WW 11 Beaches in May
 

I am going to go to France-early May to look at the WW11 Beaches and the WW1 battlefields- any advice on where to base myself ? Any advice or Maps or Guides to look at ?
Gerard

The definitive guidebook is Major and Mrs Holt's, see https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mrs-Holts-B.../dp/0850526620

The most logical itinerary is to start from the east at Pegasus Bridge where the action started around midnight, then drive west the entire length of the invasion front using the N13 or similar quick roads (this really gives you a great understanding of the scale of the enterprise). Then start again at St Mere Eglise where US airborne troops landed pre-dawn, then head east following the tides—landing craft reached Utah beach about 7am, Omaha about 7:30 and so on.

Re WW1 battlefields, I've been going there since... well, it feels like since the war finished. I'd suggest these:

1. Ypres / Passchendaele. Visit the Menin Gate in Ypres. Every evening at 8.00pm they shut the road and a bugler plays the last post. Get there before 7.30pm as there's usually a crowd.

2. The Somme memorial at Thiepval. There's a new visitors centre nearby that's set into the ground like a trench. Very well done and very impressive. Not far away is the Lochnagar mine crater near Albert. Albert is a good place to base yourself for the Somme.

3. Verdun. OK it's not one of "ours" and it's a bit of a drive, particularly if you're coming from Normandy but Fort Douaumont is a "must see" and the nearby ossuary will definitely have an effect on you.

4. Vimy Ridge. Just north of Arras and an easy ride from Albert. It's particularly relevant at the moment as its the centenary of the battle of Arras. Some great preserved trenches there as well as huge numbers of tunnels / mines etc. At least one of the mines never went off and is still there full of explosives!

As Tim said Major&Mrs Holt's guidebook series are the ones to get for the Somme and Ypres. I've got them both here somewhere along with a library full of others.

Thanks Tim- I just bought it on Amazon, Warmest. Gerard

Thanks- Backofbeyond- Really helpful, Gerard