Arromanches-les-Bains.

This week’s Outbound Train heads to Normandy for some World War II D-Day history. Because this topic is huge and there are several places to visit, this week’s column will focus on just two things to see in two very small towns (with rather long names) on the Channel coast. The first is Arromanches-les-Bains, which was the site of a British landing on June 6, 1944, onto its “Gold Beach”. The second town is Longues-sur-Mer, just a few kilometers down the road.

Our original plan was to rent a car and, using Caen as a base, drive to Longues-sur-Mer. I had read about the remnants of German bunkers probably a decade ago and had filed that information somewhere in the back of my brain as a must-see. But just before our trip, I asked a German friend of ours for some travel advice. I had remembered him telling me about his trip to the D-Day landing beaches and how incredibly moving it was. He said that other than visiting the beaches and the cemeteries (look for future a Outbound Train on those), we have to go see a circular movie in a town called Arromanches-les-Bains. What a strange thing to recommend, I thought. Why would I go to a D-Day landing beach to see a movie? I’ll be right there, physically at one of the beaches. Sounded like a time-waster. But he was adamant, so we took his word and first drove to Arromanches to see the movie.

Mulberry Harbours in the Channel

Arromanches-les-Bains

We were not disappointed. For starters, the parking lot overlooks the Mulberry harbours. An amazingly large number of these caissons, which were hauled over from England to serve as a temporary Allied port, still exist today. A second port down the coast that was constructed was destroyed within days by a harsh storm.

The cinema is a bit touristy, but not too bad. The movie, The Price of Freedom, is presented in 360 degrees. If you’ve ever been to EPCOT (or even Disneyland Paris a few years back), then you know what kind of theater I’m talking about. You stand in the center of a large (or, this being France, large-ish) circular room and you have curved screens all around you. Nine synchronized projectors display the video. There is activity everywhere. The movie is set in Normandy and takes you through D-Day, showing you real archived footage from the 1940s. The real footage fades in and out with video taken of present-day Arromanches. But it’s not random—the present-day scenes show you exactly the same place (be it a street corner, a building, a church or the beach) that you just saw in the 1940s footage. You can see soldiers running onto the beach. You can hear the loud rumbling of tanks coming towards you from behind. It will give you chills. There is even footage of a wedding—life must go on, even during wartime.

The movie is a very good introduction to D-Day history and I recommend using it as a starting point for touring the beaches and cemeteries.

We were the only people with kids at the movie. We got some strange (disapproving) looks, but I really didn’t care. My grandfather—my kids’ great-grandfather—fought in this war and I grew up listening about it and I want them to know about it as well. It was important for me (and my husband) that they watch the movie no matter how young they are. And the movie resulted in a lot of “why” questions from the backseat the rest of the trip, which I suspect is the point of the movie, isn’t it?

Typical Normandy Scenery

Longues-sur-Mer

After you spend some time in Arromanches (there are other things to see in town, including a museum dedicated to the construction of the Mulberry Harbours), drive down the D514 to Longues-sur-Mer. You can follow good signage on narrow roads to the German bunkers, which are out towards the cliff’s edge, facing the England.

A German Bunker

These four bunkers still house 152 mm cannons. They were built as part of the “Atlantic Wall” to defend the German push into France; they suspected an Allied invasion and were well prepared for it. The guns had a range of 15 miles and were strategically placed so that they could defend both Gold and Omaha beaches. On June 4, these guns were used to defend against the attack. On June 5, the bunkers were taken by the British without a fight.

Standing behind a gun

There is a parking area and then you can walk out through the wheat fields to the bunkers. The guns are in surprisingly good condition. One was clearly destroyed by bombing, but the others look like a little bit of WD-40 could get them running again. You are free to walk around, on top of, and inside the bunkers. I spent some time standing behind a gun, where a Nazi soldier would have, trying to get a feel for what it must have been like, waiting for the Allied invasion and finally having it happen and firing the guns. Wind rushes up from the Channel and it must have been very lonely and isolated out there, both before and during the liberation.

I suspect that in the U.S., remnants of an enemy stronghold would have been disbanded and disposed of immediately after the signing of a peace treaty. Perhaps they would be placed in a museum. France chose to preserve these as they were and I appreciate it more than going to any museum in Paris. This turns World War II into living history that we can share with our children trying to learn the lessons of another generation.

A destroyed gun

There are many places to go in Normandy on a D-Day tour. The best way is to drive around, using Caen as a base. If you decide to go the tour bus route, then make sure that Arromanches-les-Bains and Longues-sur-Mer are on your tour. You’ll want to see these two towns, along with several others, the cemeteries, the beaches and the peace museum in Caen on your tour.