normandy (1 Viewer)

lou020

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Hi. anybody know of any good campsites within cycling distance to the normandy ww2 beaches and or museums, mainly the british ones. Not bothered about the yank ones as we all know they think they were the only ones in the war.:winky:
We're going in october half term.

any info greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Louis
 

jonandshell

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Aires at Ouistreham and Arromanches, municipal site at Arromanches.

Ouistreham is right on Sword beach and close to Pegasus Bridge on the Caen Canal.

Arromanches has a fantastic museum for the Mulberry Harbour and many parts are still on the beach. There is also a 360 degree cinema with overnight parking close by, looking out to sea on the cliff top.:thumb:
 

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Chris

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There seemed to be quite a few in the Arromanches area when we were there.

I wouldn't rule out the Yank beaches by the way. They lost a lot of men and the memorials are not at all OTT.

Easy parking available too.

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jonandshell

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Don't forget to visit La Cambe German Cemetry.

They are buried two deep in dark granite-marked graves. Not every German soldier was a Nazi and they were equally victims of Hilter's madness. They deserve our respect too.:Sad:
 

Chris

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There is an Aire at Juno Beach, it was free from September to March when we stayed.

I saw that one. I am going to give it a go over the Christmas hols:thumb:

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Don't forget to visit La Cambe German Cemetry.

They are buried two deep in dark granite-marked graves. Not every German soldier was a Nazi and they were equally victims of Hilter's madness. They deserve our respect too.:Sad:

Many will find it hard to respect when they were responsible for 26 million Russian deaths
 

jonandshell

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Many will find it hard to respect when they were responsible for 26 million Russian deaths

Of the 91 000 German troops captured at Stalingrad, only 6 000 lived to return to Germany after the war. Stalin was a monster too, just he was on our side.

Can I ask you to read this article?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin

Stalin did nearly as good a job on his own countrymen as Hiltler did..

Shell's Grandad was Ukrainian. He was forced to fight for the Germans. He was captured shortly after D-Day. What would you do if your family was threatened with death? Many of the German soldiers defending the beaches of Normandy were not elite Nazis, they were generally second-echelon troops defending what was widely believed by the Nazi leadership to be a secure front. Mostly older men, conscripted foreigners and youths.

War creates victims on all sides. All combatants went through hell to their graves. Their suffering demands our respect, not their forced or mislead allegiance.:Sad:

Just having my say............
 
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magicsurfbus

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There's a free aire in the centre of Bayeux, with a theoretical 24hr parking limit, allowing easy access to the Battle of Normandy Museum and the multinational cemetery opposite.

Not to mention the cathedral and tapestry.

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Allegro83

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There seemed to be quite a few in the Arromanches area when we were there.

I wouldn't rule out the Yank beaches by the way. They lost a lot of men and the memorials are not at all OTT.

Easy parking available too.

I would agree with most of this however don't be there at 12 noon unless you appreciate a Disney rendition of "For Those in Peril on the Sea" and the American National Anthem, for us it ruined the atmosphere.
After the American cemetery we found a small Aire inland from Omaha beach near the Abbey at Cerisy la Foret and looked around the cemetery there, a French family lost 3 young children around the time of D-Day landings but the parents lived on to quite an age, somehow this hit home as much as the rows of headstones in the War Cemeteries.
We also enjoyed a visit to Bayeux and the Tapestry whilst in the area. We camped at Arromanches, the Aire was packed, and used public transport to Bayeux.
 
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Of the 91 000 German troops captured at Stalingrad, only 6 000 lived to return to Germany after the war. Stalin was a monster too, just he was on our side.

Can I ask you to read this article?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin

Stalin did nearly as good a job on his own countrymen as Hiltler did..

Shell's Grandad was Ukrainian. He was forced to fight for the Germans. He was captured shortly after D-Day. What would you do if your family was threatened with death? Many of the German soldiers defending the beaches of Normandy were not elite Nazis, they were generally second-echelon troops defending what was widely believed by the Nazi leadership to be a secure front. Mostly older men, conscripted foreigners and youths.

