Arromanches

It's been several hours in the bus as we head towards Arromanches and the D-day sites for today.  On the way we passed through Bayeux, known for its cathedral and also for being the first town liberated by the allies after D-Day just 24 hours after the landing. It is also known for the Bayeux tapestry which depicts the battles leading up to the Noman victory over England near the time of William the conqueror. 

We heard how the Americans put a decoy army in the north of France near Calais to distract from the landing on the Normandy beaches. 

Before D-day the allies bombed many of the cities between Paris and Normandy to stop the Germans from being able to send in troops for a counterattack. Many of the cities on this area were closed to razed from all of the bombings. But it allowed the allies to be successful in their landing and forward press. 

Arromanches was one of two sites where the Americans constructed mobile ports to allow for supplies and equipment to be brought in after the invasion. This was very effective and 2.5 million men and 500,000 vehicles were brought in through here in just a few weeks. This idea was credited to Winston Churchill. From this view you can see the remains of the port. 

And from closer in:

From here we will visit the Debarcation Museum.