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80th Anniversary of D-day at Gold Beach
Episode 112 • 15th July 2024 • Talk With History: Discover Your History Road Trip • Scott and Jenn of Walk with History
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Join hosts Scott and Jenn as they take you through a vivid recount of D-Day, focusing on the British assault on Gold Beach and the crucial role of Operation Overlord in liberating Europe from Nazi control.

The episode features insights into the strategic importance of securing key bridges, the challenges faced by Allied forces, and the emotional reflections of a British paratrooper and infantryman.

Jenn shares her personal experiences from attending the 80th-anniversary celebrations at Normandy, highlighting visits to prominent memorials such as the British Normandy Memorial and the Standing with Giants silhouettes. Discover the pivotal moments and heroic endeavors that paved the way for Allied victory in World War II.

🎥 History at Normandy France

📍 British Normandy Memorial, France

00:00 The Night Before D-Day

03:38 Introduction

04:34 80th Anniversary of D-Day at Gold Beach

07:22 Overview of the D-Day beaches

13:42 D-Day Landing at Gold Beach

16:09 The British Normandy Memorial

27:16 Standing with Giants

31:00 Liberating a town and what is next

34:47 Post show teaser of new projects

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Transcripts

Scott:

This is the BBC Home Service.

Scott:

Here is a special bulletin read by John Snagg.

Scott:

D Day has come.

Scott:

Early this morning, the Allies began the assault on the northwestern

Scott:

face of Hitler's European fortress.

Scott:

The first official news came just after half past nine, when Supreme

Scott:

Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Force, usually called SHAPE from

Scott:

its initials, issued number one.

Scott:

This said, under the command of General Eisenhower, Allied naval

Scott:

forces supported by strong air forces.

Scott:

began landing allied armies this morning on the northern coast of France.

Scott:

The roar of the aircraft engines was deafening.

Scott:

As a British paratrooper, I knew the success of Operation Tonga hinged on

Scott:

our ability to land and secure key positions behind enemy lines in Normandy.

Scott:

The night of June 5th, 1944 was pitch black, and the only light in the sky.

Scott:

came from the moon and the distant flashes of anti aircraft fire.

Scott:

As we approached our drop zone, the tension among us was palpable.

Scott:

I clutched my rifle tightly, my heart pounding in my chest.

Scott:

The red light turned green and we jumped.

Scott:

The air hit me like a wall and I plummeted down towards the dark fields below.

Scott:

My parachute opened with a jolt and I began my descent.

Scott:

I landed awkwardly in a hedgerow, quickly unbuckling my harness

Scott:

and scanning my surroundings.

Scott:

The sounds of war were everywhere.

Scott:

Gunfire, explosions, and the distant rumbles of tanks.

Scott:

I quickly regrouped with my fellow paratroopers and we moved towards our

Scott:

objective, securing the bridges over the Orne River and the Cane Canal.

Scott:

Our mission was critical.

Scott:

If we failed, the Germans could use the bridges to launch a counterattack

Scott:

against the beaches where our comrades were landing in the morning.

Scott:

We advanced cautiously, using the cover of darkness to our advantage.

Scott:

As we approached the first bridge, we encountered heavy resistance.

Scott:

German soldiers were well entrenched, and a fierce fight ensued.

Scott:

Despite being outnumbered, we fought with determination and grit.

Scott:

I fired my rifle, took cover, advanced, and fired again.

Scott:

The rhythm of combat.

Scott:

The training kicked in and we moved as one cohesive unit.

Scott:

Slowly, we began to push the Germans back.

Scott:

Keep moving.

Scott:

We have to secure them.

Scott:

The bridge was ours, but the cost was high.

Scott:

Many of my comrades lay wounded or dead.

Scott:

We moved to the next objective, knowing there was no time to mourn.

Scott:

The battle for the second bridge was equally brutal, but we were relentless.

Scott:

By dawn, we had secured both bridges, cutting off the German

Scott:

reinforcements and protecting the flank of the invasion force.

Scott:

Exhausted but triumphant, we dug in and prepared for the inevitable counterattack.

Scott:

Looking at the faces of my fellow paratroopers, I felt a surge of pride.

Scott:

We had accomplished our mission against all odds.

Scott:

The success of Operation Tonga played a crucial role in the overall

Scott:

invasion of Normandy, and I was honored to have been a part of it.

Scott:

As the sun rose over the battle scarred landscape, I knew

Scott:

this was just the beginning.

Scott:

The road to victory would be long and arduous, but we had

Scott:

taken the first crucial step.

Scott:

Something glinted out of the corner of my eye.

Scott:

I thought I could almost see the horizon lined with ships

Scott:

as they landed on the beaches.