War creates victims on all sides. All combatants went through hell to their graves. Their suffering demands our respect, not their forced or mislead allegiance.:Sad:

Just having my say............
And your quire entitled to have your say.

It was Germany who invaded Russia. It is a matter of historical record that only 1.8 million Russian soldiers returned alive from over 4.5 million captured by the Wehrmacht. The Germans were ruthless in their treatment of Russian military and civilians, often consigning civilians to their death through eviction or as a result of their slash and burn tactics.
This is probably why the 6th Army was treated in the way it was after it's surrender at Stalingrad. The Russians never forgot what happened to them when they were on the back foot against unwelcome aggressors.
Incidentally, some senior German officers were in very good health, well clothed and well fed when they surrendered at Stalingrad, yet many of their solders had died of starvation and reports of cannibalism were reported.
 

jonandshell

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And your quire entitled to have your say.

It was Germany who invaded Russia. It is a matter of historical record that only 1.8 million Russian soldiers returned alive from over 4.5 million captured by the Wehrmacht. The Germans were ruthless in their treatment of Russian military and civilians, often consigning civilians to their death through eviction or as a result of their slash and burn tactics.
This is probably why the 6th Army was treated in the way it was after it's surrender at Stalingrad. The Russians never forgot what happened to them when they were on the back foot against unwelcome aggressors.
Incidentally, some senior German officers were in very good health, well clothed and well fed when they surrendered at Stalingrad, yet many of their solders had died of starvation and reports of cannibalism were reported.

Totally agree.
When you say Germany started it, you are quite correct, but just as it is today, the leaders who sent the soldiers to war were not the ones suffering on the front line.
Just because Bliar sent our troops to illegally invade Iraq doesn't mean we shouldn't recognise the suffering of the fallen.
War is destructive and we should remember the human cost on all sides, even if we don't respect the cause for which they died.
Good history lesson here though!:thumb:

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magicsurfbus

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Likewise, try watching the Russian-made film 'Come and See', which is based on actual wartime events in Byelorussia. Bleak isn't the word for it.
 

jonandshell

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We have a lot to thank the Russian people for. Without their tenacity on the Eastern Front, overcoming and occupying the attentions of the German invaders, a western front wouldn't have been possible.
Can you imagine the bloodshed in Normandy had the Germans not been focusing their best forces in the East?
I think, because of the Cold War, the history of the Eastern Front has been suppressed and has escaped most people's WW2 knowledge.
Normandy is a great introduction to the history of WW2 though, many of the historic sites are well preserved and the museums very well appointed.
Anyone who visits, and Germans visit too, is well catered for and I feel all ages would benefit from a journey there.:thumb:

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Chris

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Likewise, try watching the Russian-made film 'Come and See', which is based on actual wartime events in Byelorussia. Bleak isn't the word for it.


Does it include the conduct of the Russians in Berlin following liberation?

I doubt it.

Animals and there is no excuse for it.
 
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lou020

lou020

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thanks for all the info,
I am looking at the sites in arromanches. Also looking at the possibility of hiring a car, but public transport can't be ruled out.
 

jonandshell

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thanks for all the info,
I am looking at the sites in arromanches. Also looking at the possibility of hiring a car, but public transport can't be ruled out.

No need to hire a car, Normandy ain't the UK.

You'll be able to park your MH at all the attractions!:thumb:

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Chris

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I was at Omaha beach in August and there was room for 40 RV's:thumb:
 

callumwa

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There's a free aire in the centre of Bayeux, with a theoretical 24hr parking limit, allowing easy access to the Battle of Normandy Museum and the multinational cemetery opposite.

Not to mention the cathedral and tapestry.



We were in Bayeux just a few days ago.

There was a circus pitched up on the Aire, so no vans could use it. However the car park 30 metres away on Rue de Marche allows up to 3 hours maximum parking.
However parking is free from 1900 to 0900 so doe not count.

