Cemeteries and memorials to visit Loire-Atlantique

On March 28, 1942 at 1:30 a.m., the British destroyer HMS Campbeltown voluntarily threw itself against the door of the Joubert lock form. He's full of explosives. It was only ten hours later that the ship exploded. In the explosion German soldiers were killed and the lock form was unusable. The code name of the operation is Operation Cart. It fulfilled its goal of avoiding the arrival of the German battleship Tirpitz. Indeed, the Joubert lock form is the only sufficiently large port facility on the entire Atlantic coast that can accommodate it. The Kriegsmarine cannot therefore intensify its attacks against allied convoys. The port of Saint-Nazaire was completely paralysed and massive Allied bombardments weakened German positions. A menhir-shaped monument with a souvenir plaque was inaugurated in 1947 to perpetuate the memory of this heroic act. Every year on March 28th, a commemoration takes place. The menhir has been moved to the Old Mole and the cannon (the second monument) is located on the panoramic terrace of the submarine Swordfish.

Nicknamed the Sammy, he intrigues more than one walker that huge eagle that wears on his back an American soldier brandishing a sword. This monumental statue that adorns the seafront celebrated its 90 years in 2016! It commemorates the arrival of American troops during the First World War in 1917. St. Nazaire sees 250,000 American soldiers landing at that time. It was inaugurated on June 26, 1926 by the Ambassador of the United States in France, Myron T. Herrick. On December 13, 1941, the German occupier destroyed the monument to recover the metal. This monument is reconstructed in 1989 at the same location (Grand Traict Beach), by Pierre Fouenant. A model of this sculpture, carried out by Gertrude Whitney, is located at the Ecomuseum. The scale of the eagle wings symbolizing America is 12 m; the statue represents a weight of 10 tons and is laid on a high base cut in Breton granite.