Scott:

I said a prayer for my little brother.

Scott:

He was part of the 50th Division, landing at Gold Beach.

Scott:

I had told my mom nothing would happen to him, and I was

Scott:

determined to keep that promise.

Scott:

Welcome to Talk With History.

Scott:

I'm your host, Scott, here with my wife and historian, Jen.

Scott:

On this podcast, we give you insights to our history inspired world travels,

Scott:

YouTube channel journey, and examine history through deeper conversations

Scott:

with the curious, the explorers, and the history lovers out there.

Scott:

Now, Jen, we're just going to jump right into it because this is a series

Scott:

we have been anxiously wanting to get out into the world for quite some time.

Scott:

Quite a few months ago, you made plans.

Scott:

We, I mean, you for you to get out to Normandy.

Scott:

So if anybody follows us on our Walk with Us YouTube channel, they would have

Scott:

just seen our first video from there.

Scott:

And you went to the 80th anniversary.

Scott:

You went to do a multitude of things out there.

Scott:

But the day before the actual 80th anniversary day, you were out at the

Scott:

Gold Beach kind of memorial out there.

Scott:

Why don't you tell us a little bit about that?

Jenn:

Yes, so I went to the 80th anniversary of D Day ceremony

Jenn:

and celebration at Normandy and there was a lot of people there.

Jenn:

It was.

Jenn:

very busy.

Jenn:

The tour guide said it's the busiest they have ever seen it.

Scott:

And, if anybody's listening to this, it makes sense, right?

Scott:

This being the 80th anniversary, there's not going to be another

Scott:

kind of big number anniversary, really, where there's going to be any

Scott:

veterans that'll most likely be there.

Jenn:

We'll see.

Jenn:

There was a, about 120 veterans at this one.

Jenn:

I bet the 85th will be another big one and we'll see maybe the 90th.

Jenn:

I think those will probably be our last three big, these

Jenn:

will be our last three big

Scott:

Yeah, and I think because the majority of the World War II vets

Scott:

that were there were probably in their, in the youngest, in their 90s.

Jenn:

nineties.

Jenn:

Oh, absolutely.

Scott:

the, at the absolute youngest.

Scott:

I mean, there's, there's some I've seen recent interviews with that are 102, 103.

Jenn:

Exactly.

Jenn:

So it was just a real honor to be there, but because it was so busy, we, the first

Jenn:

day we got there, we were supposed to go to the American Normandy cemetery.

Jenn:

We couldn't get there.

Jenn:

It was too crowded.

Jenn:

They shut it down.

Jenn:

We went to Omaha beach, but we were barely there for 10 minutes and then that

Jenn:

got shut down for the next three days.

Jenn:

So it really didn't get to make it back out to Omaha beach again.

Jenn:

We'll talk about it on another podcast.

Jenn:

Thanks.

Jenn:

just the little bit we got to do, which is mostly in reels on Instagram.

Jenn:

I don't even think we can, we can't even make a full video on YouTube

Jenn:

because we just went there long enough.

Scott:

Yeah, because you were there, I, I didn't get to go I had to

Scott:

stay back with the kids and work.

Scott:

But you got, you got to get out there with, some Navy, veteran friends of ours.

Scott:

So when you say we, that's, that's who you're talking about for our listeners

Jenn:

Yeah, I went with two other female Navy veterans

Jenn:

officers that I had served with.

Jenn:

And when Scott says he had to stay back and work, Scott

Jenn:

had to stay back and, and be.

Jenn:

a naval officer in the United States Navy.

Jenn:

So he couldn't make it to D Day because he is actually doing the real deal.

Jenn:

But the first place we were able to really go and get out and see and

Jenn:

just experience it all was Gold Beach.

Scott:

Now that one was a little bit unique.

Scott:

This time, because and I know we'll touch on this and I'll, I'll let you

Scott:

walk us through what you saw for the day.

Scott:

But one of the big things there was obviously there was like memorial

Scott:

there, but they also had the standing with giants silhouettes, which a lot

Scott:

of people may have seen pictures of but talk, walk us through or walk our

Scott:

listeners through, getting there and what all is there at, at gold beach.

Jenn:

So just just a quick background.

Jenn:

We're not going to go right.

Jenn:

into much of the history of gold beach, but I'm gonna give you a quick

Jenn:

background so you know what gold beach is.

Jenn:

So remember there are five beaches that are part of operation overlord

Jenn:

and operation overlord is the entire operation of the landing on the

Jenn:

French beaches against the Nazis.

Jenn:

So these are the allies, the, the British, the Americans, the

Jenn:

Canadians, the Polish, the Dutch.

Jenn:

It's everybody who the New Zealand's, if you can think Australians,

Jenn:

everybody who is together trying to overcome Nazi Germany.

