1st trip to WW2 Battlefields - Help please

Hi,

A mate and I are planning our first trip to the Battlefields of Northern France this Spring. Can any seasoned traveller please help with recommendations on the "must see" or well worth a visit sites.

It would also be good if you could recommend accomodation too (though we may camp). Maybe someome on here organises tours etc....?? just a thought.

Anyway, as always any help is greatly appreciated.

Apparently, my Grandad landed on D+6 in a Sherman tank (I think he was in the 4th/7th Royal dragoon guards but not sure) and there is a picture of him and his buddies in the museum in Bayeux so I must try and find that.

When I cross to Cherbourg I make my first stop in Sainte-Mere-Eglise which of course has the chap still hanging from the church, the Airbourne museum and is a nice little town to wander around and eat breakfast. Then you have the massive Omaha cemetery (saving private Ryan) not far down the road and then just bimble along the coast road, Arromanches, Bayeux, Pegasus Bridge etc. Lots of things to see along the coast and all close together and easy to find.

We camped in Falaise a bit further south and had a good days riding in what was known as the Falaise Gap, plenty of tanks and memorials to see. The small municipal campsite there is central to town, close to bars and cafes and under the walls of William the Conkers castle.

The main WW2 battlefields of France lie in the Normandy area, with (obviously) the beaches as their main focus. There you will find all the museums, visitor centres, campsites, cafes and hotels you will ever need. Have a look through this section of UKGSer as you will not be the first to have made the jaunt.

The rest? Well the whole area down to roughly Le Mans was blown to pieces, so little of anything concrete remains to be seen.

I suggest you buy or borrow a copy of Beevor's D-Day book, to put the whole monumental event into context. Far more soldiers died in the weeks and months after D-Day than in the landings themselves, the civilians' sufferings were similarly horrendous. Arm yourself with a couple of maps and you will be able to stand at the very crossroads where the two Allied armies met to close the Falaise pocket. You will also be able to find the narrow 'bocage' lanes and tight hedges that so slowed the Allied advance into a bloody war of attrition, which (for a brief period) matched that of the eastern front.

Michelin has reprinted their 1947 'D-Day map', which is worth getting. Similarly, a good basic guide to get is Major Holt's 'Pocket battlefield guide - Normandy Landing Beaches'. Get one, or both.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/D-Day-Battle-Normandy-Antony-Beevor/dp/067088703X

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pocket-Battlefield-Normandy-Landing-Beaches/dp/1848840799

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Michelin-Historical-Map-102-Normandy/dp/2067002627/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

PS While you are roughly in the area, maybe make a small detour to see the Chinese cemetery. OK it's the wrong war but interesting none the less http://www.somme-battlefields.com/s...ez/grande_guerre/cimetiere_chinois_de_nolette

If you do decide on b an b then look no further than this place. Adrian and Karens place is very biker friendly. Im back there in July.
http://www.normandybeach.co.uk

Poole-Cherbourg is the ideal crossing as Trippy says.
Try to do the run in WW2 chronological order or there abouts, so starting St Mere Eglise is perfect (June 6th 1944). The other option being Pegasus Bridge area and east of it around Merville sur Mer and Ranville (June 5th 1944).
From Utah beach there is a marked trail called Voie de la Liberté, Liberty Road and plenty of info available from visitors centres. Markers of the Liberty Road look like this, and are every 1km.


I've been numerous times and still not scratched the surface. I have an greater interest is the Atlantique Wall blockhaus bunkers so used smaller lanes to get to the gun batteries.
If you fancy seeing one of the best bunkers to access, go to Batterie Todt near Boulogne, 4 large gun turns, one is a museum, and the other three are...... let's just say 'there'! Take a flashlight and boots!!!!
http://atlanticwallbelgiumboulogne.110mb.com/atlant/todt/todt.htm

From Normandy, Liberty Road zigzags a little and the heads East.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Road
So far i have reached Verdun, but then became engrossed with WW1 stuff there, which i have never before been interested in or knew anything about..... that's changed now though!
Next leg we have planned, hopefully for April, is Verdun to Bastogne. After that it's Malmedy, and then into the Market Garden leg of Hell's Highway.

Timpo.

The only trouble with Pool is that it's a fecking long way from Northampton, followed by a longish sea crossing to Cherbourg.

Timpo said:

Bastogne.

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Nice area, I like the Ardennes.

Wapping said:

The only trouble with Pool is that it's a fecking long way from Northampton, followed by a longish sea crossing to Cherbourg.

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They have the fast boat which does it in a couple of hours.

From Northampton theres only about 20 miles difference in Poole and Dover.
The crossing is quite a bit more expensive though but then your right there.
Swings and roundabouts I guess.

Timpo said:

Next leg we have planned, hopefully for April, is Verdun to Bastogne. After that it's Malmedy, and then into the Market Garden leg of Hell's Highway.

Timpo.

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Timpo, what you can do is follow the route of the 'Band of Brothers' route.

There are lots of 'organised' travel companies offering to take bods along it for a fee. But, with a bit of digging around on assorted websites, you can build your own quite easily. Probably what you are doing anyway :beer jug:


I think somewhere I did map it all out in Mapsource. I will see if I can find it.

Trippy said:

They have the fast boat which does it in a couple of hours.

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I forgot about the speedyboat, thing


Distant lands, to me.

