World War II Tours, Normandy D-Day Tours, Civil War Tours, Battle of theBulge Tours, Military History Tours, Classical Music Tours, Reformation Historytours, Munich Oktoberfest, World War II in Europe, Classical Music, Vienna,Opera and Organ Tours

Tom Brokaw called the World War II generation “The Greatest Generation.” Certainly, this generation saved our western civilization from Nazi terror. As President Roosevelt expressed it, the generation had a “Rendezvous with Destiny.”

Among the very greatest were the soldiers who landed at Normandy on D-Day in the largest military invasion from the sea in the history of the world. These men fought in Normandy during the summer of 1944.

Our long weekend journey will follow the path of our soldiers from the D-Day landings on June 6 to the capture of St. Lô on July 20. We'll visit Omaha Beach, the bloodiest of the D-Day landings; Utah Beach, Ste. Mère Eglise, where our paratroopers landed, Pointe du Hoc, where our rangers landed, and the hedgerow (bocage) region of St. Lô.

Of course the war did not end at Normandy. Much fighting still remained as our troops raced across eastern France to Luxembourg and Belgium. In one of the ironies of history, our troops in eastern France in 1944 retraced some of the same battlefields where American “doughboys” fought in 1918. The Battle of the Bulge during the bitter cold winter of 1944-45 was the largest battle ever fought by the American Army. Our three day extension includes First World War battlefields, the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest, the Battle of the Bulge, and the Rhine.

The advance from D-Day was not without mistakes. In Normandy our army was unprepared for hedgerow combat. The huge losses in the Hürtgen Forest served no significant purpose. Our army was initially unprepared for the German offensive of December 16, causing high casualties until the Germans were stopped and pushed back. These battles will be covered by our historians, and we will visit some of the sites.

The trip is more than a retracing of battles. Education sessions are included to enhance our understanding of World War II in Europe. Our approach will consider both the “worm’s eye view” of Ernie Pyle, and the high command environment of General Eisenhower and his staff.

Most of our historians are graduates of West Point or have taught at West Point; all have advanced degrees.

Our journey will be memorable; we hope that you will join us.

1st Day, Wednesday
USA – Paris

Fly this afternoon from your departure city to Paris. Cocktails, dinner and continental breakfast will be served in flight. There is also a movie for your in-flight enjoyment.

2nd Day, Thursday
Paris

Arrive Paris in the morning, local time. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel.

The balance of the morning is at leisure.

This afternoon we have included a panorama tour of the major sights of Paris.

Those who already know Paris may wish to spend the afternoon at the Louvre or another of the city's world class museums.
Or, you may prefer just to stroll along the Champs Elysees, or while away the afternoon at a sidewalk cafe.

3rd Day, Friday
Normandy: Caen – Pegasus Bridge

This morning we'll follow the Seine west to Normandy, a land of rich pastures and orchards; of castles, cathedrals and medieval towns.

“Good luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”
General Eisenhower, Order of the Day, June 4, 1944

Two of history's greatest epics occurred in Normandy. William the Conqueror invaded England from Normandy in 1066. In 1944, green and peaceful Normandy with its picturesque landscape and villages was the setting for the greatest military invasion from the sea in world history. On June 6, 1944 - called the Longest Day - General Eisenhower's allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy.

This afternoon we'll visit the Memorial Museum of Caen to introduce us to the events of D-Day and the summer of 1944.

Next, we will pay homage to our British allies and visit Pegasus Bridge, where British glider troops landed and captured the span over the River Orne, preventing the Germans from using the bridge to reinforce their defenders at the landing beaches. Landing at 12:30 AM on June 6, these British airborne troops had the honor of beginning the Battle of Normandy.

4th Day, Saturday
Normandy – Beaches and Battles

“In this column I want to tell you what the opening of the second front entailed, so that you can know and appreciate and forever be humbly grateful to those both dead and alive who did it for you.”
- Ernie Pyle, June 12, 1944

Today and tomorrow we will follow the paths of the American Infantry, rangers, and paratroopers in Normandy.

The first Americans to land on June 6 were our paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions. We will visit the Airborne Museum at Ste. Mère Eglise, the first village to be liberated. Today, this village still hangs a parachute on its church steeple as a reminder of its liberation.

We will visit the bridge at La Fière, where the 82nd Airborne Division sealed the Ste. Mère Eglise – Carentan – Utah Beach area against German reinforcements from the North. We will see the foxhole of General Gavin, Commander of the 82nd, still largely intact.

Next we will proceed to Utah Beach, where our troops landed about a mile from its intended point. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., senior officer present, and at age 57 the oldest person to land at D-Day, declared “We’ll begin our war right here.” We will visit the museum at Utah Beach.

“These are the boys of Pointe Du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the the heroes who helped end a war.”
- Ronald Reagan,
June 6, 1984, Normandy, France

Pointe Du Hoc - Rudder’s Desperate Mission

Among the bravest of brave on D-Day were the Rangers, led by Lt. Col. James E. Rudder, who scaled the vertical cliffs at Pointe Du Hoc in face of opposing enemy fire. As General Omar Bradley wrote, “Never has any commander been given a more desperate mission than that assigned to James Earl Rudder.”

We will visit Pointe Du Hoc to see the German fortifications and pock-marked landscape resulting from the massive pre-assault bombardment.

We will walk on the beach at “Bloody Omaha” and visit the cemetery overlooking the beach, where more than 9,000 Americans are buried.