Jenn:

And they have since been, they've been joined with Italy and Japan.

Jenn:

So they are the Axis powers.

Jenn:

And so they have taken.

Jenn:

France, the entire country of France.

Jenn:

For four years, they've occupied this country.

Jenn:

And the British basically have gotten away back to England and been planning.

Jenn:

And that's what's been going on for about a year.

Jenn:

They've been planning this big operation.

Jenn:

And Eisenhower at the time, General Eisenhower is in charge

Jenn:

of all of it, oversees all of it.

Jenn:

So this is the day, D Day.

Jenn:

And when people ask me, what does D Day mean?

Jenn:

It means day, day day.

Jenn:

So D Day is day day.

Scott:

it's like the

Jenn:

It's like the day.

Jenn:

So the D doesn't really stand for anything.

Jenn:

It's the day.

Jenn:

So It's Operation Overlord is the entire operation.

Jenn:

We're going to get Operation Point Blank, where British and American bombers are

Jenn:

going to start bombing at midnight, the night of June 6th, and you're

Jenn:

going to get over 2200 bombers just bombing all of these strategic areas.

Jenn:

on the French soil, which is now occupied Nazi Germany.

Jenn:

And then Operation Neptune will be the naval side.

Jenn:

Neptune will start first, because Neptune will start with the bombardment,

Jenn:

amphibious bombardment of the coast.

Jenn:

So it always will have Neptune before the landings.

Jenn:

There's five beaches, basically.

Jenn:

And if you go from east to west, I guess that's the best way to go.

Jenn:

Or maybe from from west to east.

Jenn:

It's going to start with Utah Beach, an American beach, Omaha Beach, another

Jenn:

an American beach, Gold Beach, the one we're talking about is like the

Jenn:

joining beach between the American beaches and the other allied beaches

Jenn:

and Gold Beach will be British.

Jenn:

Then you're going to have Juno, which will be a Canadian beach and Sword,

Jenn:

which will be another British beach.

Jenn:

Utah and Omaha are named by the Americans.

Jenn:

The story is that when Eisenhower was planning the men who were writing, he

Jenn:

asked, where are you, where are you from?

Jenn:

And the two men who were typing out the, the operation plans, one was from

Jenn:

Omaha, and one was from the state of

Scott:

I, I did not know

Jenn:

So they named the beaches after those two men.

Jenn:

For the Allied side the British side Churchill went with fish names So

Jenn:

swordfish goldfish and it's supposed to be jellyfish for Juno, but Winston Churchill

Jenn:

couldn't see Men dying on jellyfish

Scott:

Yeah.

Scott:

Yeah.

Jenn:

so he changed it to Juno Beach.

Jenn:

So when you hear gold Beach Sometimes it's referred to as gold But it's goldfish.

Jenn:

That's where it comes from.

Jenn:

So again, this is the middle beach of these five beaches.

Jenn:

It's completely British authority.

Jenn:

It's the British who are taking this beach.

Jenn:

So what we went to was the British Normandy Memorial.

Jenn:

And I don't want it confused with the American Normandy Cemetery because

Jenn:

the American Normandy Cemetery is a cemetery where men are buried.

Jenn:

The memorial men are not buried there.

Jenn:

It's a memorial and it overlooks the entire gold beach.

Scott:

Yeah.

Scott:

And it's, I mean, you guys did a good job of, as, as much as I

Scott:

love and I'm, I'm biased towards my own B roll footage, right?

Scott:

A little behind the scenes here of YouTube, you and, and Bonnie and whoever's

Scott:

holding the camera kind of did a good job of kind of really showing what the,

Scott:

the view look like, it's a, it is a beachhead kind of going uphill, right?

Scott:

So you can look out.

Scott:

over this beach and you can see down to the water, right?

Scott:

And it's, it's not super steep, right where you guys were.

Scott:

So it's pretty long.

Scott:

So there's a long way to go to get all the way to the top of the beachhead.

Scott:

Now, when I was doing the editing and putting the video together, the,

Scott:

the fighting on this speech wasn't, wasn't but this is a very this is

Scott:

specifically a British memorial, right?

Scott:

I think you were saying when you were there, it looked like there, there

Scott:

were some British soldiers practicing and stuff like that, potentially for

Scott:

Prince William or somebody like that,

Jenn:

so I was at the American ceremony.

Jenn:

I was at the American Normandy ceremony at the American Normandy cemetery.

Scott:

Oh, the, so that, oh, that was at the cemetery.

Scott:

That's where the, that's where the ceremony was.

Jenn:

The British ceremony was at that location.

