Route Overlord - The Impact
D-Day-le Choc (the Impact) is the second route to explore. Starting in Bayeux and ending in Carentan.
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. Bayeux
Bauyeux is also a part of the Overlord - The Assault route.
02. 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
03. Colleville-sur-Mer
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. 9,387 American soldiers who died during the Battle of Normandy were laid to rest in this 70-hectare site. If you want to visit a specific grave, you can use this overview with the names, ranks, units or civil roll, date of death and the coordinates on the cemetery. http://www.backtonormandy.org/the-history/remember/american-cemetery-and-memorial.htm
04 Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach. Search by date 1944-06-06. http://www.backtonormandy.org/the-history/advanced-search.html
05. Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer
Musée Mémorial d'Omaha Beach: Chronological presentation of all the major events that took place in the American Sector, from the Occupation to the Landings. Exhibition of weaponry, uniforms and military vehicles that were used during World War II. Museum located 200 metres from Omaha Beach.
Address: Avenue de la Libération, 14710 Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, France
06. Vierville-sur-Mer
Musée D-Day Omaha. This museum stands on the site of Omaha Beach, at VierviIle-sur-Mer.Presentation of exceptional items including a landing barge, encrypted Enigma signals, paratrooper motorcycles, a German Goliath tank, photographs and documents. Also a presentation and reconstruction of the Mulberry A Harbour at Omaha. This museum displays exceptional pieces and equipment that bear witness to the technological advances in times of war and their repercussions on civilian life.
Address: Route de Grandcamp, 14710 Vierville-sur-Mer, France
07. Pointe du Hoc
Pointe du Hoc (Wiki) lies 4 mi (6.4 km) west of the center of Omaha Beach. As part of the Atlantic Wall fortifications, the prominent cliff top location was fortified by the Germans. The battery was initially built in 1943 to house six captured French First World War vintage GPF 155mm K418(f) guns positioned in open concrete gun pits. The battery was occupied by the 2nd Battery of Army Coastal Artillery Regiment 1260 (2/HKAA.1260).[4] To defend the promontory from attack, elements of the 352nd Infantry Division were stationed at the battery.
Address: Near Cricqueville en Bessin, assessible via the D 514
08. Grandcamp-Maisy
Musée des Rangers. This museum tells the story of an élite American unit which trained to carry out a particularly perilous mission on D-Day: the attack and capture of Pointe du Hoc.
Address: 30 Quai Crampon, 14450 Grandcamp-Maisy, France
09. La Cambe
A German military cemetery where more than 21,300 victims of World War II have been laid to rest. In the visitor centre, a permanent exhibition highlights the human suffering caused by war. The Peace Garden has been planted with 1,200 maples - living symbols of Peace.
Address: Route nationale, 14230 La Cambe, France
10. Saint-Lô
The Battle of Saint-Lô (wiki) is one of the three conflicts in the Battle of the Hedgerows, which took place between July 9-24, 1944, just before Operation Cobra. Saint-Lô had fallen to Germany in 1940, and, after the Invasion of Normandy, the Americans targeted the city, as it served as a strategic crossroads. American bombardments caused heavy damage (up to 95% of the city was destroyed) and a high number of casualties, which resulted in the martyr city being called "The Capital of Ruins", popularized in a report by Samuel Beckett.
11. Carentan
The Battle of Carentan (wiki) was an engagement in World War II between airborne forces of the United States Army and the German Wehrmacht during the Battle of Normandy.
Dead Man's Corner: When you enter the D-Day Paratroopers Historical Center, you can see a wall covered with carved stones with the names and the units of the airborne veterans. Created in honor and in memory of the paratroopers that have fought during the Second World War, this memorial makes the D-Day Paratroopers Historical Center a unique place of remembrance and contemplation.
Address: Centre Historique des Parachutistes du Jour-J 2, Village de l'Amont 50500 Saint-Côme-du-Mont France
