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Day 7: April 23, 2025
On our way to Normandy we stopped in Dieppe, the location of “Operation Jubilee”, today better known as the “Dieppe Raid”: allied troops, mainly the 2nd Canadian Division, landed on six beaches along the coast of Dieppe in August 1942 – including a regiment from Saskatchewan. The raid failed, but the allied forces had got important information for planning the invasion on D-Day, June 6th 1944, which finally led to the end of WW2. We visited the Canadian War memorial, had some time for lunch in Dieppe, and visited the Canadian War Cemetery, before we drove to Arromanches in the heart of the D-Day beaches area. The viewpoint above Arromanches gave us a good idea of what happened here during D-Day and the weeks after. Impressive the story about the Mulberry Harbor which was built in only 12 days – its remains can still be seen everywhere in the bay. This was basically the main port to bring all supplies to the continent that the forces would need for liberating France and the rest of Europe – until another port was liberated. And that was Antwerp, liberated by the Canadians. We had a nice buffet dinner nearby and then got to our hotel, the Adonis Grandcamp Resort, a nice place with spacious rooms, right on the landing coast and next to a port and the beach.