WWI and WWII Normandy and Northern France Canadian history

A Salute to our Brave

Day 1

Meeting point: CDG arrivals

Your friendly driver will greet you in the arrivals area of your flight arriving to CDG Airport. The arrivals area is located after passport control, after baggage claim, and after customs.

Holding a personalized welcome sign reading your name, he will assist with your luggage and accompany you to your hotel in Normandy.

Day 2   Landing Beaches Normandy

Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (8 hours)

Meeting point: Hotel Lobby, Bayeux

A unique opportunity to explore Normandy’s Landing Beaches alongside an experienced and dynamic guide.

Your driver-guide will greet you in the lobby of your hotel and accompany you today to the D-Day landing beaches. He will adjust the presentation to adapt to your level of knowledge and interest.

Throughout the day, your guide will invite you to discuss many aspects of the war including the events leading to the invasion, the operations of the invasion and the weeks following the invasions. The experience may be emotional at times and your guide will adhere to moments of silence as needed.

Your guide has spent years “keeping the memory of the soldiers alive” through presentations and private visits for families of veterans, military officials and discerning travelers. Should you have a D-Day veteran in your family, please tell us before the tour; your guide will be happy to include this in the presentation.

JUNO BEACH:

Juno Beach was one of the five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold, to Saint Aubin sur Mer, just west of the British beach Sword.

Taking Juno was the responsibility of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, and commandos of the Royal Marines, all under the command of British I Corps, under Lieutenant General John T. Crocker, with support from naval Force J, the Juno contingent of the invasion fleet, including the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN).

The objectives of the 3rd Division on D-Day were to cut the Caen–Bayeux road, seize the Carpiquet airport west of Caen, and form a link between the two British beaches of Gold and Sword on either side of Juno Beach.

JUNO BEACH CENTER (entrances included):

This center pays homage to the 45,000 Canadians who lost their lives during the war, of which 5,500 were killed during the Battle of Normandy and 359 on D-Day.

Opened by veterans and volunteers with a vision to create a permanent memorial to all Canadians who served during the Second World War, the Center’s mandate is to preserve this legacy for future generations and remembrance.

BERNIERES SUR MER, NAN WHITE:

This sector saw the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada losing more than 100 men within a few minutes. Tank crews of the Fort Garry Horse suffered losses too.

At Nan White, you will visit the Cassine Bunker (pillbox), the seawall, the House of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, the rue du Régiment de la Chaudière and the House of the British and Canadian reporters.

Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery

Many of those buried in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery were men of the 3rd Canadian Division who died either on 6 June or during the early days of the advance towards Caen, when the Division engaged a German battle group formed from the 716th Division and the 21st Panzer Division.

The cemetery, designed by P. D. Hepworth, contains 2,048 Second World War burials, the majority Canadian, and 19 of them unidentified.

Day 3  The Canadian D-day experience continues – Caen

Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (8 hours)

Meeting point: Hotel Lobby, Bayeux

Today, your guide will accompany you to the following sites in the Caen area.

THE ARDENNE ABBEY:

During the battle of Caen, Canadian troops would pay a heavy price here to fight for the liberation of France. On June 7th, 1944, the German army occupied the abbey in order to keep watch on the Canadian troops and prepare a counter-attack. This early Gothic church, encircled by walls and surrounded by fields, served as an ideal place from which to plan a counter-offensive.

That same day, the Germans took Canadian soldiers from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and the 27th Armoured Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment) prisoner. They were escorted to the abbey where eighteen of them were executed. This attack was in direct contempt of the Geneva Convention and prisoners’ rights and therefore constituted a war crime. Other summary executions took place during this month of fighting.

As many as 156 Canadian prisoners of war are believed to have been executed by the 12th SS Panzer Division (the Hitler Youth) in the days and weeks following the D-Day landings. The abbey was taken back from the Germans on July 8th, 1944.

The ‘Missing Link’ Experience

“THE MISSING LINK” is a cultural concept of supervised teaching that looks at the year 1944, a pivotal year when sciences and techniques by the Allied Forces made the Normandy Landings possible in the face of the more advanced technologies of the Nazi occupying forces.

The Missing Link is sponsored by the “Normandy Veterans Association” and supported by American and Canadian regimental associations. This is a private experience just for you. You will have a unique hands-on and dynamic approach to history with the vehicles and equipment of 1944.

Through the five senses, you will obtain the key to a better understanding of the reality of 1944 as it impacted on the participants from different nations. You will be invited to:

• Handle and compare the weapons and equipment used by Allied and Axis soldiers

• Smell the lingering odors of military vehicles and equipment

• Hear the popular music of the period distilled through on-board loudspeakers, broadcasts of great men, handle wireless sets of the period and appreciate the distinctive sounds of military engines, grinding gears and clinking tracks

• See letters, original newspapers, photographs, maps and propaganda of the time

• Feel: You will take an off-road ride in an authentic military vehicle

**The Memorial Peace Museum is dedicated to the history of violence and intensive, outstanding conflicts in the 20th century and particularly World War II. The museum was officially opened on June 6, 1988 (for the 44th anniversary of D-Day) by the French President François Mitterrand.

