little cover by the way, it takes minutes, not seconds. At this part of the beach, the seawall is still very visible, and the point at which the GIs took cover from the bunkers is also still just as it was. If you have seen Saving Private Ryan, they portray the seawall almost as a 60 degree angle supplying adequate cover. In reality, the seawall was maybe 30 degrees, and provided little cover. After making it to the seawall, looking up the bluffs from Omaha Beach is amazing. Running up these hills with casual clothes on is very difficult, and I can just imagine with equipment. We then drove along the beach, passing the Sunday beach crowds that had gathered. As we got to the Dog sectors of the beach, James began pointing out specific sites along with stories from that part of the beach. The worst fighting was at Dog White sector, where the first three waves experienced almost 100% casualty rates. I walked around a few bunkers on the beach, including one with the gun still remaining completely intact. The amount of damage that “didn’t” exist on these bunkers just goes to show how wasted the pre-landing bombardments were. After the beach, I went to the Omaha Beach Cemetery, which was a very moving experience. Row after row of crosses and stars overlooking the beaches is enough to send chills through anyone. The museum was quite good there, and I spent half an hour simply walking through one part of the graves, not nearly enough time.
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Afterwards, we headed to Pointe du Hock, the sight of the rangers valiant attack and costly fight on what was thought to be a battery shelling Omaha and Utah beaches. This was by far the most intact battleground I have seen yet. Just before the rangers climbed to cliffs to Pointe du Hock, 10,000 tons of bunker busting bombs were dropped. Not one of these craters has been since filled in. The bunkers both destroyed and intact, sit just as they did in 1944. Many of them rattled with bullet holes and impact craters, demonstrating the horrendous battle that took place. At some points I could see the lead from the bullet still lodged where it had been shot. I walked around Pointe du Hock for around half an hour, walking through massive bunkers and around bomb craters so large and so deep, falling in would certainly be dangerous and getting out maybe not an option.
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After Pointe du Hock, James took me to a place not very often visited, and only opened to public in the last year. The Battery of Maisy was actually what the rangers thought they were attacking when they landed at Pointe du Hock. This battery was the main costal battery overlooking both Utah and Omaha beaches. At Pointe du Hock, the bunkers simply had power poles in them to mimic howitzers. The Battery at Maisy was incredible. Not only was almost 90% of the entire hidden complex very much intact, but we were the only ones there. What is really interesting about this place is just how well it was hidden. From the morning of June 6th to the afternoon of June 9th, this battery continually shelled both American beaches without being bothered at all. The reason is because of just how well it was camouflaged. Standing just twenty feet from the entrance, I saw nothing. I looked into a field of flowers and saw only a field of flowers. After entering the trench and bunker system, I was walking by ammo holds, flak guns, and huge 155mm Howitzers, all covered with netting for protecting from aerial reconnaissance. This system has guns of all different sizes, an underground hospital, a full radar complex, multiple ammo holds with walls very thick, and everything one would need to live. In 2008, while clearing around an overgrown bunker, the people who own the land found a German soldier who supposedly died from an artillery hit (telling from the damage to his leg). The soldier still had everything with him, including his rifle, ammo, dog tags, and full uniform. They sent to body back to Germany to search his family and provide a proper burial.
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So, in my time in Normandy, I have seen the 82nd Airborne and 101st Airborne landing zones, Utah Beach, and Omaha Beach. Although there is so much more to see, for two days I have seen so much, especially considering I have seen the June 6th American sights. I thank James the battlefield expert for his great help and for providing me with a great place to stay. Tomorrow I will spend my day walking Paris and saying goodbye to France before my flight back on Wednesday morning. My next post will probably be from home, when I will begin uploading some pictures and write a small summary of my trip. Once I finish blogging about this trip, the blog will be discontinued until my next trip abroad.
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By the way, I finally learned how to make a classic French crape, and I plan on doing so after my return home.