discussion JUNE 6th 1944....NEVER FORGET

[spanner570]

Here's just a few pictures I took on a recent trip to Normandy.....Today is a good time to remember all the brave people from many allied nations who invaded Normandy June 6th 1944 to begin ridding Europe of an evil tyranny.

Pegasus Bridge Memorial - British Airborne Div. cemetery at Ranneville (First village in France to be liberated) - Iron Mike 82nd/ 101st American Airborne - Mulberry - British cemetery - Canadian cemetery - Omaha Beach Memorial and cemetery - German cemetery (21,000 buried here) - WW1 Memorial at Thiepval on the Somme to 2,500,000 missing British and Commonwealth soldiers. - Thoughts...........

I make no apologies for the inclusion of the German cemetery.....Right or wrong, they were just young lads doing their duty........

We took a detour to the WW1 Somme Battlefields to find my Great Uncle's grave and leave a note and flowers, then we went to Thiepval. It's huge. You can just make out my wife standing under the main arch....such a waste of human life lost in such a small area of France.

Will the human race ever learn from history?

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[stona]

A timely reminder and some very nice photos, thanks.

Steve

 

[Andy2035]

Thank you Sir for sharing...

Andy...

 

[AlanG]

At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them

 

[Gern]

Thanks Ron.

Alas, such memorials can be found throughout history and all over the world. I think the only thing that history shows us is that we don't learn from it.

Gern

 

[rickoshea52]

I've been to many of these sites and they are extraordinary in their ordinarinace for the most part. But Thiepval is one of the most moving places I have ever been too. The Pegasus bridge has to be visited to really understand the achievements of the British Airborne forces who landed there. The fact that one of the gliders landed just 47 yards, I believe, from the bridge is an amazing feat. The small force of Para's who attacked the coastal gun battery covering Sword beach before linking up at the bridge is another amazing tale among many.

Great photo's Ron.

 

[Guest]

Great photos. Thanks for sharing

 

[spanner570]

I've been to many of these sites and they are extraordinary in their ordinarinace for the most part. But Thiepval is one of the most moving places I have ever been too. The Pegasus bridge has to be visited to really understand the achievements of the British Airborne forces who landed there. The fact that one of the gliders landed just 47 yards, I believe, from the bridge is an amazing feat. The small force of Para's who attacked the coastal gun battery covering Sword beach before linking up at the bridge is another amazing tale among many. Great photo's Ron.

Thanks for your posts fellas.....

Rick, you are spot on, I also found great difficulty tracking down sites and memorials which I had read about many times and thought would be well to the fore.

The battery you mention (Merville) was taken by around 150 paras from the 600 odd who originally landed.

The first original picture I posted is of Major Howard, who's glider landed right where his memorial is situated. If you look closely you will see behind him the marked spot of another glider - there is a third a few yards behind that amongst the shrubs.

An example of how low key things are was trying to find the grave of Lt. Brotheridge, who was the first allied soldier killed in France on June 6th, whilst storming Pegasus Bridge.

I knew he is buried in Ranneville Cemetery which is the second picture above, but neither me or my wife could find his grave amongst the 2200 buried there. Luckily we found he is not buried in the military cemetery, but in the church yard next door, along the perimeter stone wall along with around 20 others , all killed during the initial landings at Pegasus.

Here are a few more photos which might be of 'follow up' interest to readers......

Merville Battery - mostly hidden by grass!

Pegasus Bridge showing the spot where Major Howard's glider landed.

Lt. Brotheridge's grave stone and the Pegasus church window at Ranneville.

The huge base columns at Thiepval all engraved with the names of the missing.......

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[Guest]

if your interested in D-day then channel 4 is for you right now. D-Day Home tells you everything that happened. automatically updates too so no reloading every minute:redface:.

tiger.

 

[Guest]

ive been following the channel 4 website been really good, thu i may only be 40 i feel ashamed and disgusted how theres no mention of it being anniversry of d-day on the news etc, and how most younger people 20 and younger have no clue on how many peolpe died for there countyr and mostly for all we have toady, as if wasnt for them many of us may never of been aand things may be lot worse in my opinion we owe them so much more, i hope they will never be fogotten as every one of them were heroes

 

[Guest]

thnx for the piccies looks really good,dont you just love the G.I`s statue Monty hated that look lol.once again thnx for the piccies

mobear

 

[Ian M]

Thanks for posting those photos. Quite moving and humbling.

Does anyone know what is planed for next year. Looking at the date it should be quite an anniversary.

Thanks again Ron.

Ian M

 

[stona]

It is important to remember.

I saw this question posted on a modelling website elsewhere.

"I have heard of the Canadians, British and French also being in on the landings with the US were any other troops involved there? Australians, New Zealand, South African? The Polish and Czechs fought in the Battle of Britain did they have ground troops in on D Day as well?"

When you consider that the British and Canadians landing on D-Day outnumbered US troops by some margin the wording is a bit worrying!