It is divided into 4 sections – films, collections of soldier’s personal effects, artillery, jeeps, and planes are exhibited throughout the museum.

• The Second World War: From the origins of the Second World War to its end, the first exhibition recounts and explains the first half of the 20th century.

• The D-Day landings & the Battle of Normandy: The new exhibition, “The D-Day Landings and the Battle of Normandy” deals exclusively with the invasion of Normandy, a key episode in the liberation of Europe.

• The Cold War: After the Allied victory over Germany in 1945, the two superpowers of the time face each other. On one side the American democracy and on the other, the Soviet empire.

• The Souvenir Gardens: Inaugurated in 1988 when the Israeli President planted one tree, the park has ever since been creating new gardens and commemorative sites devoted to the memory of Resistance fighters and Allied soldiers who died in Normandy. Every year on 6 June, Landing commemorations are organized in the gardens of the museum.

Notes: Entrances are included.

Day 4 The Canadian D-day experience continues – Dieppe

Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (8 hours)

Meeting point: Hotel Lobby, Bayeux

Today, your driver-guide will meet you in the lobby of your hotel in Bayeux and accompany you to Dieppe.

Together, you will discover Dieppe and explore the history of the Dieppe Raid, the Allied amphibious assault of August 19, 1942. The operation was largely carried out by Canadian forces, with more than 5,000 Canadian soldiers taking part. The raid ended in heavy losses, with thousands of casualties and more than 900 Canadians killed.

Throughout the day, visit key locations connected to the raid and learn about the experiences of the Canadian troops who fought here. The tour provides a deeper understanding of this pivotal moment in Canadian military history and of the lessons learned at Dieppe that later influenced the planning of the D-Day landings in 1944.

Day 5  The World War I Experience: from Dieppe to Arras

Time: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (9 hours)

Meeting point: Hotel Lobby, Dieppe

Today, your driver-guide will meet you in the lobby of your hotel and accompany you to Arras. Along the way, you will discover important First World War sites on the Western Front.

Saint-Aubin-sur-Scie:

During the First World War, Saint-Aubin-sur-Scie, near Dieppe, was used as a military and logistical area by the Allied forces. Its location near the Channel coast made the region important for the movement, accommodation and support of troops.

Courcelette:

Courcelette was the scene of intense fighting during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Canadian forces captured the village on 15 September 1916, during the Battle of Flers–Courcelette. The battle was also one of the first major uses of tanks by the British Army.

Pozières:

Pozières was a key German defensive position on the Somme. Australian troops fought extremely hard to capture the village in July 1916. The fighting caused enormous casualties, and the area became one of the most important and deadly battlefields for Australian forces on the Western Front.

La Boisselle:

La Boisselle was heavily fortified by the Germans and became a major objective during the opening of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916. The famous Lochnagar Crater, created by a huge British mine explosion, is located nearby. The village and surrounding area were devastated by the fighting.

Beaumont-Hamel:

Beaumont-Hamel was one of the most heavily defended German positions on the Somme. On 1 July 1916, the Newfoundland Regiment suffered catastrophic losses while attacking the German lines.

The site is now preserved as the Newfoundland Memorial, commemorating the Newfoundland soldiers who died during the battle.

Day 6  The World War I Experience: from Arras to Ypres

Time: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (9 hours)

Meeting point: Hotel Lobby, Arras

Today, your driver-guide will meet you in the lobby of your hotel and accompany you to Ypres, in Belgium. Along the way, you will discover key Canadian and Commonwealth First World War memorials and battlefields.

Bourlon Wood Canadian Memorial:

The Canadian Memorial at Bourlon Wood commemorates the Canadian soldiers who fought and died during the Battle of the Canal du Nord and the capture of Bourlon Wood in October 1918. The memorial stands on the former battlefield and honours the Canadian Corps’ important role in the final Allied offensives of the First World War.

Cambrai:

Cambrai is closely associated with the First World War, particularly the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917, when Canadian troops played an important role in the fighting. The battle is also remembered for the first large-scale use of tanks by the British Army.

Tyne Cot Memorial & Cemetery:

Tyne Cot is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world and commemorates soldiers who died in the First World War, particularly during the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) in 1917.

For Canadian visitors, the site is especially significant as it commemorates many Canadian soldiers who fought and died during the Battle of Passchendaele, one of the most important and costly battles in Canadian military history.

END IN YPRES
Contact us for Belgium part.

This is a sample itinerary we’ve provided for client.  The itineraries featured on our website are sample journeys, designed to inspire. We do not offer standalone day tours. We do require that our journeys include accommodation for a minimum of 3 nights, transfers, touring and any special experiences.  Each proposal is tailored to your interests, pace, and travel style.