The Dunkirk to D-Day tour is our introduction to the battlefields of the Second World War in North West Europe. We begin on the Dunkirk beaches where over 300,000 British and French troops were evacuated in May 1940 a ‘miracle of deliverance’ as described by Winston Churchill – and we end on the beaches of Normandy, where the liberation of Europe began in June 1944.

On this journey from evacuation to liberation, accompanied by your guide, Colonel Simon Doughty, we visit the Dieppe beaches, where over 900 British and Canadian servicemen were killed during the raid of 19th August 1942. Whilst the raid was at great cost for seemingly no gain, it highlighted the many shortcomings in equipment, tactics and training. Mistakes were made and lives were lost, but important lessons were learned for future battles.

Following an overnight stay in Caen, we move the story forward to the night of 5/6th June 1944, where elements of the 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, supported by Royal Engineers, conducted a glider-borne coup de main on to Bénouville Bridge, later renamed Pegasus Bridge. We pause for a cup of coffee at the famous Café Gondree, still owned by the first family in France to be liberated that night.

We visit the British, Canadian and American assault beaches, and discuss the wider Battle for Normandy and the breakout to the north and east. These battles were as fierce and costly as any during the Second World War, indeed the attrition rate was often higher than experienced on the dreaded Eastern Front.

We pay our respects at the British and American cemeteries and, on our final day, travel to the Pas de Calais to inspect Hitler’s Atlantic Wall and the mighty Cross Channel Guns.

We do not overlook the wider strategic issues, the challenges and frustrations of Combined and Allied operations, the role of politicians, senior commanders, and life on the Home Front. Nor do we forget the conditions and challenges faced by the soldiers, sailors and airmen who fought and died during this war. The tour will provide an invaluable insight into the most critical period of the Second World War – from the dark days of 1940 to the ‘Great Crusade’ at Normandy.

ITINERARY
Day 1 (Friday): Depart London Victoria Coach Station London 09:00. Dover – Calais ferry. Drive to Dunkirk, where we explore the evacuation beaches at Bray Dunes and the Dunkirk Memorial. Battle briefing on the Dieppe Raid of August 1942. Dinner and overnight near Calais.
Day 2: A brief visit to St Valéry, where the 51st Highland Division were forced to surrender to Rommel’s 7th Panzer Division on 12th June 1940. Then on to Dieppe, to visit Green and Orange beaches. Following a lunch break, we pay our respects at the Canadian CWGC cemetery above the town, before driving across the Pont de Normandie, en route to Caen, for a 2 night stay. Prior to dinner, a briefing on D Day and the Battle for Normandy, 1944.
Day 3: On this 66th anniversay of D-Day (6 June 1944), we tour of the D-Day coast, including Pegasus Bridge, the British, Canadian and American beaches, the 360º Cinema, the Mulberry Harbour, and museum at Arromanches. Following lunch break, we move to the American cemetery at Omaha Beach, and to Pointe du Hoc where the US Rangers scaled the cliffs in the face of a fierce German resistance. Dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Return to the Pas de Calais. Boulogne Eastern CWGC Cemetery. Lunch break in Boulogne, and the cross channel gun site (Battery Todt). Calais – Dover ferry. Arrive approx 18:45 Dover and 20:30 London.