A World War II historic guide to discover the D-Day Landing Beaches in Normandy

Travel Normandy guide François Gauthron offers tours of the Normandy landing beaches, World War II battlefield. Come and discover the most famous part of Normandy where took place the Landing and the battle of Normandy in June 1944 to liberate France and Europe. You will be escorted by a qualified bilingual guide who will show you round the major sites of the beaches. Visit the highlights of World War II sites in Normandy with an expert license guide, first the most important sites of the landing beaches.

Normandy Travel

Travel in Normandy with Francois Gauthron


Some details about Mulberries

Why a such project

The Mulberry harbors were conceived after «Operation Jubilee» on the French port of Dieppe, August 19. 1942. The German defence of the coast of Western Europe was built on formidable defences around ports and port facilities. As Germans claims «Who holds the Ports, holds Europe» because of the strength of these defences, the Allies had to consider other means to push large quantities of supplies across the Chanel to the D-Day beaches in the early stages of the invasion. The British solution to solve the problem was to bring their own port with them. This was an original idea of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who already imagined a similar project during WWI for the Dardanelles Operation, in May 1943; he wrote the following note: «Piers for use on beaches. They must float up and down with the tide. The anchor problem must be mastered... Let me have the best solution worked out. Don't argue the matter. The difficulties will argue for themselves».

A brief life

All the components were constructed in secrecy in England and floated into position immediately after D-Day. Within 12 days both harbors were operational. They were intended to provide the primary means for the movement of goods from ship to shore until the port at Cherbourg was captured and opened. However, on June 19 a violent storm began, and by June 22 the American harbor had been destroyed. The British Mulberry closed on November 19.1944 after Antwerp was fully operational. Two and a half million men, half a million vehicles, and four million tons of supplies landed in Europe through the artificial harbor at Arromanches. Remains of the structure can be seen to this day.