Scott:

and that's what you saw they were prepping for when you were

Scott:

there the day before the actual 80th

Jenn:

And it was Prince William.

Jenn:

Prince William had come And he was in, in replace of King

Jenn:

Charles and he, he, he served.

Jenn:

So he, he was the big dignitary there.

Jenn:

So when you think of Gold Beach, it's going to be the British, the

Jenn:

Dutch, the Polish and other allies.

Jenn:

So it's really their militaries that were also part of that ceremony there.

Jenn:

And so that's what you see in the video is those militaries.

Scott:

can hear the band playing in the background Which is neat because

Scott:

they were playing old school music and

Jenn:

It was really neat.

Jenn:

And they're.

Jenn:

Memorial, if you look down from the sky, looks like a British flag.

Jenn:

So with the walkways are making that crisscross design of the British

Jenn:

flag, and they have names on pillars.

Jenn:

About 300 little over 300 men will die on Gold Beach that day, they'll land

Jenn:

25, 000 men, the British and allies.

Jenn:

And they'll have a little over a thousand casualties, but 350 men will die.

Scott:

It is announced a little later that General Montgomery is in command of

Scott:

the Army Group carrying out the assault.

Scott:

This Army Group includes British, Canadian, and United States forces.

Scott:

The Allied Commander in Chief, General Eisenhower, has issued an order of

Scott:

the day addressed to each individual of the Allied Expeditionary Force.

Scott:

In it, he said, Your task will not be an easy one.

Scott:

Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle hardened.

Scott:

He will fight savagely.

Scott:

But this is the year 1944.

Scott:

The tide has turned.

Scott:

The free men of the world are marching together to victory.

Scott:

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle.

Scott:

We will accept nothing less than full victory.

Scott:

Good luck and let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon

Scott:

this great and noble undertaking.

Scott:

The world seemed to slow down.

Scott:

Every move I made on this cursed boat felt like a lifetime.

Scott:

Was that Winston Churchill over the radio earlier?

Scott:

The only thing I could hear now was the deafening sound of

Scott:

gunfire and artillery in the air.

Scott:

All around me, the sea had red patches.

Scott:

Never seen that before.

Scott:

As an infantryman, I was among thousands of British soldiers.

Scott:

Landing at Gold Beach on D Day.

Scott:

Attention on my fellow countrymen's face was palpable as our landing

Scott:

craft approached the beach.

Scott:

We were under heavy fire, but we were determined.

Scott:

As soon as our landing craft hit the beach, I jumped out and ran

Scott:

towards the sand dune for cover, my heart pounding in my chest.

Scott:

I could see the German bunkers up ahead.

Scott:

We were outgunned, but we pushed forward.

Scott:

We were trained for this.

Scott:

We knew our mission.

Scott:

I fired my rifle, took cover, advanced, and fired again, a

Scott:

rhythm of survival and duty.

Scott:

Despite the chaos around me, I felt a strange sense of clarity.

Scott:

I was fighting for my country, for our freedom.

Scott:

I saw comrades fall, but we kept going, driving the Germans

Scott:

back, securing the beachhead.

Scott:

By the end of the day, we had accomplished our mission.

Scott:

I was one of the lucky ones who survived.

Scott:

Looking back at the beach, I barely realized the enormity

Scott:

of what we had just done.

Scott:

I wondered if my brother had made his jump okay.

Jenn:

Their names are the closest inside the memorial.

Jenn:

And then as you walk outside the memorial, there's names on pillars.

Jenn:

They consider Normandy landings from June 6th to the end of August.

Jenn:

So all of the men who died from June 6th to the end of August are listed

Jenn:

as you walk out towards those pillars.

Jenn:

They also honor 20, 000 French civilians who were killed

Jenn:

during this Normandy landing.

Jenn:

And they're also listed a little bit farther out as well.

Jenn:

But again, you had the civilian casualties of war

Scott:

And that was another interesting thing in in the the listener will

Scott:

if you're listening to this podcast you'll hear in some of the vignettes

Scott:

as we go through this that they were actually You know, the the Allied

Scott:

forces were actually making radio kind of announcements, or You know good guy

Scott:

propaganda trying to announce things to the French people via the radio

Scott:

saying you know, hey, don't fight back, essentially keep your hopes up.

Scott:

And then they also gave them a little bit of warning

Jenn:

to get out into the

Scott:

to get out into the countryside because it's like it, which makes sense.

Scott:

You'd never really think about it.

Scott:

You're like, well, aren't they giving away?

Scott:

What they're doing to the Germans, well, the Germans would have

Scott:

known long before that, right?

Scott:

Long before an hour before the actual landing.