Wapping said:

Timpo, what you can do is follow the route of the 'Band of Brothers' route.

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I've been riding the Liberty Road with Blackbert from advrider, he's from Belgium and has a good knowledge of our next leg. His KTM990 will be handling the muddy lanes a bit better than my 12GSA..... think I'll sneak over with my XChallenge! Belgium and Holland is going to be fantastic, I can't wait........

The Poole boat I have used has been the fast boat, and it took no time at all. And coming down from Chester to Poole is easier M56/M6/M5/M4/A350 than the M1/M25/M20 leg for me to get the Chunnel, etc, then the miles West in France. And again as Trippy says, at Cherbourg your there, almost at Post #1 of the Liberty Road, so easy for a lesser experienced person to pick up the Normandy Landings trail. May suit some but not all I suppose....

If your going to France for battlefields there is no place better than Normandy, I LOVE Normandy!!! As a regular visitor of battlefields and as a WW2 History/Normandy buff, I tend to book a Gite, especially if I'm taking a group - better value! If your interested try Welcome Cottages but book early. If you want a battlefield guide there are none better than Paul Woodage. He'll take you to places not in the guide books... tell him I sent you. As your going round on your bike a D.I.Y battlefield tour is probably better so get yourself a good guidebook. I suggest Major & Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide of the Normandy Beaches with Map, this will take you to just about every place of interest in Normandy. There are hundreds of sites and places to visit not just the beaches, which was just the initial phase of the battle, head inland too.



For more info on many of these sites check out the Normandie44LaMemoire and NormandieMemoire sites for all the places to visit: museums, cemetries, monuments, vestiges etc. If your going to visit a lot of museums get yourself a Normandie Pass for reduced admission. These are a short list of must see places, and there are lots of awesome places to visit, including all the major museums, but these are my faves:

Benouville & Ranville: Pegasus Bridge, Gondree Cafe, 6th Airborne Div Memorial Museum, Cemetery, Major Howard & Gen Gale busts, monuments & memorials
Merville-Franceville: Merville Battery (Otway & the 9th Para Bn Assault), monuments and memorials
Saint Pierre Du Mont: Pointe Du Hoc (Rudder & the 2nd Rangers Bn Assault) monuments and memorials
Longue Sur Mer, Crisbecq, Azeville battery & block houses
St. Mere Eglise & Saint Marie Du Mont: US Airborne Museum, monuments and memorials
Brecourt Manor - PM me and if I think you're worthy I'll tell you exactly where it is! Most people got to the wrong field...
La Fiere: Iron Mike Memorial Monument
Arromanche: concrete cassions, Landing museum, the 360 cinema
Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer: Omaha Beach, museum, US cemetery, 1st Div & 20th Div Monument
Crepon: Green Howard Memorial Monument

Remember, it's not all about the beaches, that was just the initial part of the operation. Head inland too:

Saint-Martin-des-Besaces & Villers Bocage: breakthrough Museum (11th Armoured & Bocage territory)
Montormel: Museum & Memorial (Falaise Gap)
Mount Pincon
Cagny: Guards Armoured & Goodwood monuments & memorial

Lots of cmemteries inland: check out La Cambe (Big German) and Jerusalem (Smallest CWGC including a 16 year KIA). There are literally hundreds of places of interest... just keep your eyes peeled! Remember every inch of Normandy was fought over. Any questions or book recommendations let me know. There's also lots of local farms and orchards that will sell you local produce too: especially cider and calvados, mmm!

If WW1 is more your thing have a look here, I have created a bunch of WW1 & WW2 battlefield waypoints including 147 WW1 sites from two of the Holts guidebooks on Somme and Ypres/Passchnendaele. The WW1 POIs include probably about 75% from the two books. They're are only so many cemeteries one man can visit.





Hope this helps.

Also en route from St Mere Eglise are the Crisbeq and Azeville batteries, the latter is well worth a look as its underground bunkers are virtually intact and there is a guided tour.

Pointe du Hoc gives a great impression of what the Rangers faced climbing up the cliffs and the dozens of bomb craters are untouched, it's like a lunar landscape.

Amongst all of the Allied War Graves, don't neglect the German cemetery at La Cambe, just alongside the main N13 near Pointe du Hoc. I asked the German curator why all the headstones were black basalt. 'Only the winners got white headstones,' he replied.

Oh, and +1 for Normandy B&B in Arromanches, Adrian and Karen are marvellous hosts. Only problem there is getting booked in these days

Here's an organised tour which may give you some pointers.
http://www.bikersoracle.com/tours/forum/showthread.php?t=1219

Guys, many thanks for all the advice and help. Iam very impressed with all the knowledge, the recommendations and to read of your experiences. We have booked the ferry from Poole to Cherbourg on the weekend of 13th July. Accomodation still to sort, but Iam sure camping is always an option if we cant get into a b&b.

MIKEY B said:

Guys, many thanks for all the advice and help. Iam very impressed with all the knowledge, the recommendations and to read of your experiences. We have booked the ferry from Poole to Cherbourg on the weekend of 13th July. Accomodation still to sort, but Iam sure camping is always an option if we cant get into a b&b.

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If you want a quiet hotel, secure parking:-
http://reservation-hotel.logishotels.com/jreservit/fichehotel.do?langcode=EN&hotelid=1333

10 minutes for St Mere Eglise, 5 minutes from La Cambe.