World War II tours

Normandy Landing Tour

​

The Normandy coast was the site of the largest single-day invasion of all time. More than 130,000 Allied troops landed in France on June 6, 1944 during the pivotal D-Day Invasion.

 

We can guide you to the locations involved, and can describe the historical events. We can customize your tour by nationality, or can trace the progress of divisions of your friends or relatives who served.

 

American Tour
 

Begin at Utah Beach and visit St. Mere Eglise with the famous church spire where paratrooper Steel hung as the battle unfolded beneath him. We can show you Pointe du Hoc, scene of the legendary action by the Second Rangers, who scaled the 100 foot sheer cliffs.

​

You will stand amidst the remnants of the German gun bunkers the Rangers attacked. Omaha Beach is the landing site portrayed in the movie "Saving Private Ryan" where thousands of Americans were killed during the invasion's first day.

 

Nearby is the American Cemetery which commemorates the terrible losses of the campaign.

 

Canadian Tour
 

WWe begin at Juno beach where the Canadians came ashore at Courseulles-sur-mer, overcoming great difficulties in landing. We will visit the recently opened Juno Centre which commemorates the Canadian effort in World War II. Canadian Forces were instrumental in Allied successes at Caen and Falaise. The cemeteries where their fallen are buried offer somber testimony to their valor. Canadian Paratroopers joined the British 6th Airborne to take bridges, guns and heights in the early hours of the D-Day Invasion. We can visit the sites of the notorious executions of Canadian soldiers by the SS.

 

British and Commonwealth Tour 

​

We begin at Etreham, where British and American forces linked up on D-Day. Traveling north and east we can visit the British and Commonwealth beaches, and objectives like Hillman and Pegasus Bridge. At Arromanches we can visit a fine museum and view the remnants of the artificial harbor. British cemeteries, which include some German graves are numerous.

​

In 1938, France joined Great Britain in an attempt to appease Nazi aggression. France signed the Munich Pact giving Germany "permission" to invade the Sudeten territories of Czechoslovakia. After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, France declared war.

​

France's war against Germany did not last long. May 10, 1940, Germany invaded France and the Low Countries. The Netherlands and Belgium were overrun in a few weeks. The French fortified Maginot Line was circumvented by a flanking movement through the Ardennes region. British troops were forced to evacuate the continent at Dunkirk, abandoning their heavy equipment by the end of the month. On June 10, Italy invaded, declaring war on both France and the United Kingdom. Twelve days later on June 22, 1940, France surrendered and was divided into German and Italian occupation zones, and an unoccupied "Zone libre" under the Vichy Regime.

​

France was occupied by the Germans until 1944. The Allied D-Day force invaded Normandy and continued eastward through France towards Germany during the summer and fall. In August, Allied troops landed in the South of France. The Battle of the Bulge that winter culminated in the capitulation of Germany in 1945.

​

By the end of the war, about 350,000 French soldiers had been killed, and almost a half million French civilians had died.

​

Maginot Line and Battle of the Bulge Tour

​

The Franco/Belgium Border in the area of the Ardennes has been the fulcrum for major battles in both World Wars I and II since the Germans chose this as their route into France in both 1914 and 1940. It was also famously the area where towards the end of World War II Hitler launched a last ditch and surprise counter attack that caused a "bulge" in the allied lines - what today we refer to as the Battle of the Bulge.

 

Many say that if we go further back in history to the same area and the defeat of the French at Sedan in the 1870 Franco/Prussian war, we find the root cause of the later conflicts.

​

This then is an area steeped in military history that tells a story of ingenuity, heroism, incompetance, great and poor leadership and the struggles of a border area.

​

Much talked of and little understood by many is the famous Maginot Line built by the French after the First World War in order to prevent further German incursions into France. This was the veritable equivalent of the "French Great Wall of China". Mile upon mile of concrete defence above ground with an unimaginable labyrinth of underground tunnels and living space much of which still there to this day.

​

This is an area for those interested in military history and who better to show you around than Englishman, Richard Tucker.

​

Richard has read every book on the subject and visited most of the sites. There can be few people who know more on this subject. His overall knowledge on Military History, tactics, strategy and weaponry is staggering and a few day in his company not only gives a fascinating overview of events here, but also serves to debunk many myths about the Line and the war in this area.

​

Previously this was always an area difficult to get to and much of the sites were hidden away and largely forgotten by the French. However today the TGV (FAST TRAIN) goes from Paris to Sedan where we suggest you spend a few days with Richard as your guide studying the Maginot line around the Sedan area visiting bunkers and underground areas, also here we have the site of the furthest and last advance of the American army in World War 1, and both French and German cemetaries fom 1870 through to 1945.

​

From here it is only an hour to Luxembourg and General Patton's grave at the American Cemetary there and a little further on into the Belgium/Luxembourg Ardennes and the Battle of the Bulge area.

​

Must sees here are Bastogne, site of 101 st Airborne heroic stand and excellent museum, also Malmedy the site of a massacre of American troops and associated museum. We follow the advance of Pieper's Panzer Armoured Division and see a tiger tank at la Gleize.

​

Depending on your time and interests we suggest a 3/4 day itinerary starting in Sedan and returning from Charleville-Mezieres or perhaps extend a day or two and take in the Battle of Waterloo and Brussels.

​

​