I am not bashing our American friends or trying to diminish the significant role that those US troops played. I just think that it is important to remember.....accurately.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Guest]

Actually to be fair Steve my info tells me USA 73,000 British & Commonwealth forces 83,000 landed on D Day.

By the 19 June Brit. & Common. 314,540 USA 314,504 British.

Polish were in Normandy but the dates & figures are not either reliable or not recorded.

Figures do not include numerous forces Air Forces Navies. Not to be forgotten that Naval & Air losses were very high on D Day.

What does not come thro is that the British including Monty were slated by some as not fighting as hard as possible. History tells that the British Foces held around Caen approx (it varied in the campaign) five sixths of the panzers in Normandy & a similar percentage of German infantry. I have read a lot & very recently about Normandy. It was an incredible battle. Both USA & Brit. forces included many brand new soldiers who had not had any battle experience. They were up against Battle Hardened German Divisions many who had fought in Russia.

So the British can be proud of that achievement. So can the Americans as they had that go when it eventuaqlly came to speed over the ground to chase the Germans out through Normandy in the South.

The forces of both countries complemented each other in what they could do & the did it. They destroyed the German Western army in approx 6 weeks from which they did not recover.

Normandy was & still is the most sucessful landing of forces by sea with a minimal amount of forces compared to their opponent. The landing were a just an incredible sucess made possible by the planning courage & of young men in their prime.

Loss to families & to my generation the cream of the the country. Go to Bayeux Cemetries of USA & British Forces. No body leaves without a tear even now it brings a great sadness. Majors of 26, Captain 24, Sargeants 18 & 19. So very sad. They gave their all do we appreciate that gift

Laurie

 

[Guest]

and after all this slaughter they still don't teach the folly of war in schools. most of the kids round here don't know what significance that this date holds, it disturbs me that these people are our future.

Scott

 

[flyjoe180]

Thanks for posting your pictures Ron, they are very poignant.

It is important to remember.I saw this question posted on a modelling website elsewhere.

"I have heard of the Canadians, British and French also being in on the landings with the US were any other troops involved there? Australians, New Zealand, South African? The Polish and Czechs fought in the Battle of Britain did they have ground troops in on D Day as well?"

When you consider that the British and Canadians landing on D-Day outnumbered US troops by some margin the wording is a bit worrying!

I am not bashing our American friends or trying to diminish the significant role that those US troops played. I just think that it is important to remember.....accurately.

Cheers

Steve

Well said Steve. As for the New Zealanders, Poles and Czechs, they were largely busy fighting in Italy, the 'forgotten front'. The Australians had mostly recalled most of their forces to the Pacific by this stage of the war.

This may be of interest to you all. Some time ago I visited a small museum and found this diagram drawn by Johnnie Houlton, a New Zealand pilot with 485 (NZ) Squadron RAF. He drew it to explain his D-Day kills. He shot down a Ju88, the first aerial kill of the landings. He also shared in the second kill of the day. This was achieved in Spitfire MK950 (OU-X), not his usual aircraft which according to the 485 Squadron ORB had suffered a problem with the propeller. However many accounts show he was flying his usual aircraft, ML407 (OU-V).

The diagram he drew:

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[Guest]

Just add to my piece.

The two cemeteries USA & British.

The USA is right in character. at least from my point of view, large swaithes of the headstones in a large landscape. Some statement of the USA, some sight & very very impressive.

The British & Commonwealth. The cemetery on side of the road with the memorial overlooking from the otherside of the road. The cemetery heart breaking set out with the feel of an English country garden. So beautiful & so heartbreaking. I have never before or since been moved as much as I was that day.

Laurie

 

[Guest]

Thanks Ron.Alas, such memorials can be found throughout history and all over the world. I think the only thing that history shows us is that we don't learn from it.

Gern

Politicians certainly don't

 

[Guest]

and after all this slaughter they still don't teach the folly of war in schools. most of the kids round here don't know what significance that this date holds, it disturbs me that these people are our future.Scott

Doesn't worry me one bit, sadly they'll probably have their own wars to remember

 

[spanner570]

All good and fair comments....

Laurie, we went to the cemeteries in Bayeux, I found it very sad the way the main road cuts through the British Cemetery......

What my wife and I didn't realise was the number of allied countries involved in Operation Overlord. Almost every country overrun by the Nazis were present in one form or another on 6th June 1944....The French Resistance played their part too.

We wanted to get away from the touristy side of D. Day, (Good thought they were) and probe a mile or so inland and what we found very moving were the small plaques in villages thanking the allies - be they British, American, whatever for freeing them.....The still blood stained seating in the tiny church at Angoville Au Plain, used by the 101st Airborne as a hospital..."All are welcome, but leave your weapons outside!" 80 soldiers of both sides and one child were treated by two American medics. Finding these sort of things really brought it home to my wife and I...

Having just visited the area one thing is for sure, it doesn't matter a stuff to me how many, of which nationality were present.....Everyone of those scared young men, whether landing on the beaches, hanging from a parachute or sitting in a plywood and fabric glider deserves our eternal thanks.......