UTAH BEACH
This world-famous beach saw thousands of soldiers disembark in 1944, liberators from the Nazi yoke. A visit here is a must.
It’s the story of a beach that had always been deserted, but which made history in a matter of hours. It’s 2am on the morning of June 6, 1944, and 30,000 men have left southern England for the east coast of the Cotentin Peninsula. The liberation of Normandy is at hand. La Madeleine beach, renamed Utah Beach, was the scene of the famous Operation Verlaine, the precursor to an event on a completely different scale: Overlord. Here, the D-Day landings had to succeed. In the event of defeat, the general staff planned to transfer all troops to Utah in order to isolate the northern Cotentin region. American troops launched the assault at 6:30 am. Of all the beaches, this one was the least deadly. A small mistake led the soldiers a few kilometers to the south. The ground had been well prepared by successive waves of bombardment. By the evening of June 6, 24,000 Allied troops had landed with vehicles and supplies. Unlike Omaha and Pointe du Hoc, they encountered little opposition from German soldiers. The code name given to the Madeleine beach in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont by the Allies is still used today. Veterans return to this beach every year. They are like perpetual guests, and are always welcomed as true heroes. No wonder this place of remembrance is being considered for World Heritage status. Here, you can meditate on the vastness of the beach, and discover the D-Day Museum.
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