Scott:

They would have detected them, they're like, okay, they're coming, but the

Scott:

people, the French people wouldn't know that, and so they hear it over the

Scott:

radio, they're like, okay, it's time to hightail it out of here, but of course

Scott:

there's still going to be casualties.

Jenn:

So there was a lot of espionage, but there was a lot of what's the

Jenn:

word I'm looking for where you're like

Scott:

Kind of like gamesmanship,

Jenn:

gamesmanship.

Jenn:

They were projecting these false operations.

Jenn:

So to keep the Germans guessing, and they were doing that for about three

Jenn:

months before they actually did this pretending, I forget what they called

Jenn:

it operation bodyguard, I think, but these fake operations that they were

Jenn:

doing to keep the Germans on their toes.

Jenn:

And.

Jenn:

Fortunately, I think I remember correctly, Hitler had gone to bed.

Jenn:

early on June 5th and told not to be awakened for any reason whatsoever.

Scott:

Oh my gosh.

Jenn:

So when things were happening on June 6th, they didn't wake him and tell

Jenn:

him, even though this is a big deal.

Jenn:

They, he was, he was not woken up until well into the day on June 6th.

Jenn:

And so he couldn't send even quick responses because they

Jenn:

were too afraid to wake him.

Jenn:

Lucky for him.

Jenn:

the allies.

Jenn:

Now, like you said, things start at midnight on June 6th.

Jenn:

You're going to get gliders coming in from the British, which are so accurate.

Jenn:

They're taking out these big bridges because when you think of

Jenn:

Normandy, I want you to think of farmland and this farmland, the

Jenn:

way that it's fertile is it floods.

Jenn:

Think of the Nile.

Jenn:

Is they flood this farmland to keep the soil very fertile.

Jenn:

And when they do that, there's no way to connect these areas, but

Jenn:

these big bridges that bring you in.

Jenn:

And the Germans occupied these big bridges.

Jenn:

And they also, the Germans had flooded farmland on purpose to,

Jenn:

to make some roads unusable.

Jenn:

So what the allies had to do was capture these bridges.

Jenn:

And that's, is what they're going to do for Utah beach and Omaha beach.

Jenn:

That's what our airborne.

Jenn:

They're doing the same thing.

Jenn:

They're trying to capture these strategic bridges to get not only the

Jenn:

allies onto the beaches and get all of their material across the bridges

Jenn:

into theater, but to stop the Germans from using those bridges to fight back.

Scott:

Yeah, they're also trying to cut off the, the German

Scott:

kind of supply and logistics.

Scott:

Yeah.

Jenn:

So you get the ally, the Americans are doing it at Utah and

Jenn:

Omaha beach, and then The, the the British and the Dutch and the Canadians

Jenn:

are doing it over on Gold Beach and Sword Beach and Juno Beach as well.

Jenn:

So they're really the first to go.

Jenn:

It's the airborne and the gliders that are going to be the first out.

Jenn:

And the bombardment the bombing.

Jenn:

Also of that strategic outside of that area, but those gliders are so accurate.

Jenn:

They land right where the bridges are.

Jenn:

They pop open this like 20 minute glider and they were able to take those bridges

Jenn:

really with no, with no fight back.

Jenn:

So it was really nice for the British.

Jenn:

Now you had said, Gold Beach is not like Omaha Beach.

Jenn:

No beach will be like Omaha Beach.

Scott:

I mean, there were still casualties.

Jenn:

still casualties, but no beach of the five are going to encounter as much

Jenn:

resistance and firepower and just the way that the topography of the beaches

Jenn:

are against the allies like Omaha.

Jenn:

It's why it's called bloody Omaha.

Jenn:

You will have more losses on Omaha than any other beach.

Jenn:

And we'll talk about that.

Jenn:

But the topography of Utah and Omaha are not like these nice gold

Jenn:

has a nice straight, clear beach.

Jenn:

Utah and Omaha are very rocky.

Jenn:

And they have the point to Hawk is in the middle of them.

Jenn:

So the kind of like cuts off and it it's not as easily The terrain is not

Scott:

It's easier for the germans to defend right because

Scott:

because of the terrain yeah,

Jenn:

So gold beach again, you're going to what happens is the

Jenn:

Navy bombardment starts at 530.

Jenn:

So you're going to get the bomber starting at midnight, the airborne

Jenn:

and the gliders go at midnight.

Jenn:

And then the Navy bombardment starts at 530.

Jenn:

So what does that mean?

Jenn:

The Navy gets as close as they can to the beach and just starts

Jenn:

hitting the beachhead as hard as they can with their guns.

Jenn:

And what's very lucky is they take out the three of the four major guns.

Jenn:

They're taken out by 620.

Jenn:

So that's great.

Jenn:

You only got one major gun then still manned on Gold Beach.

