D-Day 75 Garden Arromanches The ghostly figures of the D-Day 75 Garden illustrate the memories in the mind of D-Day veteran Bill Pendell MM, as he sits in quiet reflection of his comrades with whom he struggled ashore on the morning of 6th June 1944. The garden was originally created for the 2019 RHS Chelsea Flower Show by John Everiss. Once the show was over the garden was moved [...]

British Normandy Memorial at Ver sur Mer The British Normandy Memorial at Ver sur Mer, overlooking GOLD Beach was officially opened on 6th June 2021. After 77 yrs, Britain finally has a beautiful fitting tribute to the 22,442 service personnel and civilians under British command who lost their lives during The Battle of Normandy. Now set in stone, these names are listed together for the first time. The monument [...]

The historic old walled town of Saint Malo, on the northern coast of Brittany. Battle for Saint Malo U.S. 83rd Infantry Division Once across the River Rance and following the fall of Dol de Bretagne, U.S. forces led by 6th Armored Division continued to drive westwards towards Brest. Yet, to the north, at the mouth of the Rance Estuary lay the strategically important port of St Malo, one of the [...]

Advance from Pontaubault to Dol De Bretagne. On the morning of 1st August 1944 United States forces had captured four bridges over the Selune River at Pontaubault. General George S. Patton who had formally taken command of Third Army was in a strong position to continue the advance into Brittany. Patton ordered U.S. 4th Armored Division (U.S. spelling) to turn southwards towards Rennes, and ultimately the ports of Saint Nazaire and L'Orient. U.S. 6th [...]

The stone bridge over the Selune River. The Brittany Campaign 1944 U.S. 4th Armoured Division's capture of the bridges at Pontaubault opens the way into Brittany. Once through Pontaubault, the U.S. forces drove on through the village of Montanel the last village in Normandy and then on to Saint Ouen La Rouerie, the first village in Brittany to be liberated. The original OVERLORD plan focused on the capture of the Breton ports [...]

Lee Miller, model and photojournalist. In 1942,the former model Lee Miller, of Ploughkeepsie, New York, (Lady Penrose, upon marriage to Anthony Penrose in 1947) became the only woman in that year to receive US forces accreditation as a war correspondent. She arrived at the Normandy front in mid-June 1944, equipped with just a portable typewriter and a rudimentary camera. She published a report in the August 1944 edition of British Vogue magazine entitled “Unarmed Warriors” [...]

6th Airborne Division: How effective was its contribution to the success of the D-Day landings in Normandy 1944? Malcolm A. Clough D-Day Tours of Normandy A dissertation, posted in seven parts (plus appendices) Part 1:  Introduction Part 2:  The Development of British Airborne Forces Part 3:  The Arms and Equipment of British Airborne Forces Part 4:  The Importance of Fire Support provided to 6th Airborne Part 5:  Planning and preparation for D-Day [...]

6th Airborne Division: How effective was its contribution to the success of the D-Day landings in Normandy 1944? Malcolm A. Clough D-Day Tours of Normandy A dissertation, posted in seven parts (plus appendices) Part 1:  Introduction Part 2:  The Development of British Airborne Forces Part 3:  The Arms and Equipment of British Airborne Forces Part 4:  The Importance of Fire Support provided to 6th Airborne Part 5:  Planning and preparation for D-Day [...]