France Day 7 - Normandy & Mont Saint Michel

September 15, 2014

France Day 7 - Normandy & Mont Saint Michel

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Today we continued East along the Normandy Coast to Pointe Du Hoc. Pointe Du Hoc was the point the Army Rangers took by scaling 90’ cliffs with rope ladders to take the guns that were pointed at Utah and Omaha Beach. This description was written at the site describing the events that took place here:

In the early morning of June 6^th, 1944, 225 men of the 2^nd Ranger Batallion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James G. Rudder began their daring assault on Pointe Du Hoc . Situated between Omaha Beach and Utah Beach, this dominating piece of land was considered by the German defenders to be virtually unassailable from the sea because of its step cliffs. The primary mission of the Rangers was to destroy the guns atop Pointe Du Hoc to prevent them from delivering their devastating fire on the landing beaches. Deemed one of the most dangerous enemy positions on the invasion front the neutralization of the guns was a primary objective of D-Day morning. Due to a navigational error, the Rangers were forced to traverse three miles of coastline under fire from cliff top gun positions and landed approximately 40 minutes late, losing the element of surprise. Scaling the precipitous cliffs using specially designed ropes and ladders in the face of determined enemy fire, the Rangers quickly reached the top. Taking cover in the numerous shell holes and craters, the Rangers swarmed over their objective to find and destroy the guns, but they found only empty emplacements. Without pause, the Rangers rapidly advanced in and blocked the coastal highway that connected Grandcamp and Vierville to prevent German reinforcements from moving towards Omaha Beach. Moving further South, two Rangers found the well-camouflaged guns ready to fire in the direction of Utah Beach. With enemy gun crews close by, one of the Rangers destroyed the five guns using thermite grenades while the other Ranger provided protective cover. With the aid of Naval gunfire, the Rangers held out for two more days against determined enemy counterattacks. By the time the Rangers were relieved on June 8^th, only 90 combat effective fighting men remained.

Another quote about Pointe Du Hoc by President Ronald Reagan read, “And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. “ – President Reagan, June 6, 1984.

Pointe Du Hoc was very raw. There are craters and shell holes everywhere. The broken concrete emplacements, some partially destroyed by Allied bombing, pill boxes or machine gun nests were scattered across the landscape, and intact bunkers are still there. One was used by the Rangers as a headquarters while they held off the German counterattack. You could see the scars from the battle that took place here. And you could appreciate the bravery of those Army Rangers who climbed the ladders to secure this Pointe.

We continued down to Utah Beach where there is a fantastic museum. Probably the best museum in Normandy. It gave a complete overview of Operation Overlord and the coordination, competence, sacrifice and courage it took.

We also stopped at a small, simple Romanesque church in Angoville au Plain where two paratrooper medics set up a medic station during the D-Day invasion and treated 80 soldiers and a child. They treated both American and German wounded soldiers and saved many lives. There are still blood stains visible on the church pews from that night. The town raised money and had two stain-glass windows put in to honor the paratroopers and the Allied troops that liberated France.

Jeff was determined to eat a Big Mac and drink a coke in Normandy in honor of our boys who fought there. One of the things the Americans gave to the people besides chewing gum and cigarettes was Coke. It was the first time Coca-Cola had come to Normandy.

We drove an hour and a half to the other side of Normandy to a 1200 year old island Abbey called Mont Saint Michel. It was incredible! It is about 1 km offshore, built on a granite island rock surrounded miles of mudflats and Europe’s most dangerous tide, rushing in at 18’ per second and up to 45 feet. Oh, and did I mention the quicksand? Yeah, they’ve got that too! It was originally built by St. Auberge who had a dream that he was visited by the archangel Michael who told him to build a church on this site. It took over 500 years for the abbey to be completely built and it became one of the only parts of France that was never conquered by any invader because it was such a formidable fortress. It has a resident population of 44 but millions of tourists visit the abbey each year, many of them as a Christian pilgrimage. They used to walk across the mudflats to get to the abbey. Many died trying. Eventually a causeway was built (which is now being torn down and replaced by a bridge to allow the water to flow around the island). There is a medieval village built up around the abbey. We were fortunate to be able to stay the night ON the abbey in a small hotel room right above the main street. During the day the abbey is swarmed with tourists. You literally can barely walk. But from 6pm to 11am, the tour busses and tourists had all gone home and we had the place to ourselves! The streets were empty and the entire island is lit up. We wandered the ramparts and walked up and down every alleyway and around every corner, exploring like kids left overnight in Disneyland. It was amazing! We ate dinner at our hotel where we tried foie gras and lamb and then we watched the tide rush in from the ramparts.

Our little country hotel just above Omaha Beach.

A "pill box" or machine gun nest on Pointe Du Hoc. German soldiers would hide in these and pop up and shoot the advancing Army Rangers.

Jeff standing in a crater to give you some perspective on size. These craters were made by air raids from the Allied troops trying to take out the guns on Pointe Du Hoc. They were able to take out one, but it was still heavily armed and fortified.

A view of Pointe Du Hoc and the cliffs the Army Rangers had to scale.

Looking down to the beach from a partially destroyed bunker above.

A destroyed German bunker.

Another view of Pointe Du Hoc and the cliffs.

Jeff looking out over the Pointe.

These are the cliffs the Rangers scaled on D-Day morning.

The church at Angoville au Plain where the medics set up their makeshift hospital.

The stain-glass window in the church honoring the paratroopers.

Inside the church.

Blood stains still visible from June 6, 1944.

Utah Beach Museum. The rusted metal object in front is called a Czech Hedgehog. The Germans place thousands of these along the Normandy coast, on the beaches and out into the tidal flats to prevent Allied boats from coming into shore.

A B-26 Bomber.

A Higgins boat used to unload troops on the beach on D-Day.

Getting sand from Utah Beach.

Utah Beach

Mont Saint Michel

Our cozy little hotel room at Le Mouton Blanc.

The view from our hotel window.

The view out our hotel room window looking up the street below.

Just before crossing the drawbridge into the fortress Abbey.

A view of the medieval town surrounding the Abbey and the mudflats beyond.

The entrance to the Abbey.

Our hotel restaurant.

Jeff with his lamb casserole and "frites."

My rack of lamb.

The streets at night.

The archway leading up to our hotel room. It wasn't connected to the reception, but up a street, around a corner, up this archway, through a door, through another door and up some stairs. So great!