Recently I traveled to the historic site for the D-Day invasion by the Allied Armed Forces on June 6, 1944. As a history buff I had researched this remarkable incident in human history, and there have needless to say already been several motion pictures illustrating that celebrated date. But if you view the specific place of the event it essentially brings an entirely new meaning. Some of the thoughts and feelings I came away with contrast quite a bit from that one I thought about previous to the tours. Allow me to share a few points I came away having: 1. The size of the complete landing area. I believed it was big, however when you look across the coast and you are unable to see each end of it, then it becomes massive. All in all the five chosen landing spots include about 50 miles. 2. The problems at Omaha Beach. For most Americans when we hear of D-Day first thing that probably one thinks of will be Omaha Beach. But why had been this specific landing so hard? Having a maneuver that enormous things are going to go off beam and the most went wide of the mark at Omaha Beach. Number one, it was essentially the most intensely defended area, with more resistance than had been expected. Secondly, the pre-attack bombing of the German defense installations was mainly inadequate, as lower cloud cover made exact targets a challenge to hit. 3. The courage in Commanding General Dwight Eisenhower. I've always found respect for that great man, yet witnessing the sheer size of the move and proceed while taking into consideration the odds provided me with a greater admiration for this leader. 4. The importance of the French resistance. Talking about courage, these folks having incredible danger to themselves and their families played a major role in the great success of the operation. Cutting enemy communication lines and offering helpful information had been a part of the participation. It is believed that over 3000 citizens were killed during those first twenty four hours, with many more perishing afterwards due to German retaliations. 5. What the allies didn't complete on D-Day. Although the actions on the first day had been considered a significant success, they fell considerably short of what they wanted to accomplish. A number of towns such as the main city of Caen had been aimed to be taken that day, but weren't. The objective was to link all the beachheads excluding Utah Beach, though this was not accomplished for an additional six days. 6. Little has changed in some areas. Pointe du Hoc, which has become renowned due to movies depicting Rangers storming this gun position, is little changed from 1944. The terrain is still covered with bomb craters and most of the concrete bunkers are still in place. There are so many places in Europe that are truly unique. Check out our website http://bestvacationeurope.com/ for information on other great things to see in Europe, and for ways to navigate your way around Europe by train. Jim O'Connell is a writer who loves to travel, especially in Europe.
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