Mulberry Harbour Caissons, Arromanches, Normandy, France
N 49° 20.630 W 000° 36.407
30U E 673830 N 5468433
From the top of the bluffs here in Arromanches, on Gold Beach, you can see 20 concrete structures in the surf; these are relics of the D Day Invasions.
Waymark Code: WMMQDQ
Location: Normandie, France
Date Posted: 10/25/2014
Views: 25
From the top of the bluffs here in Arromanches, on Gold Beach, you can see 20 concrete structures in the surf; these are relics of the D Day Invasions.
Gold Beach is one of five beaches involved in the D-Day invasions of Normandy that occurred early in the morning of June 6, 1944 when about 156,000 Allied soldiers landed on 5 beaches on the coast of Normandy, France.
The 5 beaches were Gold Beach, Juno Beach, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, and Sword Beach, these being the locations of two American, one Canadian and two British landing points.
At this location at Arromanches, you are able to look down at a stretch of Gold Beach and the site of the Mulberry Harbour; the Germans were well entrenched on top of the bluffs, in fact a large concrete base that is a remnant of the platform from one of the German radar stations is at the top of the bluff, looking down on the caissons. The Allied forces developed a multi-pronged invasion for 6 June 1944, which included bringing a huge amount of supplies into the invading troups from Mulberry harbour. This required the building of a port, so the Allied engineers built concrete pontoons (caissons) which were towed across the channel and sunk to provide the outer perimeter of a port. Of the 115 pontoons that were used in the invasion, 20 can still be seen when looking down at Gold Beach from here.
There is a monument nearby (N 49° 20.351 W 000° 36.977)which honors the work and dedication of the Royal Engineers and the incredible job they provided with the caissons.
SOURCES:
www.haworth-village.org.uk/360/1940/arromanches-002.asp
(
visit link)
en.tracesofwar.com/article/23548/Memorial-Royal-Engineers.htm
(
visit link)
www.engineering-timelines.com/who/Maunsell_G/maunsellGuy5.asp
(
visit link)
wikitravel.org/en/D-Day_beaches
(
visit link)