Jenn:

Now that gun takes a day to get out.

Jenn:

They really don't even get it out to June 7th, but it's only one major gun.

Jenn:

So the Navy, their Navy ships are.

Jenn:

pretty accurate taking out those those big artillery guns.

Jenn:

And then the first landings happened about 725.

Jenn:

Now that's about an hour after Omaha beach.

Jenn:

And the reason why is because of tides.

Scott:

Oh sure

Jenn:

So when we talk about these beaches and what they did with the

Jenn:

obstacles on the beaches is you remember in saving pride, right?

Jenn:

And they have all the hedgehogs out.

Jenn:

And those are those.

Jenn:

Weird twisty metal looking things that keeps amphibious

Jenn:

craft from landing on the beach.

Jenn:

What it also does is during high tide, when you can't see them, if boats

Jenn:

hit them, it makes boats capsize.

Jenn:

And what they would also do is put mines on the end of those.

Jenn:

So if you also hit them, you would blow up.

Jenn:

So you had to wait to low tide because you had to wait till

Jenn:

you could see all those things.

Jenn:

But low tide, we're Navy officers also means you have a

Jenn:

huge amount of beach to cover.

Scott:

Yeah, and it was in Depending on where you're from what beach you're used

Scott:

to right growing up in california when the tide goes out It doesn't it drops off

Scott:

pretty quickly It's not like beaches in florida where you can walk out, Or in that

Scott:

part of the country where you can walk out for a quarter mile You And the water

Scott:

is only knee deep the entire time, where in California, it drops off to incredibly

Scott:

deep water within, 50 yards or less than even sometimes even less than that.

Scott:

The what I saw and you were able to show a little bit of the of the gold

Scott:

beach there But you see from some of the historical footage that we cut in is

Scott:

that these are one of those beachheads Just like you said for farmland is that

Scott:

the shoreline when the tide goes out.

Scott:

There's a lot Of beachhead, it's it's it's long for them to come in from the

Scott:

ship on all the way up to where it's essentially dry, where the tide wouldn't

Scott:

go up any higher, and then get to the, whatever it is, the embankment, the guns,

Scott:

the, where the Germans actually were.

Scott:

So that's kind of the, the risk on each side.

Scott:

It was actually less risky to wait for the tide to come out so they could land

Scott:

these landing craft, roll the tanks up, or the soldiers, or whatever it was.

Scott:

So that they didn't run into these hedgehogs and mines and things like that.

Jenn:

Exactly.

Jenn:

And then you think of all that beach you have to cover with all that gear.

Jenn:

And it's, it's just seems daunting.

Jenn:

I, the only place I really understood the expansiveness of it was Omaha because

Jenn:

I happened to be on Omaha when the tide was out and it was a huge beach.

Jenn:

Even when you think from the shore all the way to the first grassy area, that's

Jenn:

a lot of beach to cover in full gear.

Jenn:

I'm thinking 50 pounds of gear.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

when you're taking tons of hostile fire.

Jenn:

So you can imagine this is what's happening on Gold Beach as well.

Jenn:

Now, like I said, they're landing 25, 000 men, and they're,

Jenn:

they, they are, they secure the beachhead by the end of the day.

Jenn:

So they're able to meet their goal.

Jenn:

Now, Gold Beach is instrumental because it has to join Omaha

Jenn:

with Sword and, or with Juno.

Jenn:

So it has to join Omaha with, with Juno.

Jenn:

Like it's the middle beach.

Jenn:

It's,

Scott:

if people aren't familiar, if you haven't really looked into

Scott:

the beachheads there, it's over 50 miles of continuous beachhead

Scott:

across these five beaches, right?

Scott:

So when we say that, like it's all, they're all continuous kind of along the

Scott:

French coast, but it's a well over 50 miles from one end of one beach all the

Scott:

way to the other end of the other beach.

Scott:

So it's a pretty expansive, Piece of the coast that they are they are landing on.

Jenn:

yeah, it's really beautiful now.

Jenn:

It's really flat now, but at the time I can imagine it was just overwhelming.

Jenn:

What we got to see was the British Normandy Memorial and

Jenn:

they just have recently built it.

Jenn:

It just was unveiled June 6th, 2021 for the

Scott:

wow

Jenn:

anniversary.

Jenn:

Well, the British felt like they don't have their place, right?

Jenn:

Like the American cemetery at Normandy is like where we had the ceremony.

Jenn:

It's our place.

Jenn:

It's also a cemetery.

Jenn:

Now there is this, there is this World War Two cemetery for the British.

Jenn:

It's a little farther inland, but But it doesn't have the place on the beach.

Jenn:

So they wanted something to show the memorial of what the

Jenn:

men did where you can see it.

