D-Day: Operation Overlord
Breaching the Atlantic Wall
Tour Introduction
This five-day tour examines carefully selected events from 6th – 9th June 1944, appreciating the plight of the common soldier as he scrambled ashore amidst murderous German fire, his generation fighting to ensure the freedom that we enjoy today.
What was it like to parachute into the night skies above Normandy or land by glider next to Pegasus Bridge at Ranville a few minutes after midnight? How did Colonel Rudder's Rangers scale the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc?
What was the experience of American soldiers struggling through the surf at Omaha Beach, alongside renowned war photographer Robert Capa, or British assault troops faced with devastating enemy fire at the eastern end of Gold Beach?
At the surviving German coastal battery position at Longues Sur Mer, we hear how terrified German gunners duelled with fearsome warships from their emplacements in the ‘Atlantic Wall’.
Highlights
- Told from the soldier's perspective
- Examine the fight for the Merville Battery
- Visit the site of the US airborne landing at Ste-Mere-Eglise
- Explore La Fiere causeway, scene of a desperate four-day battle
- Spend time at Utah Beach, Gold Beach, Juno Beach & Omaha Beach
- Explore the German battery with its extant guns at Longues sur Mer
- Visit Pegasus Bridge, the site of the British glider-borne assault
- Spend time at the American National Cemetery and memorial at St Laurent
- Visit the new British Normandy Memorial at Ver-Sur-Mer
- Explore the superb Overlord Museum
Tour Details
Interested in this tour but not ready to book? Register your interest using the link below and we will keep you updated on the progress of the tour.
Expert Guides
Dr Simon Trew
Dr Simon Trew worked as a lecturer in the Department of War Studies at The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 1993 to 2022. He was deputy head of department from 2002-2012 and acting head in 2013-2014. In September 2022 he retired to pursue new projects. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on British relations with the Yugoslav resistance movements during the Second World War, and lectured at the University of Keele before moving to Sandhurst. Since 1994 he has developed an enthusiastic interest in the Normandy campaign, travelling to France on many occasions to carry out research or to deliver battlefield studies to military and civilian groups.
He has also lectured widely on the campaign, and has appeared in numerous TV documentaries and live broadcasts on this and other military subjects. In 2009 he was nominated for a prestigious 'Emmy' award for his research in support of a television documentary on the D-Day assault at Omaha Beach. He was editor/writer of the well-known 14-volume 'Battle Zone Normandy' battlefield tour guide series (Sutton Publishing, 2004), and has also written a book about official war photography in Normandy. His most recent book was the diary of a British army chaplain who served in Normandy, which Simon edited for publication. He relishes the opportunity to return to the Normandy battlefields at every available opportunity, and to spend time talking with those who share his interest in this most fascinating and controversial of military campaigns.
Background
On the morning of Tuesday 6th June, the largest amphibious invasion in history breached the defences of the Atlantic Wall, opening the way for the Second Front and contributing to the final defeat of Hitler's Third Reich.
The flanks of ‘Operation Overlord’ were secured by audacious airborne landings: in the west by the Americans around Ste-Mere-Eglise, to the east by the British near the River Orne. Between them, Allied troops landed on five beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, with varying degrees of success.
Some forces were able to thrust inland immediately, others found themselves having to contend with withering German fire, a rising tide and an increasingly crowded beach.
"The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you."
General Eisenhower
What's Included
- 4 Star Hotel
- Return Channel Tunnel coach crossing
- Expert historians throughout providing a daily variety of talks, presentations and Q&A
- Entrance fees for sites included in itinerary
- Dedicated Tour Manager
- The company of like-minded travelers
- Dinner parties hosted by your expert historians and tour manager
- Meals as indicated in the itinerary
- Two drinks i,e wine or beer at each dinner and a welcome drink on first evening
- Helpful and friendly travel advice
- All taxes and gratuities
- Tour information booklet
- Modern, comfortable, air-conditioned coach
Itinerary
Day 1: Outward travel
Day 1: Outward travel
Assemble at Ashford International station and drive to Bayeux via the Channel Tunnel on Le Shuttle. Picnic lunch en-route and brief stop at Pegasus Bridge. Check in to our Bayeux hotel for 4 nights. Welcome drinks before dinner. (D).
Day 2: The British Sector
Day 2: The British Sector
To the Merville Battery site of one of the earliest actions on 6 June when British Paratroopers assaulted the stronghold. Continue to Gold Beach to follow the exploits of 69th Infantry Brigade and learn how the only D-Day Victoria Cross was won. (B,D).
Day 3: The British and American Sectors
Day 3: The British and American Sectors
We visit the site of the US airborne landing at Ste-Mere-Eglise and the La Fiere causeway, scene of a desperate four-day struggle to establish control over a critical crossing of the River Merderet. After a brief stop at Utah Beach, we visit Port-en-Bessin, captured by 47 RM Commando, and the German battery with its extant guns at Longues sur Mer. (B,D).
Day 4: The American Sector
Day 4: The American Sector
We visit the superb Overlord Museum before exploring several sites in and around the Omaha Beach sector. We end our day at the American National Cemetery and memorial at St Laurent. (B,D).
Day 5: Bayeux
Day 5: Bayeux
Visit the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery at Bayeux, the largest British cemetery in Normandy, and the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-Sur-Mer, where the names of servicemen and women under British command who fell on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy are recorded. These sites provide a fitting finale to the tour. Return to the UK via the Channel Tunnel on Le Shuttle to Ashford International station where the tour ends. (B).
Recommended Reading List
- D-Day. Piercing the Atlantic Wall. published by Ian Allan Ltd (2008)
- D-Day: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy published by Penguin (2012)
- Eleven Days in August - The Liberation of Paris in 1944 published by Simon & Schuster UK (2013)
- Invasion They’re Coming published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd (US) (1998)
- Overlord: The D-Day Landings published by Osprey Publishing (2009)
- Rangers Lead the Way: Pointe-du-Hoc D-Day 1944 published by Osprey Publishing (2009)
- Six Armies In Normandy: From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris June 6th-August 25th,1944: From D-Day to the Liberation at Paris published by Pimlico (2004)
- The Longest Day published by Andre Deutsch Ltd (2015)
Tour Diary
Take a look at some of the images taken on our most recent tour