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The American Forces to End WWII, 1944-1945
Normandy, Battle of the Bulge and Operation Market Garden
Also includes Americans in WWI: Verdun, Doughboys and Sgt York
Our unique tour itinerary follows the path of the American soldiers, tracing the events during one of the most gripping periods of the 20th century. Joining the Allies to help liberate Europe from the Nazi horde, the US Forces were instrumental in changing the course of the war.
This tour visits some of the most memorable and important sites where young Americans fought and died for their county's honor and the countries of their ancestors. By sea, by land and by air, these brave soldiers participated in some of the most memorable events of recent history.
Focusing on 1944 onward, tour the Normandy D-Day Landing Beaches, the forests of the Ardennes and the Battle of the Bulge, through Belgium and Holland of Operation Market Garden, following the mighty struggle that would finally bring WWII to an end. Relive the drama that befell the troops and the local people during these tumultuous times. Along the way, we will pay our respects to the fallen at American cemeteries, visits memorials, museums and the see the poignant reminders that still remain in local villages.
We will also explore the experiences of ‘The Doughboys,’ seeing the regions in France of the American contribution during the First World War, the “war to end all wars.”
The scars of war, even 65 years on, are remarkable and surely something you will never forget.
Why not Link it? This tour ’links up’ with the SCHEDULED Weekend on the Western Front tours to the Somme and the Ypres Salient. Join as a one, two or three day weekend from Lille.
Available at any date for private groups of 2 – 15 people. Price available upon application. Rates are based upon vehicle and guide hire per day; groups of 7 - 15 would have a per person rate same/similar to one of our scheduled tours of the same length.
If you do not have a group of traveling companions and are still interested in this custom tour itinerary, you are welcomed to join a waitlist…
We record who is looking for travel companions to make up a tour with them. We need between 6 and 8 persons minimum to operate a tour without it being uneconomic for us or too expensive for you. We will be happy to run the occasional special departure IF there is sufficient interest.
If you would like to check on or join a waitlist for this itinerary, please email us for full information: specialgrouptours@yahoo.com
TENTATIVE ITINERARY
DAY ONE
We depart Paris following the course of the Seine.
Upon arrival in Normandy, we’ll begin our tour of the American interest sites on the D-Day Landing Beaches.
Highlights over today and tomorrow will include: Utah and 'Bloody' Omaha Beaches, Ste. Mere Eglise (with its famous church on which US paratrooper John Steele landed), Pont Du Hoc (where Col. James Rudder and his Rangers scaled the sheer cliffs) and the very poignant American Cemetery at Omaha Beach.
We can also cover part of the advance from the beaches, through the Normandy bocage including Operation Epsom and sites of the Commonwealth troops, such as Arromanches, Gold, Juno and Sword beaches. There is also Bayeux Cemetery and Museum, Pegasus Bridge, Cafe Gondree (first house liberated), Ranville, Merville Battery, Troarn Bridge as options to visit, as time and group interest permits.
ACCOMMODATION: Bayeux
DAY TWO
We spend another day covering the American involvement on and around the Landing Beaches.
Also possible is some time in the medieval city of Bayeux itself. As a contrast to the battle sites and memorials, you may choose to spend some time in this beautifully restored city where you can view the famed tapestry, the cathedral, one of the many museums or simply just explore the charming town with its shops and cafes.
ACCOMMODATION: Bayeux
DAY THREE
Our own ‘longest day’ as we make our way to Reims.
Along the way, a visit to the Clairiere De L'Armistice museum at Compiegne that contains many of the original artifacts hidden from the Germans and also a replica of the railway carriage in which the armistice was signed.
The city of Reims is the location of General Eisenhower’s HQ where, on the 7th of May 1945 at 2h41 the General Alfred Jodl, commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht, signed the full surrender of Nazi Germany.
ACCOMMODATION: Reims
DAY FOUR
Today, we will shift our focus to the American involvement in the First World War with Chateau-Theirry, First Battle of the Marne and first American offensive. Nearby is the Hill 204 magnificent memorial. Belleau Wood is another major US battlefield covered with many interesting American memorials, including those to the US26th Division, and US Marines. Here, we can explore trenches, shell holes and relics in and around Belleau Wood itself and the local villages where the boys fought gallantly from May to October, 1918.
Also possible, Quentin Roosevelt's crash site and memorial and the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, where over 2000 lie buried, not far from the place they fell in battle.
ACCOMMODATION: Reims
DAY FIVE
A day ‘on leave’ to explore the town of Reims itself. Your guide will be on hand for advice and a walking tour.
