The seaside commune of Arromanches, or more correctly Arromanches-les-Bains, is located in the department of Calvados, in the Region of Lower Normandy of northern France. This lively village of only 550 residents is primarily a tourist destination and stands on the waterfront between two low cliffs and overlooks a wide sandy beach. The village provides visitors with an interesting and friendly holiday destination, as well as being a major site on the commemorative trail of the allied landings of 1944. Surrounded by beautiful rural countryside and located within easy reach of Caen (25 kilometres) and Bayeaux (10 kilometres), makes Arromanches an ideal location from which to explore this wonderful area of France.
At 6.30 a.m. on Tuesday, 6th June 1944, better known as D-Day, Operation Overlord commenced. Its aim was to land 175,000 allied troops on five beaches, code-named Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah, on the coast of northern France and establish a foothold for the continued landing of additional troops, vehicles and supplies. This was the first step required to build up forces which would later be used during the Battle of Normandy to push back the German occupational forces and liberate Europe. At 7.30 a.m. British troops were landed at Le Hamel which lies to the east of Arromanches, and by 9 p.m. troops had liberated Arromanches. This action established a beachhead within the coastal area code-named ‘Gold’ which stretched from Arromanches to Ver-sur-Mer, and subsequently enabled the building of an artificial harbour, or Mulberry Harbour. The harbour was named Port Winston and was fully deployed by 9th of June. It is the remains of this harbour which has made the village such a popular destination as the Mulberry Harbour is one of the most remarkable reminders of D-Day. Over a period of 10 months, Port Winston was used to land 2,500,000 men, 500,000 vehicles and 4 million tonnes of supplies which were necessary for the continuation of the liberation of Europe. Today, Arromanches-les-Bains maintains the Musee du Debarquement, commemorative plaques and monuments in memory of the men who lost their lives during the Normandy Landings.
For visitors interested in the Second World War, Arromanches provides the Musee du Debarquement, which recounts the whole story of the landings and the harbour, the Arromanches 360 circular cinema in which viewers can watch a 18 minute film entitled ‘The price of Freedom’, several monuments, plaques and stele, military vehicles and some concrete remains of the pre-fabricated harbour. Further west of Arromanches can be seen the American Cemetery which is located between Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer and Colleville-sur-Mer, and further west again, the Pointe du Hoc, which is a heavily fortified cliff-top location. Inland can be found the small commune of Sainte-Mere-Eglise which is home to the Airborne Museum and the Sainte-Mere-Eglise Church which is well known through the paratrooper who landed on the roof and whose parachute was caught on the tower. Today the church retains a memorial of this event.
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