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From Defeat to Triumph
Dunkirk, Dieppe, Normandy D-Day Beaches
4 days / 3 nights - Tuesday to Friday

This superb four-day tour will take you from defeat to victory, tracing the events during one of the most gripping periods of the 20th century. From the miracle of the Dunkirk Shield, to the Dieppe Raid and the beaches of Normandy, we’ll travel along Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, in the footsteps of brave soldiers.

TENTATIVE ITINERARY

DAY ONE

We depart from Lille, having collected those who are arriving by train this morning on the Eurostar from London, from the TGV from Paris and those who are staying with us from our Weekends on the Western Front Battlefield tours.

We make our way from Lille to Dunkirk to find out all about the Dunkirk Shield. Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk, is one of the most celebrated military events in British history. For over six months the two armies had faced each other across the Franco-German border, but after the German offensive in May 1940, the Allied armies were split, nearly trapping the BEF without any hope of escape. Instead, the BEF was able to fight its way back to Dunkirk, where troops were rescued by a fleet of small ships. En route, we see remnants of the Maginot Line in Cassel, the site of Le Paradis Massacre, where the Norfolks were executed by the SS after surrendering, and the barn in Esquelbecq where the Warwicks met a similar fate.

ACCOMMODATION: Dieppe (B,D)

DAY TWO

We visit sites connected with the Dieppe landings of 1942, which involved British, Canadian and American units. Operation Jubilee had as objective to capture and hold an established port to gauge the German response. Highlights today are the landing sites of No. 3 and No. 4 Commando and Blue and Green Beach, where the Canadian Regiments suffered great losses.  We continue to Bayeux for our overnight stay.

ACCOMMODATION: Bayeux (B)

DAY THREE

Today, we spend time covering the British and Canadian landing and dropping zones. Gold, Juno and Sword Beaches, each with their own reminders of epic events: the Mulberry Harbour in Arromanches, Pegasus Bridge, Cafe Gondree (the first house to be liberated), Merville Battery overlooking Sword Beach and many other places of interest, including Divisional and Unit Memorials where we will pay our respects, make for a full program.

ACCOMMODATION: Bayeux (B,D)

DAY FOUR

Our final day will be spent covering the American involvement, visiting Utah and “bloody” Omaha Beaches, with its sheer cliffs at Point du Hoc and Colleville Cemetery, containing the remains of nearly 10,000 servicemen. A stop at Ste Mere Eglise, where paratrooper John Steele got caught on the church steeple and home to the Iron Mike Memorial to the US Airborne Forces, brings us to the end of our visit. We leave Normandy behind for our return to Lille.

Accommodation: Lille, London or Paris as you wish is not included in the tour package but is available for a supplemental fee.

Tour participants may either catch the train back to London or Paris, or stay overnight in Lille and join our weekend tours of the Ypres Salient/Somme battlefields.

JOINING THE TOUR FROM LONDON: Tickets on the Eurostar are not included in your tour rate but you may add them to your package for a supplemental fee.

When using Eurostar, you are given a self-ticketing reference number that you use to get your ticket at the station of departure. We advise all tour participants to call the Back-Roads Touring London office a day or two prior to departure to ensure they have the correct ticket reference as we do not have a representative at the station on the morning of departure.

JOINING THE TOUR FROM PARIS: If you are staying in Paris and want to join us, you can do so by catching the TGV from Paris to Lille. You have to book these tickets independantly as they are not included in your package. Trains leave from Gard du Nord at 07.58 for Saturday's tour, 09.58 for Sundays and for Monday at 08.58. (please check these for any changes). Return times should not be booked before 20.00. Cost of the train ticket depends on day of the week traveled and how much in advance tickets are booked.

Please note: Paris trains arrive at Lille Flanders Station which is a 10 minute walk from our meeting point at Lille Euro Station.

This tour is operated by Back-Roads Touring Co Ltd