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Sword Beach in D-Day beaches
Sword Beach in D-Day beaches
Sword beach, the most easterly of the five beaches, stretches from Ouistreham to Luc-sur-Mer. The British 3rd Infantry Division landed on the 2½-miles of beach between Ouistreham and Lion-sur-mer. The 41st Royal Marine Commando landed at Lion-sur-Mer, while the N°4 British Commando landed at Ouistreham. Integrated with the N°4 British Commando were 177 Frenchmen of the 1st Batallion of Fusiliers Marins Commandos who were granted the honor to set foot on Normandy soil in the first wave. On the eastern flank of Sword beach, the Sixth British Airborne had parachuted in the early morning hours of June 6th to seize bridges over the River Orne and Caen canal, silence gun batteries and secure the eastern flank of the D-Day beaches.
1. Musée de la Batterie de Merville, Merville-Franceville
Located in the Merville coastal battery casemate, the museum retraces the Sixth British Airborne operations.
Place du 9ème Bataillon, 14810 Merville-Franceville, Tel. 02 31 91 47 53
2. Mémorial Pégasus, Ranville - Benouville
The capture of Pegasus Bridge was a remarkable achievement of the Glider Pilot regiment and the Sixth British Airborne. The story is well covered in the museum where exhibits include the original Pégasus Bridge and a Horsa Glider. Several monuments to the Sixth British Airborne are beside the bridge.
Avenue du Major Howard - 14860 Ranville, Tel. 02 31 78 19 44 (£2.85)
3. Site D’Ouistreham
This beautiful seaside resort town has a legacy of fortifications, memorials, museums and military cemeteries, that stand at ease between beach hotels, fine stretches of sand, breezy cliffs and postcard-picturesque fishing harbours. There are several monuments in the town including the Free French monument - Kieffer monument, Royal Navy et Royal Marines monument, 13th/18th Royal Hussars monument, and N°4 Commando and Commando Kieffer plaques.
4. Musée No4 Commando (N° 4 Commando Museum), Ouistreham
In this museum one can see scales models, weapons, and uniforms to retrace the epic story of the Franco-British Commandos who landed on Sword Beach.
Place Alfred Thomas - 14150 Ouistreham, Tel. 02 31 96 63 10
5. Musée Du Mur De L’Atlantique (Atlantic Wall Museum), Ouistreham
In a former artillery range-finding post on the Atlantic Wall, this 17 meter high concrete tower is the only one of its kind and has been restored and re-equipped to its original state.
Avenue du 6 Juin 14150 Ouistreham Tél, 02 31 97 28 69
6. Site de Lion-sur-Mer
Monuments include the Liberation monument, Royal Engineers Corps monument, and 41st Royal Marine Commando stele.
7. Site de Colleville-Montgomery
A plaque is located on the Hillman Battery main blockhouse in memory of the 1st Battalion the Suffolk Regiment soldiers. There is also a General Montgomery statue and the Provisional Cemetery, Kieffer and Montgomery monument.
8. Site D’Hermanville
Monuments in the area include 3rd Infantry Division and South Lancashire monument, Royal Artillery monument, Allied headquarter and Field hospital plaques and Allied Navy sailors monument. The British Cemetery Hermanville-sur-Mer, where 1,003 soldiers rest is close to Hermanville-sur-Mer.
9. Musée Du Radar, (Radar Museum), Douvres-la-Delivrande
Located on the site of a German fortified radar base, the museum explains the evolution and operation of radar. Outside one can observe a German radar Würzburg.
Route de Basly 14440 Douvres la Délivrande, Tel 02 31 06 06 45
10. Ranville War Cemetery
The name of Ranville will always be linked with the parachute and glider landings of the 6th Airborne Division, many of whose dead are buried here, among the 2,235 graves.
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D-Day beaches Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
