D-Day - The Landings on the British and Canadian Beaches

From Ouistreham we will drive along the coast passing through the area of Sword beach. Here British forces landed which were to secure Ouistreham itself, link up with 6^th Airborne Division which had been dropped to secure the eastern bank of thr River Orne, and to join in the push towards Caen, a first day objective.

We will then drive through Juno beach where the Canadians landed, whose main aim was to drive on Caen and capture it on Day One. This brought them into collision with the 12^th SS Division.

From here we will drive on to Gold beach, the second British beach, for whom one of the early objectives was the capture of Bayeux. We will carry on to Arromanches at the western end of the Gold sector.

Firstly we will visit the 360 degree cinema where a short 20 minute film will provide us with an interesting and spectacular introduction to the Normandy campaign.

Who is the cinema aimed at?

Does it offer a different perspective to other sources?

Secondly we will visit the Arromanche Mulberry Harbour museum. There is plenty of time to make the most of this visit, and you should get a good idea of the supposed value of the artificial harbour to the Allied effort.

Does the impression given at the museum tally with other written sources about the value of the Mulberry harbour?

Additionally, what is the presentational style of the museum?

From Arromanches we will head inland to Bayeux. When we drive through La Rosiere we will have reached the position of the British frontline by noon on D-Day itself. By the end of the first day the Allies had reached the positions marked on Map 1. The landings were running some 8-12 hours behind schedule, all the landing beaches had not yet been linked up and the capture of Caen had stalled. Nevertheless, on June 7^th Allied forces pushed on and captured Bayeux virtually intact.When we get to Bayeux, note the architecture and layout of the town. Later compare this with many of the other towns and villages we pass through. Bayeux differs obviously because it escaped heavy damage, but it gives us an example of what Norman villages and towns actually looked like.

In Bayeux we will have lunch and visit the D-Day Museum. This privately owned museum, put together by an ardent collector, covers the entire period of the campaign and has a whole host of artefacts and exhibits.

How does it differ from the Arromanches museum?
Does it offer a balanced picture?
Is this an effective way of presenting material to the general public?

The end of the first day of our campaign leaves us on June 10^th. The British 7^th Armoured is pushing on to Tilly-sur-Seulles, and the Commonwealth and US Omaha beaches have been linked up. Caen, however, remains well out of reach. Remember this was a first day objective and the key to access to the open rolling countryside, ideal for mobile warfare, lying on the route to northern France and Paris.

The next few weeks were to see heavy fighting as the Allies, after strengthening the lodgement, attempted to push on to Caen and Cherbourg and to build up preparatory to break-out.

Graphics courtesy of eb.com

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