Jenn:

And it lists over 22, 000 names from more than 30 countries under British command

Jenn:

who were killed at Normandy from June 6th, again, to the end of August 31st.

Jenn:

And as you move from the center out, their names will be listed

Jenn:

as the days go out from June 6th.

Jenn:

So you can look on the pillars and find names.

Jenn:

And I found Benny's and I found Mitchell's.

Jenn:

And so it was really neat to see all those names on there.

Jenn:

But yeah.

Jenn:

The centerpiece is a bronze statue of three British soldiers attacking the beach

Jenn:

and it was made by David William Ellis.

Jenn:

It really is reminiscent to me of the one at Omaha Beach

Jenn:

and the one we saw at Bedford.

Jenn:

Again, just about you with your comrades together.

Jenn:

handling it together

Scott:

they're they're it's a classic kind of world war ii soldiers charging it

Jenn:

yes.

Jenn:

And you would know they were different because of their helmets.

Jenn:

They have different helmets than the Americans.

Jenn:

Now the standing with giant silhouettes is what's really impressive there as well.

Scott:

Those were really cool and it's it's the thumbnail Yeah, we used one

Scott:

of them a picture of one of them as the thumbnail of this particular video, but

Scott:

they have They're displaying all these different kinds of soldiers and airmen

Scott:

and sailors that were involved in this.

Jenn:

Yeah, so it depicts 1475 giants who are the number of servicemen who

Jenn:

died under British command on D Day.

Jenn:

So not at Gold Beach, but of all And all the beaches and

Jenn:

the airborne and the bombers.

Jenn:

So anyone who died that day under British command is depicted with a silhouette.

Jenn:

And that's why there's 1475 of them.

Jenn:

And they all look different because they're different.

Jenn:

doing different jobs in the military.

Jenn:

And so it's very neat to see pilots or naval officers or army officers.

Jenn:

It's very neat to see how they look, their silhouettes look different and that people

Jenn:

have little placards with quotes on them.

Jenn:

And we found Dick Winters at those placards will

Scott:

Oh, okay.

Jenn:

but the silhouettes will go.

Scott:

they were only there for the basically for the 80th

Jenn:

Yes, they're supposed to leave the The end of August, but there's two women

Jenn:

depicted There's two army nurses sister ever shed and sister field They died on

Jenn:

deed on D day trying to save men on a sinking hospital ship So they're also

Jenn:

their silhouettes are also depicted there.

Jenn:

So that's very neat to see

Scott:

Yeah, theirs was cool because it had that cut out.

Scott:

Like the from the waist down, you could see the metal kind of silhouette of them.

Scott:

And then there was like that hollow so you could see the sky as there, they

Scott:

would fill in, the rest of the gaps.

Scott:

It was really neat how they did it.

Jenn:

Yeah, they were really neat and it's a and to have women depicted.

Jenn:

They're the only two women of the fourteen hundred seventy five You I

Jenn:

think it's such a neat memoir, I really don't want them to take it down at all.

Jenn:

I think it would just be great.

Jenn:

It doesn't really impede on the view.

Jenn:

And I thought it was just an amazing thing to see.

Jenn:

It really feels like it's called standing with giants.

Jenn:

And I really feel like you are standing with them.

Jenn:

And it gives a real to me, humanization of the area.

Jenn:

And I almost I don't want to see it go.

Jenn:

But it was really neat to be there and to see that and you can walk among them,

Jenn:

you're allowed to walk out in there, it wasn't cut, and the grass was high.

Jenn:

But you're allowed to walk in there and take pictures and Find ones that maybe

Jenn:

could be dedicated because each of them is supposed to be a certain person to maybe

Jenn:

your ancestor or somebody that you knew from your family or something like that.

Jenn:

So that was really neat to see, but I'm happy we got to go there.

Jenn:

It is an impressive monuments.

Jenn:

And again, this is the middle beach.

Jenn:

So when you think of the five beaches, this is the middle beach.

Jenn:

If you do make it out to gold beach, gold beach is one of the

Jenn:

few beaches that has preserved a lot of those big guns and a lot of

Jenn:

those what do they call those, babe?

Scott:

little bunkers.

Jenn:

they preserve the bunkers there.

Jenn:

So you can actually go and see them.

Jenn:

They're, they're really well preserved.

Jenn:

And so if you make it out to Gold Beach, it's one of those places

Jenn:

that if you walk the beach, you can really see a lot of the history still

Jenn:

there for you to participate in.

Jenn:

So I'm happy we got to go there.

Jenn:

I never thought about it as an American.

Jenn:

I was like, Oh, it's like, it's I mean, after Omaha and Utah, you're kind of

Jenn:

like, Oh, what are the other beaches?

