We started the Omaha Beach day at Pointe Du Hoc. The biggest difference between the Omaha Beach sector and the Utah Beach sector was terrain. While Utah was flat, Omaha was very rugged. I didn't realize until this trip that the Normandy beaches were vacation resorts prior to German occupation. Locals sent vacation photos to help scope the terrain. The villas were razed but have been largely rebuilt in the last 70 years. And much of the area behind the beachfront has returned to farmland.
Pointe du Hoc had been bombarded from land and sea to take out the big guns, so the land is full of craters. They're now overgrown and full of grasses and rocks. While the bunkers didn't seem to be destroyed by direct hits, it seem to slow the installation of some of the guns under construction, and it caused the Germans to pull the five or six big guns back to the orchard where they were not in use on D-Day. Rudder's Rangers who scaled the point with the aim of neutralizing those guns didn't know that dummy guns (wooden telephone poles) were in their place. Of the 225 Rangers who invaded this key position between Omaha and Utah, only 90 were still fit for combat when the battle ended two days later.
We then went on to some of the main access points for Omaha Beach which are far more touristy than Utah Beach. You can also see here very clearly how the tides impacted the landing and why the weather pushed back D-Day an entire day and how the landings the day of were delayed, as well. When we got to the first beach it was high tide so we did not go out onto the sand. Over the course of several hours as we saw various sites and worked our way further down the beach the tide receded and we were able to go out onto the beach. The sand was gold versus the lighter shades at Utah. And here you could see all the pillboxes dug into the sides of the cliffs to fire onto the approaching boats/troops being unloaded on the beach.
Next was the American Cemetery. There are 9,400 Americans buried there. The wall of missing is also vast. For remains that are later identified, a rosette is placed next to the name. Some families choose to have the bodies repatriated and buried elsewhere.
For lunch we went to Port au Bessin where I saw an entire shop of nautical striped shirts to match the one I'd packed unknowingly! We also got a big bag of Normandy caramels in all sorts of flavors.
Next up was Mulberry Harbor at Arromanches where an artificial harbor was constructed for Allied landing craft since the ports on either end of the Normandy beaches weren't under Allied control nor were they in good shape for use for another 4-6 months past D-Day. The American port suffered severe damage in storms shortly after D-Day so the British one, nicknamed Port Winston (Churchill) was bolstered with the supplies for both.
At Longues-sur-Mer there were similar bunkers to Ponte du Hoc, but they had not been as heavily bombed so they were in excellent condition still and the guns were still in place. William enjoyed exploring every single (virtually identical) one.
After a very long and heavy day, we decided on takeaway pizza at our guesthouse. We had spotted this place the night prior. Since we couldn't find a way to order online in advance, we just walked up to the window and ordered and waited. The Bayeux Cathedral is there at the end of the street. The primary savory ingredient in France in jambon (ham). That was the meat on pizza, sandwiches, galettes, etc. The chili oil was a new and wonderful discovery.