So if you buy a ticket at 1730 in the afternoon it actually prints out with the ayour departure time as 1030 the following morning.
You are only paying for 1730-1900 then 0900-1030. (3 hours)

so overnight parking for only €3....:thumb::thumb:


We and about 8 other vans took advantage of this...

::bigsmile:
 

magicsurfbus

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Does it include the conduct of the Russians in Berlin following liberation?

No, it shows the very similar conduct of a German SS Penal Unit in Russian villages a year or so earlier. There was no moral high ground on either side of that particular campaign.

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Soaringman

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Of the 91 000 German troops captured at Stalingrad, only 6 000 lived to return to Germany after the war. Stalin was a monster too, just he was on our side.

Can I ask you to read this article?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin

Stalin did nearly as good a job on his own countrymen as Hiltler did..

Shell's Grandad was Ukrainian. He was forced to fight for the Germans. He was captured shortly after D-Day. What would you do if your family was threatened with death? Many of the German soldiers defending the beaches of Normandy were not elite Nazis, they were generally second-echelon troops defending what was widely believed by the Nazi leadership to be a secure front. Mostly older men, conscripted foreigners and youths.

War creates victims on all sides. All combatants went through hell to their graves. Their suffering demands our respect, not their forced or mislead allegiance.:Sad:

Just having my say............


Well Shells grandad may have been head to head with my dad, who landed on Sword Beach in a Sherman tank:Eeek:
 

jonandshell

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Well Shells grandad may have been head to head with my dad, who landed on Sword Beach in a Sherman tank:Eeek:

I don't think he put up too much of a fight! ::bigsmile:
He was a peaceful man from a rural background.

I think we should all be thankful, the operation at Normandy was, in the main, fought within the laws of armed conflict. A conflict conducted with the barbarity of that on the Eastern front would have made it much harder for the long-term reconciliation and peace in Europe that we have now.

Is your Dad still around? I bet he can spin some great stories, although I imagine he saw plenty of sights he'd sooner forget........:Sad:
 

Soaringman

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I don't think he put up too much of a fight! ::bigsmile:
He was a peaceful man from a rural background.

I think we should all be thankful, the operation at Normandy was, in the main, fought within the laws of armed conflict. A conflict conducted with the barbarity of that on the Eastern front would have made it much harder for the long-term reconciliation and peace in Europe that we have now.

Is your Dad still around? I bet he can spin some great stories, although I imagine he saw plenty of sights he'd sooner forget........:Sad:

Sadly Dad died last october:Sad:
His tank was hit d-day + 3 and his friend was killed instantly C. Harper from Derby. Dad just managed to get out before it went up (the Germans nicknamed the Sherman the Tommy Cooker:whatthe: for good reason)
Luckily he joined another squadron and went on to the battle of Caen and then the Rhine and finally Berlin. My brother and I took him back about 15 years ago to look for the grave of his best friend. That was a very emotional trip. We never did find his grave, but on returning I found that his name was on the war memorial in Bayeux.

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Stephen & Jeannie

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To get back to the original question ! ....:Doh:.......Don't forget Pegasus Bridge and the Church at St. Mere Eglise !! Both car parks are aires !!:thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
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we used the municipal campsite at Ouistreham for a couple of days last Easter- chosen mainly because it was one of the few French sites open before April 1st!! Found it excellent base for Pegasus Bridge- easy cycle up the canal path - and for Sword and Juno - cycle path by the sea. We did a trip in land on the bikes as well from there. No frills site and cheap.
Parking was easy when we moved on. It was easy to be based on the site and cycle for the day to various museums and memorials - not as easy to go as far from the aires on the bikes.

I found the German cemetry, La Cambe, the most moving. the statue of the mourning parents spoke universally . whatever their nationality they were young boys and men led into terrible situations and deaths and I found myself on a pilgrimage of thanks that I had not been asked to see my menfolk sent off in the same way
 

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