The D-Day book of Cornelius Ryan was called The Longest Day, as was the film starring John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and Curt
Jurgens. The phrase came from the analysis of Field Marshall
Erwin Rommel, Commander of the German forces in France.

“Believe me...the first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive...the fate of Germany will depend on it...for the Allies, as well as for us, this will be the longest day.”

Rommel was correct. D-Day was decisive. Fortunately for us, the beaches were secured. Although terrible fighting lay ahead, Germany's fate was sealed on this fateful day. General Eisenhower's prayer was answered.

5th Day, Sunday
Normandy: Bayeux – St. Lô

St. Lô after the battle. The town was finally liberated
in late July, 1944, after huge losses by both Germans
and Americans. After the war, the French called
St. Lô the “Capital of Ruins.”

American infantrymen engage the enemy in a thick Norman hedgerow, June 1944. We will walk along a typical hedgerow near St. Lô.

During the ensuing weeks, fierce battles were fought throughout the Normandy hedgerows. The largest battle was around the town of St. Lô, which was almost totally destroyed. We will visit the surrounding hedgerow (bocage) country and see the monument to Major Tom Howie, the “Major of St. Lô,” who was killed on the Martinville Ridge.

The hedgerows in the “bocage” (a French word meaning a mixture of pasture and wooded land) are small fields ringed by earthen banks of dirt and roots four to six feet high, with trees and shrubs growing out of them—tight enough to serve as fences that cattle and other farm animals could not get through.

Combat in the bocage was like fighting in a maze, making it impossible to see beyond a single field at a time. It was terrain which greatly favoured the defender against the Allied forces, who were not trained to fight in such country.

Between the hedgerows, dirt farm tracks, that had sunk beneath the level of the surrounding fields by centuries of erosion and use, formed a labyrinthine pattern. Units commonly found themselves lost a few minutes after launching an attack. Just as typically, two outfits could occupy adjacent fields for hours before discovering each other’s presence.

Our historian will walk with us along a typical hedgerow near St. Lô, and show us why the Normandy hedgerows were so extremely difficult for the American troops to attack, and so advantageous for the Germans to defend.

The break-out from Normandy took 75 days.

Technical innovations helped turn the tide in Normandy. A Sherman tank is equipped with a hedgerow cutter constructed of materials from German beach obstacles. Invented by Sgt. Curtis G. Culin of the 2nd Armored Division, the “rhino” device was a huge benefit to our tanks in hedgerow combat.

The invasion of 1944 was not the first invasion across the English Channel. Nearly 900 years earlier in 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England from Normandy.

Pictures of William’s 1066 expedition can be seen in Bayeux. Honest! The famous Tapestry of Bayeux, 230 feet long and 900 years old, shows in astonishing detail - via millions of stitches -
the life and customs of the Middle Ages and William’s epic invasion of England.

In the late afternoon we will proceed east to the medieval city of Rouen for dinner at a typical provincial restaurant.

Continue to Paris for overnight.

6th Day, Monday
Paris – USA

This morning we will be transferred to Paris airport to board our return flight to the U.S. Cocktails and meals will be
served in flight, and a movie will also be available. Arrive back in the U.S. this afternoon.

D-Day, June 6,1944

Battle of the Bulge

Weekend Extension
STAY LONGER

“...We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free.”
President Ronald Reagan
Omaha Beach, June 6, 1984

6th Day, Monday
Belleau Wood – Argonne Forest – Verdun

What were the causes of World War II? The war can be considered as an extension of the First World War, which destroyed the European civilization that existed in 1914.

Woodrow Wilson called World War I “The war to end all wars.” Although hindsight is always 20-20, this prediction was wildly wrong. In one of the ironies of history, our troops in eastern France in 1944 retraced some of the same battlefields where American “doughboys” fought in 1918.

This morning we will proceed to Belleau Wood, where U.S. Army and Marine Corps troops in 1918 helped to stop the German advance from reaching Paris.

In the Meuse-Argonne Region, we’ll see the Pennsylvania State Monument and the American Memorial at Montfaucon. It was
in the Argonne Forest that Sergeant Alvin York showed his extraordinary courage and marksmanship, and where the “Lost Battalion,” led by a Wall Street lawyer called up from the reserves, was surrounded by Germans for five days, refusing to give up. A precursor to Bastogne!

World War I on the Western Front was largely trench warfare - a four year stalemate where millions of soldiers were killed or wounded. Although American troops were not involved, we will also visit Verdun. The Battle of Verdun, lasting from February to December 1916, was the longest and largest single battle in world history. In planning for the Second World War, senior generals on both sides were determined to avoid the futile slaughter of trench warfare.

Next, we enter Luxembourg and return to World War II. We'll visit the American Military cemetary, where General Patton
is buried.

The battle of the Hürtgen Forest, lasting from September, 1944, to February, 1945, was one of the worst battles ever experienced by the American Army. Negligently planned by senior generals who had no knowledge of forest combat, we could not employ in the dense forest the advantages of air superiority, artillery, and armor, which had been decisive for us since D-Day. The crucial objective of the Roer River dams was ignored for weeks.

The battle of the Hürtgen Forest has been overshadowed in historical memory by the Battle of the Bulge. A text book example of high command negligence and its disastrous consequences, the Hürtgen Forest battles have been presented as case studies to classes at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Accompanied by our historian, we will walk on the Kall Trail near Vossenack, reflecting back on that horrible time in the autumn of 1944 when thousands of American soldiers became casualties among the firs of the black Hürtgen Forest.

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