OK. This day started off in a little bit of a rush. Seems we forgot to set our alarms correctly and we just happened to wake up at the same time we were supposed to be checking out of the hotel and getting on the bus for our drive to Normandy. Miss the bus and you have to arrange for your own transportation to the next stop. Wonder what a French cab would cost for the trip from Caen to Normandy ? Well, no need to worry -- we made it, no showers, no breakfast.
(Note: On all of these pictures of this trip, please click on the picture to enlarge it otherwise a lot of the details will go unseen.)
Once we got to the cliff area overlooking the beaches, this is what we saw...looked pretty much like any other farmer's wheat field. The gun emplacements probably would have been pretty hard to pick up from any great distance.
As we walked up closer to them, I was amazed by their size and the fact that there are as many still standing as there are. I have read that the Germans had a special mixture of concrete that they used on these emplacements and other areas like the Maginot Line, Hitler's bunkers, etc. I guess the reason I am amazed they are still there in this quantity is that I know the power of the shells the Navy hit them with. I guess also that the armies that attacked the beaches fought through these so quickly (relatively speaking).
Something our guide pointed out was the small little indented areas on the tops and sides of the gun emplacements. Most people who have never studied these think that these are marks from the shelling. Actually, these were small areas where the Germans put grasses and bushes in order to break up the silhouette of the structure.
We spent the better part of the morning here and walked in, over, and through these testaments to history. One that stuck out in my mind was featured in the movie "The Longest Day" when the German officer was looking out through the opening, out toward the sea and saw the armada of Allied ships coming toward the coast. I forget what expletive he used, but I know what I would have said.
Standing in his exact spot, and seeing that awesome fleet -- I probably would have needed a new pair of underwear!! I was trying to refrain from saying "You have to see it to believe it" but that certainly is the case. I have seen a lot of things in the Army, but nothing like this would have been.
When you are on these tours, you have to pretty much carry a back pack with you because you cover so much ground and if you need any snacks (remember we missed breakfast) or water, the buses are nowhere to be seen. So, as I was taking pictures of all of these things, I just happened to take this one of me with my back pack. I thought it looked like a soldier from long ago walking these grounds. This was taken just at the edge of the cliff where the Rangers came up. Unbelievable.
So now it is on to the next part of the morning's experience. From here we went to the area overlooking the beach where the Brits landed and where the "Picadilly Circus" was located and then on to Omaha Beach.
"They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate." (President Franklin D. Roosevelt)
Hooah
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