Iowa Martins in Albania

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Normandy, France

“Are those rocks from the dock?” asked Oskar as he looked out onto the beach near Arromanches.  What he saw were several huge pieces of concrete—remnants of the temporary harbor that the Allies built in 1944 to support their invasion of German-controlled France.
The beach from above.






Sections of the harbor were constructed in London and then sunk in the Thames River so they would not be visible from the sky; thereby preventing the Germans from getting a clue about what the Allies were planning.  The pieces were then floated across the channel and put together.  At the beginning of construction, several old ships were brought to the area and sunk; they would provide some calm sea in which to work. The museum contains excellent models on display that explain and demonstrate how the harbor moved up and down with the tides.  The following video was taken by Maxim:



Trucks with supplies, troops, and equipment were able to drive off the ships to the mainland 24 hours per day.  After we saw a film in the museum about the construction and use of the harbor, I asked how this could happen if the Germans were fighting them.  The museum guide said that the Germans were busy on the eastern front with the Russians, so they did not fly many planes in the area.  She also said that only 50 people in the whole army knew what they were doing.  Even the soldiers working to build the harbor didn’t know exactly what they were building.  I couldn’t imagine how people landing on beaches like the ones portrayed in the movies could have built such a thing.  It seems obvious now that the harbor must have been built AFTER the D-Day invasion, but I didn’t get it until Jerry Hurd sensibly pointed it out.

Oskar is looking at the barnacles in honor of a teacher at school, Miss Barnacle.
A section of the floating dock.

We were there on D-Day, June 6.  We saw many people dressed in US Army uniforms.  They also had several US jeeps on hand.  The jeeps carried an axe strapped to the side.  “What’s that for?” asked Maxim.  In case they have to abandon the jeep, the soldiers would use the axe to damage the engine so the Germans would not be able to use it.  This let visitors get some idea of the vehicles and clothing from the day.  A bag-pipe band led marched onto the area in front of the museum.  They were led by marching WWII soldiers.






Seeing our flag, someone yelled, "I love the USA!"


On the way back to our cottage on the east side of the peninsula, we drove through delightful small towns—including one that had a collection of WWII equipment.  We drove up to the gate of the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach.  We were surprised and disappointed to find the gates locked; then I looked at my watch and found it was 8:30.  Judging by the position of the sun, I thought it might be 5 in the afternoon.

Was Dr. Who in WWII?



Propeller blades bent by heat from fire
Oskar in front of tank

A refurbished troop carrier


On the beach, we saw these piles of droppings.  I thought they were excrement, but when I touched them, they seemed to be sand.  Does anyone know what they are?



0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home