Reims boasts no less than four UNESCO World heritage sites - Cathédrale Notre-Dame, Palais du Tau, the basilique Saint-Remi and the musée-Abbaye Saint-Remi; so it may be a little difficult to choose what to concentrate on! The cathedral is a masterpiece of gothic art with origins 6th century, the cathedral has been the scene of 33 royal coronations since Clovis, the Frankish king was baptised by Remi, bishop of Reims on Christmas Day 498. It is adorned with over 2 300 statues, including the famous Smiling Angel. Following large scale destruction in the Great War, a new city sprang up from the ruins filled with an eclectic architecture marked in particular by the Art Deco style.
ACCOMMODATION: Reims
DAY SIX
Today, some more time in the Great War battlefields around the area of the Argonne Forest. Our highlight will be the sites associated with perhaps the most famous Great War veteran, Sgt York. Our day will include his monument at Chatel Chehery. Also, the town of Varennes-en-Argonne, where we can see the museum containing relics of American activity including personalities who fought there, such as Harry S Truman. Time permitting, we may also explore the US Monument at Montfaucon, where after two days of bitter fighting, the hill was taken at the cost of many lives.
This afternoon, we will make our way to the Ardennes, back on the WWII trail, the band of brothers and turning our attention towards events of the “Battle of the Bulge.”
During our time in the town of Bastogne, we will see the US Memorial, the Historical Centre, which is filled with uniforms, weapons and vehicles from both sides plus the LeBrun Hotel, the make-shift HQ for General McAuliffe where he famously uttered “Nuts!” in response to a German general requesting a US surrender.
ACCOMMODATION: Bastogne area, Ardennes
DAY SEVEN
The city of Luxembourg was headquarters for General George S Patton and the US 3rd Army. The American Cemetery Luxembourg was established in 1944 and it is here that General Patton is buried alongside over 5000 Americans who lost their lives in the Battle of the Bulge. We will pay our respects at the cemetery and memorials to the missing.
Also today, Osweiler, which offers a fine view towards the west and the position of the Siegfried line, Echternach and other villages involved in the advance and the Patton Memorial at Ettelbruck.
ACCOMMODATION: Bastogne area, Ardennes
DAY EIGHT
Another day exploring the Ardennes and the events that transpired here. Our journey today can include Houffalize, where we’ll see a German Mark V tank and a monument to the 1st and 3rd US Armies. Baraque de Fraiture, named “Parker’s Crossroads” by the Americans forces since, over the course 4 days, Major Parker managed to hold this position and stop the German advance on Liege. Also, La Roche, where the US and British troops linked-up and where some rather somber reminders of the war remain to this day.
Later, a visit to Henri-Chapelle, the largest American Cemetery in Belgium and the resting place for almost 8000 fallen.
ACCOMMODATION: Hasselt
DAY NINE
Today, we will follow American troop movements up to the Leopoldsburg and Lommel area in the northern part of Belgium, the beginning of Operation Market Garden, then across the border into Holland. We will move through Eindhoven and continue along “Hell’s Highway”, crossing the bridges in Veghel, Grave and Nijmegen. The U.S. 101st Airborne Division had its drop zone near Eindhoven and captured the bridges in Son and Veghel.
Near the eastern border of Brabant, the German defense, equipped with the latest armored technology, had created a seemingly impregnable line. When the 7th American Armored Division rushed in, they were decimated. British replacements took the area inch by inch, and man-to-man. We will travel along the German border to the War Museum in Overloon, the British cemetery in Venray and the German cemetery in Ysselsteyn, the largest of its kind in the Netherlands.
ACCOMMODATION: Nijmegen/Arnhem area
DAY TEN
The campaign in Holland was all about bridges and river crossings. Today we will visit “A Bridge Too Far” in Arnhem and the Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek. In Groesbeek, the Liberation museum, overlooking the landing zones of the American 82nd Airborne, will take you through Operation Market Garden. We can also visit the Canadian Cemetery in Groesbeek, located high on a hill and overlooking the German border.
ACCOMMODATION: Nijmegen/Arnhem area
DAY ELEVEN
For our final day together, we’ll make our way into the city of Amsterdam and turn our attentions to every day life during the war. Here we’ll visit the Dutch Resistance Museum, which recreates the atmosphere of the streets of Amsterdam during the German occupation. Later, a poignant visit to the Anne Frank House Museum.
ACCOMMODATION: Amsterdam (not included in package but available for a supplemental fee.)
Please note: All attraction opening times are correct at time of printing this website. While we will do our utmost to include all of the properties mentioned as central visits, we reserve the right to change an attraction should it become impossible to deliver a planned visit due to changes in opening days or times that we could not have been aware of at the time of loading this tour to our website.
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