Robespierre: The most plausible explanation I have heard for the guns and ammunition at Point-du Hoc having been removed from the casemates is that the Germans fully expected them to be heavily bombed and shelled by naval gunfire. By placing them to the rear under camouflage, they would have been ready to fire as soon as observers could be put back in position. The crews were nearby under cover. The guns were about 1km to the rear, not a very great distance considering that they had a range of about 25km. The Germans clearly did not expect them to be found and destroyed so quickly by the U.S. Rangers.

college_travellers, would you please email me (or post here) the link to your photos w/Role? We spoke to him today and he seems very knowledgeable. You can reach me at mvor at optonline.net. Thank you.

This is a wonderful thread to find since I am hoping to take my son to France next year and might want to work in Normandy.

I agree with the others that the Caen memorial is well worth the visit. I'm sure we spent half a day.

College Traveler, I'd love your report. Email me at [email protected].

Hi Kimberly, we took Roel's 1/2 day tour on Saturday and we really enjoyed it. The tour was full (8 people) and was well paced. Roel is very personable and passionate about his vocation (he is self-taught and conducts about 200+ tours a year.) I felt that we got a good overview but I wish we had time to visit some of the companion museums.

As others have said, Bayeux is lovely and Normandy is quite beautiful (it reminds me of the southwest of England). We visited the Bayeux tapestry which was wonderful and only viewed the cathedral from the outside. I could have easily spent a couple of days in this area.

I hope you have a terrific trip.

Thanks to everyone for the advice.

mvor: Thanks for the follow up! Happy to hear that you enjoyed your tour with Roel. I emailed him and he is available for the date we want. We are quite excited about our trip and looking forward to the tour.

I'm glad I found this thread. I'm looking for a tour of the D-Day Beaches, one day covering the American Sector, Pointe du Hoc, Omaham & Utah Beaches, Colleville Cemetery, Bayeux, and if possible Ste. Mere Eglise. I'll be coming from London and was wondering if there were any tours that originated in London. Any ideas?

Hi all
Anyone have any idea how a tour might work for me who cant walk very far and hubby who can and wants to see the beaches?

kimberlyb, sorry for cutting into your post.

For ussaribb39:

From London I found this website
(http://www.battlefieldsww2.50megs.co...ield_tours.htm)

From Bayeux and Caen these are popular on this forum:
www.battlebus.tours.com
www.overload.tours.com
www.victorytours.com

They all offer one day US tours.

For the sights you listed Battlebus has
a one day "American Highlights Tour".
It starts in St.Mere Eglise and ends
with taps at the American Cemetery in Colleville.

Regards,
Di

tt

Hi kimberlyb,
wow you have some great advice on this thread.
Not sure if you already saw it but there was another thread recently that may be of interest.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34768628

By the way, toss up between Caen and Bayeux, then the latter would win for me.

Good Luck

Muck