June 11, 2022
“History is all around us and you, my lucky few, are living in some of it..”
― M.J. Colewood, The Last Treasure of Ancient England
It is time for the next leg of this chapter of The Road to Bali.
We left today the village of St Martin De Boscherville and traveled south to the coast of Normandy and the sites of the D Day beaches.
We took a ferry across the Scene river and headed towards Bayeux - still driving my over powered 3 cylinder Peugeot.
We arrived at this charming ancient dairy cow farm house that also serves as a Gite. It is a French word for spare bedrooms that are offered throughout France to live with a family and offer a more immersive experience.
However, before we get to D Day there is another to consider. The 14th of October 1066 is a day that changed the history of the western world. It was the day that William the Conquerer invaded England.
Normandy is so named because it was founded by a people group called the Normans. The Normans were essentially Vikings and around the year 1000 AD they traveled from Scandinavia raiding along the coast and settled here in this fertile region of what is now France. It was here that William, then called The Bastard, was born and would rule for many years. As he set his sights on expansion, his eyes turned towards England.
His cousin, Edward, was the King of Medieval England which was a loose composition of states populated by the Saxon people. It was a primitive time and war was a frequent occurrence.
Edward would die without an heir. He promised the throne to William, but Edward’s brother in law, Harold had his own ideas. Harold snatched the crown and declared he was king
What followed was an episode of Game of Thrones, except this one was true. William invaded the south coast of England near a town called Hastings.
A tapestry that is over 900 years old and over 200 feet long is on display in Bayeux, France and tells the story - at least from the Norman perspective. It was our next stop.
The level of detail is amazing. In this panel it shows Halley’s Comet, which did appear at that time and was felt to be a warning of the invasion to come.
On a unusually mild Fall day for Britain in 1066 the Battle of Hastings took place. The army of William was almost defeated, but due to a mistake by the Saxon men and a well placed arrow in the left eye of King Harold, William’s army prevailed. It was the pivotal moment for the rest of British history.
He marched to London and after a brief siege took the city. The Keep known as the White Tower in the well known Tower of London was William’s Castle.
For over 70 meters this 1000 year old clothe tapestry tells the entire tale in panel after panel. It is an extraordinary and precious historical document.
The Normans would bring order and uniform rule to Britain. It is was their leadership that ushered England into the center of European politics for centuries to come.
William was no longer the Bastard. He was now William the Conquerer.
Across from the museum lies the enormous Bayuex Cathedral. it is as large as Notre Dame in Paris. Much of Bayeux’s medieval charm is evident. The town was liberated on June 7, 1944 and still celebrates this victory over 70 years later
The weather was sublime for the visit and the crowds low. Much of Bayeux was untouched by the war and remained intact. Their are canals that lace the city that made strolling particularly pleasant.
Wars are not won by men or who has the best tank.
Wars are won by logistics. If you can supply your army consistently and without interruption you will always win.
The Allies, particularly Americans, were the best in the world at supply.
A case in point is our final stop for today. We arrived in Arromanches on the coast. Here you find a pleasant coastal town in France but in 1944 it was much more.
Arromanches was ground zero for the D-Day invasion. The gently sloping beach was known as “Gold Beach” during the invasion. It was in the British Sector.
The town was festooned with flags, many of them British to celebrate the recent anniversary and acknowledge that the British liberated this section of France.
In order to supply so many men with the arms they need to fight, you need a deep water port that you can tie up a freighter to and unload quickly and securely.
Churchill had an ingenious plan. Along with the fleet he floated over a series of barges that could be linked together. They would extend out to the deeper water. Ships would then tie up to them and unload rapidly.
Within 24 hours of the invasion, the “Port Winston” was operational. Thousands of tons of supplies filled this beach and were taken inland to supply the rapidly moving Allied armies.
You can still see the barges out in the bay.
This is one of the German gun placements nearby. There were some 15,000 of these bunkers along Hitler’s Atlantic wall from Norway to Spain. Almost none remain, being scrapped over the decades.
Tomorrow we go to Omaha, the American sector.
See you on the beach….
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