Visiting WW2 Battlefields

I'm greatly impressed that Kevin talked the bride into going to Normandy at all. Most ladies would want to simply stay in Paris. I want to be just like him when I grow up!
Now I need to wipe the coffee of my computer screen The Mrs is fine about going to Normandy, but I wouldn't dare try to take her into a museum
a) she wouldn't get me out of the place
b) I'll leave it up to your imagination

Looks like Paul Woodadge is booked up. I have made contact with Ellwood von Seibold. He seems to be a possibility.

 

I just don't mention in advance that there was once a battle there. Most of Western Europe has been fought on at some time or other !

 

I feel sorry for you lot having wives that aren't interested in going to the battlefields.
I must be very lucky.

Don't mistake that for genuine interest Owen. She simply wants to keep an eye on you!

 

Deposit has been paid. Now it's time to storm the beaches

 

If you want to go to Arromanches you need to get the Cherbourg train from Paris Gare St Lazare and get off at Bayeux which is closest to Arromanches
Gill

 

Thanks
We are catching the train from St Lazare to Carentan. From there we do the British and Canadian Sectors, Arromanches and Pegasus Bridge with our own guide. If there is time left over we will head to Omaha.

 

Feel free to visit my website, regarding remnants from world war II in Europe...

/Martin

http://www.battlefieldsww2.com

 

I feel sorry for you lot having wives that aren't interested in going to the battlefields.
I must be very lucky.

I told my wife there was really good shopping in Oosterbeek and Arnhem

 

Last year (April 27 to May 14, 2010) we did a Canadian Battlefields tour, D-Day to the 65th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands with Connection Tours Home

Unlike some of the male posters in the thread, it was my husband who was good about going with me! He knew it was important to me to follow as much of my father's path as we could, considering neither of us were prepared to drive on our own in Europe at this point.

We bypassed the flight portion of the tour since we had other plans at the end and had air miles we could use from Saskatoon! We met up with the tour in Paris on Apr 28 - the couple in front of us on the plane ended up being a Veteran and his wife on our tour with whom we spent a lot of time. Paris was mostly a drive by as we stopped once for a photo opp of the Eiffel Tower. Our first real stop was at the Pegasus Bridge, then overnight in Caen.

The next day, 29, began with the Abbey d'Ardennes, then Verrieres Ridge, Arromanches, La Chaos German Gun Battery, Juno Beach at Bernieres sur Mer, June Beach Centre, Beny Sur Mer Canadian Military Cemetery, then the American Military Cemetery Normandy at Omaha. The 30th had us at Dieppe - Pourville (Green Beach), Casino (White Beach), and Puys (Blue Beach) which was where some of my Dad's artillery battery - 16th of 3LAA - landed with the Royal Regiment, something it turns out is not well known, and of course the Dieppe Canadian Cemetery where we took photos of many headstones, particularly 3LAA and of the South Sask Regiment. We stayed overnight in Amiens.

On the 1st and 2nd were WWI stops - (1st) Beaumont Hamel, Connaught at Theipval, Courcelette, Royal Ulster Memorial, the Somme countryside, Thiepval, then the Vimy Ridge Memorial (which every Canadian should see if they can), the Vimy Trench system, and Cdn Cemetery No 2 at Neuville-St. Vaast by Vimy. Overnight in Lille. (2nd) Ypres, Essex Farm Cemetery and 1st Aid Station where John McCrae wrote In Flander's Fields, Langenmark village and German Cemetery, Mount Sorrel (Hill 62), Passchendaele Canadian Memorial, St. Julien, Tyne Cot, and the Mennen Gate & Sunday evening full ceremony. Getting to our final hotel just outside Arn

The 3rd was Nijmegen, Nijmegen Liberation Museum, Groesbeek Canadian WWII Cemetery and the Commemorative Service; 4th - Holten, Holten Canadian WWII Cemetery and Commemorative Service, Arnhem, the John Frost Bridge - Arnhem, Arnhem Market Garden Museum, the Ariborne Memorial at Oosterbeek, and the Memorial to the Canadian Engineers at Driel. On the 5th we were in Wageningen for the Liberation March and static exhibits. The 6th was more touristy as we were ill and not up to the trip to sit in the cold again during the ceremony at Bergen-op-Zoom in the Scheldt so went with the tour to Geithorn and Zwolle (which was the site of an amazing act by Canadian Leo Major Leo Major - TRF in WWII). On the 7th we had an excursion into Amsterdam and that evening we attended the Military Tattoo in Voorthuizen. On the 8th, we again stayed back from tours, and only attended the evening Medal Ceremony in Leersum where the Veterans were presented with 65th Anniversary Commemorative medals, and family members of Veterans were also given a commemorative medal in the name of the Veteran. The military portion wrapped up on the 9th with the Liberation Parade and Ceremony in Appeldorn. We spent the 10-14th in Amsterdam and area.

I highly recommend that anyone who has the opportunity, go see the places in person. Seeing the cemeteries and memorials to the missing puts everything in perspective - nothing becomes an intellectual exercise when discussing the events of either World War after that. I'd go back again, and again to try to see the other places we missed.

 

Am going in June again,am lucky with the mrs. as her dad landed on Juno beach with the Canadians,this year we are staying at Graye sur mer-directly opposite where he landed.After showing her all his relevant sites,I am free to visit wherever I wish.I always do an itinery though,which always takes in Omaha beach,Stan Hollis' farm,and the Merville area where her dad also saw action.I always wear the black watch kilt in memory of her dad-which is not the most practical thing to wear down bunkers and ditches etc!

 

I was planing on a trip this summer to Europe and visit some WW2-related places.
Is there any battlefields or other places in (except Auswitch and Wolf lair) Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria that is worth visiting?

 

Owen, thanks for the advice. I will surely try to check out the Dukla pass. I've never heard of it before.

 

Nice pictures. I will definetely try to visit Budapest. Don't really know that much about the battle except it being a hell of a bloody fight.

 

The battle places of Ukraine (The second battle of Kharkov)....

 

Zilberman welcome to the forum

re Ordnance please see link below
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/weapons-technology-equipment/18440-found-ordnance-serious-bit.html

 

Zilberman welcome to the forum

re Ordnance please see link below
http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/weapons-technology-equipment/18440-found-ordnance-serious-bit.html


CL1 Thank you for the link. I'm already knew that ammos is very dangerous. If you're detecting on the battle places you can find a lot of them.

 

Hi Zilberman

Welcome to the forum !

I see you say

FEEL FREE TO CORRECT MY ENGLISH! :smile:


As someone who's sole knowledge of Ukranian is taken from the GOOGLE translator:

Я шкодую, але я не можу говорити на будь-якому російською мовою!

I can only say you are doing fine and the odd grammatical slips are not even worth a mention.

Have fun !

Ron