Route Overlord - The Assault
Overlord-l’Assaut (the Onslaught) is the first route to explore. Starting in Merville-Franceville and ending in Bayeux.
Eight itineraries in chronological sequence clearly signposted “Normandie Terre – Liberté” through whole Normandy. See an example at the beginning of this small video.
It enables the visitor to discover these history-packed places and follow the unfolding of this huge battle in the first 80 days of the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe.
01. Merville-Franceville
The Merville Gun Battery was a coastal fortification in Normandy, France, in use as part of the Germans' Atlantic Wall built to defend continental Europe from Allied invasion. Housed in one of the pillboxes, the museum recounts the attack launched by the 9 Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment in the night of June 5th-6th 1944. Now listed as an ancient monument, the battery contains a rare coliection of objects and uniforms.
Address: Place du 9ème Bataillon, 14810 Merville-Franceville-Plage, France.
02. Ranville-Bénouville
The Pegasus Memorial Museum traces the events that took place during the night of June 5th-6th 1944. The famous Pegasus Bridge, whose capture was the main objective that night, is displayed in the museum grounds.
Address: Avenue du Major Howard, 14860 Ranville, France
03. Ouistreham
4 Commando was made up of British and French soldiers, including 177 men under the command of Major Kieffer, the only French combatants to have taken part in the first wave of landings on June 6th. In the Musée du Commando N°4 you can find a rich collection of weaponry and uniforms, a scale model illustrating the Landings and a video. Address: Place Alfred Thomas, 14150 Ouistreham, France
Museum of the Atlantic Wall. The museum is located inside the former German H.Q. which commanded the batteries along the Orne Estuary.This concrete tower, unique of its kind, has been restored and fitted out to look exactly as it would have on June 6th, 1944. Address: Avenue du 6 Juin, 14150 Ouistreham, France
04. Douvres-la Délivrande
Radar Museum. Address: Route Basly, 14440 Douvres-la-Délivrande, France
05. Courseulles-sur-Mer
The Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer is a memorial dedicated to the Canadian effort during the second World Wan A place of remembrance, education and culture, it also presents a vision of the Canada of today.
Address: Voie des Français Libres, 14470 Courseulles-sur-Mer, France
06. Ver-sur-Mer
Gold Beach Museum. Two dispiay areas: - story of the first official airmail flight between the United States and France by the three-ehgined Fokker “America” (DUU7/1927) - account of the British tmridgehead on Gold Beach and the attack of June 6th 1944. Scaie models, dioramas, photos and memorabilia.
Address: 2 Place de l'Amiral Byrd, 14114 Ver-sur-Mer, France
07. Arromanche-les-bains
Musée du débarquement. Indoor & outdoor museum commemorating WWII's Normandy campaign & D-Day landings, with guided tours. This commemorative exhibition, the only one of its kind in the world, has a mission to tell younger generations about what happened in Normandy on June 6th 1944. It pays lasting tribute to all those who came from the sea and who - many barely out of their teens - gave their lives to liberate Europe.
Address: Place du Six Juin 1944, 14117 Arromanches-les-Bains, France
Arromance 360. Projected onto nine screens in a wraparound cinema using exclusive technology, “The Price of Freedom" combines previously-unseen archive footage shot by war correspondents in June 1944 with present-day images filmed in the very same locations.
08. Longues-sur-Mer
The Longues-sur-Mer battery was a World War II artillery battery constructed by the Wehrmacht near the French village of Longues-sur-Mer in Normandy. It formed a part of Germany's Atlantic Wall coastal fortifications. Visit the Longues-sur-Mer battery to gain a better understanding of the Germans’ defensive strategy. Still overlooking the Landing Beaches are 4 pillboxes armed with navy guns and a range-finding post ~ rare remains ofthe Atlantic Wall.
Address: Site de la Batterie, Rue de la Mer, 14400 Longues-sur-Mer, France
09. Port-en-bessin
25 years of underwater operations have brought up from the sea bed some impressive remains and personal items found in the great warships sunk on or around 6th June 1944.
Address: Musee des Epaves Route de Bayeux - B.P. 9 14520 Port-en-Bessin France
10. Bayeux
Commonwealth Memorial and Cemetery, Bayeux War Cemetery. 4868 graves and memorial honours of 1837 missing soldiers. Address: Boulevard 6 Juin. 14400 Bayeux, France
Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum: The three exhibition spaces in this museum evoke the seventy-seven days that followed the Normandy landings through numerous documents and a wide range of military equipment. A 30-minute film is shown in the cinema (seating 150 people). Address: Boulevard Fabian Ware, 14400 Bayeux, France
In the handsome “Governors House’ datlng from the Renaissance (late XVth century), numerous period photographs and documents, extensive archive footage and items that once belonged to General de Gaulle recall the French statesman's five visits to Bayeux. Address: Rue Bourbesneur 10 14400 Bayeux
