For the next days the world fixated its eyes on the battles raging in Normandy. You will finish the tour in Paris, which the Allies liberated from the Nazis in August Trace the footsteps of General George S. Patton and the Third Army, some of the most intense fighting in the campaign. Explore where the Canadian forces fought their way inland after landing at Juno Beach to take the city of Caen and strategic airport at Carpiquet.
Experience the actions of Operations Goodwood and Epsom in the intense fighting around Caen and the first confrontations with the formidable German King Tiger tank. Visit where the VIII Corps of the Third Army crossed into Brittany and paved the way to Paris for the Allies, also the site where Patton declared his was the only army in history to fight in all four directions at once. At this site, you will have an opportunity to discuss the situation the Desert Fox faced as he sought to defend the coast of France from Allied invasion.
Sites in this area will include the outstanding Pegasus Memorial Museum at Ranville and the Merville Gun Battery, where, against impossible odds, British paratroopers took out a German battery position that threatened to wreak havoc on Allied forces landing on Sword Beach.
Come where the weary paratroopers repulsed repeated German armored attacks for almost a month. From the left flank of the landings, you will travel to the magnificently preserved Hillman Redoubt, the critical German fortification that blocked the way to the D-Day objective of Caen.
It should be remembered, however, that Juno beach was the second costliest of D-Day and that no other Allied contingent advanced further inland than the Canadians on June 6. In addition to the artifacts and displays, you will have an opportunity for a guided tour into some of the best preserved German beach defenses in Normandy.