Jenn:

So for me, I learned a lot.

Jenn:

I got to see it.

Jenn:

I really did appreciate it.

Jenn:

So I'm happy we went.

Scott:

People in enemy occupied territory who lived near the coast were warned

Scott:

to leave their homes as soon as they received a warning of the coming attack.

Scott:

It would come about an hour before the attack, and then they ordered once to make

Scott:

it with all speed for the open country.

Scott:

After Communique No.

Scott:

1 had been issued, General Eisenhower broadcast to the people of Western

Scott:

Europe announcing the landing as part of the concerted United Nations

Scott:

plan for the liberation of Europe.

Scott:

He asked them to wait for the signal to rise and strike the enemy.

Scott:

The day will come, he said, when I shall need your united strength.

Scott:

Until that day, I call on you for the hard task of discipline and restraint.

Scott:

Addressing the French people especially, General Eisenhower expressed his

Scott:

pride at having under his command the gallant forces of France.

Scott:

As the initial landing was Being made in France, he emphasized the

Scott:

importance of his warning message.

Scott:

A premature rising of all Frenchmen, he tell them, may prevent you

Scott:

from being of maximum help to your country in the critical eye, be

Scott:

patient, prepare great battles.

Scott:

Lie ahead.

Scott:

The

Scott:

sun was beginning to set as I walked through the narrowest streets of the

Scott:

French town we had just liberated.

Scott:

The air was filled with a mixture of relief and apprehension.

Scott:

The residents, though cautious, peeked out from their homes, some

Scott:

offering smiles of gratitude.

Scott:

It felt surreal to be standing here in Aramajus, a town that had been under

Scott:

German occupation just hours before.

Scott:

Gold Beach had been a crucible of fire and steel.

Scott:

As an infantryman in the British 50th Division, I had

Scott:

faced the fiercest resistance.

Scott:

The memory was still fresh.

Scott:

The roar of the guns, the whizzing of the bullets, and the cries of my comrades.

Scott:

We had pushed through, determined to secure the beach and move inland.

Scott:

Our objective was clear, to link up with the Americans on Omaha Beach

Scott:

to the west, and the Canadians on Juneau Beach to the east.

Scott:

Now as I stood in the heart of this French town, I reflected on what we had achieved.

Scott:

The Mulberry Harbors were already being constructed, an engineering marvel that

Scott:

would allow us to bring in the supplies we needed for the rest of the campaign.

Scott:

The liberation of this town was just the beginning.

Scott:

We had paved the way for Allied forces to establish a foothold in Normandy,

Scott:

but our mission was far from over.

Scott:

The road ahead was fraught with danger, but Germans were

Scott:

not going to give up easily.

Scott:

Kane, a major objective late of the southeast.

Scott:

We had to push forward, liberate more towns, and secure critical supply routes.

Scott:

The success of Operation Overlord depended on our ability to maintain momentum.

Scott:

As I looked around, I saw my fellow soldiers, weary but resolute.

Scott:

Subconsciously, I think I was looking for my older brother.

Scott:

His unit should have jumped in the middle of the night.

Scott:

God willing, I will see him soon.

Scott:

I found a moment of solace knowing that today we had made a difference.

Scott:

Tomorrow, we would continue the fight for freedom, for peace, and for a future where

Scott:

such a conflict would never happen again.

Scott:

General Eisenhower concluded, I call upon all who love freedom to stand with us.

Scott:

Keep your faith staunch, our arms are resolute.

Scott:

Together, we shall achieve victory.

Scott:

And that is the end of this special news bulletin.

Scott:

Thank you for listening to the Talk With History podcast and please reach out

Scott:

to us at our website, talkwithhistory.

Scott:

com.

Scott:

But more importantly, if you know someone else that might enjoy this

Scott:

podcast, please share it with them.

Scott:

Shoot them a text and tell them to look us up.

Scott:

We rely on you, our community, to grow and we appreciate you all every day.

Scott:

We'll talk to you next time.

Scott:

Thank you.

Scott:

, I'm debating over whether or not to talk about this on Talk with History.

Scott:

So we are going to start kind of a, a, a premium podcast and, and I'll talk

Scott:

about more about this in the future.

Scott:

So if you're listening, if you made it to the end of this particular episode I've

Scott:

got some stuff in the works and we're going to talk a little bit more about

Scott:

the, the, the travel aspects of things.

Scott:

And I've got a newsletter and kind of more to follow.

Scott:

So if you're one of our loyal listeners, this is something that you, you most

Scott:

definitely will be interested in.

Scott:

And, and again, I'll tease it a little bit more.

Scott:

And we'll talk a little bit more about, about that kind of stuff.

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