Battles of Normandy: In Hedgerow Hell: Included Experience
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port
Cherbourg (Normandy), France
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activityLevel
Moderate Activity
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excursionType
Information Not Currently Available
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wheelchairAccessible
No
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startingAtPrice
Information Not Currently Available
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minimumAge
Information Not Currently Available
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duration
Approximately 4½ Hours
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mealsIncluded
Meals not included
Our tour will take us southwards from Cherbourg, and through the agricultural landscape of Normandy’s Cotentin Peninsula. Our destination is the Normandy Victory Museum, located around 30 miles distance from Cherbourg and lying just to the east of the small town of Carentan. The museum, which opened in 2017, is sited on part of the original site of the single 5000ft runway of the temporary airfield at Carentan. Constructed by the United States Army Air Force nine days after the D-Day landings in 1944, for five months the airfield provided a critical base for US fighter squadrons providing support to the Allied troops.
Organised around 20 or so hyperrealist dioramas, arranged in chronological order, the museum offers visitors an immersive experience that aims to bring to life the events of World War II as they were experienced in this part of Normandy. It achieves this poignant atmosphere by incorporating incredible detail in the scenes, which include period photographs, a vast collection of around 10,000 authentic objects and relics, and around 20 military vehicles, all supported by a realistic sound stage.
The museum focuses on several principal themes, including the Battle of the Hedgerows, Operation Cobra, the counterattack of Mortain, and the role played by women during the conflict, especially within the various auxiliary corps of the American forces.
After our fascinating, yet moving visit to the museum, we will reboard our coach to pay visits to some of the strategic World War II locations of the area. First, we stop at the small hamlet of Angoville-au-Plain, in 1944 located in the heart of a drop zone for American airborne troops, and where two US Army medics used the church to treat wounded troops. We will learn how, in capturing Carentan, the 101st Airborne Division established a continuous front for the Allies between the landing beaches of Omaha and Utah. From Angoville-au-Plain, we will head directly to Utah Beach, for a stop that will allow us to see the place where more than 23,000 US troops came ashore on 6 June 1944. From here, our tour will head back towards Cherbourg, but not before stopping at the town of Sainte-Mere-L’Eglise. One of the first town to be liberated from the Germans followed the Allied invasion, it was here that the parachute of US paratrooper John Steele became caught on the spire of the town church. After this final, memorable stop, our coach will return to the ship, waiting at Cherbourg.
Please note: We advise guests to wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a waterproof windbreaker. For operational reasons, this tour may visit the sites mentioned in a different order, however all sites listed will be visited.