D DAY 80th ANNIVERSARY

May 30, 2024 - June 08, 2024

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On June 6, 2024 it will be exactly 80 years ago that Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy. The Baiv D Day 80th Anniversary  Experience is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in honoring the men who landed on the beaches on D-Day June 6th 1944 and fought fiercely to break the strong and stubborn German defenses. Walk the sands of the invasion beaches with us and be amazed by the formidable defending positions of the Atlantic Wall. Visit with us the drop zones of paratroopers and landing grounds of glider troops. Together we follow the paths of the American, British and Canadian forces and tell you about their battles, their setbacks and victories in small towns, along important causeways, around bridges and hills. If you really want be part of the events around the invasion of Normandy, we have an unique offer for you ... stay in our military camp site on historic ground with in walking distance of Omaha Beach and ride in our authentic fleet of WWII vehicles as we drive you around in style during our daily guided historic tours. 

ITINERARY

Date Location Arrive Depart
Day 1: Thursday May 30th (D-Day-7) From 0900 Arrival and welcome to Dog Green Camp in Vierville-sur-Mer. Our crew will accompany you to your personal berth with camp bed, pillow, sleeping bag and chair, (including modern facilities such as electricity, showers, toilets, Wi-Fi, etc), You can organize your personal belongings and have time to become familiar with the atmosphere at our historic military camp, your home for the next ten days. Meet your comrades and other participants and make yourself comfortable. We will also present our vehicles and equipment, so you can become familiar with them as well. During that day a small lunch will be offered. All day and in the evening you can buy beverages in the central canteen tent. For the evening, a simple meal will be served to participants. A nice opportunity to socialize with your fellow participants. At 21:00 hrs., there will be a briefing in the central canteen tent at Dog Green Camp, introducing you to the staff, the guides and informing you what you can expect from us and what we expect from you on this tour. Finally, we inform you about the program for the next day.
Day 2: Friday May 31st (D-Day-6) HISTORICAL TOUR GERMAN DEFENSES in NORMANDY After breakfast we will prepare for the first all day convoy tour in our historic WW2 military vehicles. Participants will be allocated for this day to one of the vehicles. Each vehicle has a fixed driver and one or two crew members to accompany and facilitate the passengers. They are your contact that day, but we do our best that you are in a different vehicle every day and can get to know other guests. Our first day tour focusses on the German troops that defended the Normandy coast. We visit Pointedu-Hoc, the German strongpoint that was a threat for the Americans troops at Omaha Beach. It had to be eliminated by the 2nd US Army Rangers, that needed to climb the steep cliffs from sea. Subsequently we visit Maisy Batterie behind Grandcamp-Maisy, that was a serious threat for the American troops heading for Utah Beach on the other side of the wide estuary of the rivers Vire and Douve. Our last stop is the German War Cemetery La Cambe. In this area many American and German soldiers lost their lives in the fierce battles and temporarily were buried here. After the war, the American soldiers were reburied at the US Normandy Cemetery. At La Cambe nowadays only German soldiers are buried, among them tank commander Michael Wittmann, renowned for his victory in the battle of Villers Bocage.
Day 3: Saturday June 1st (D-Day-5) HISTORICAL TOUR OMAHA BEACH and US WAR CEMETERY Our second historical tour leads to Port-en-Bessin, where the first petrol harbor was for the Allied troops. From here petrol through pipelines was transported to depots inland. In the harbor of Port-en-Bessin the battle for the casino in Ouistreham was filmed for the film ‘The Longest Day’. Next we will visit two important strongpoints at the eastern side of Omaha Beach: WN 60 and WN 62. In the film The Longest Day ‘Major Pluskat’ notices the Allied fleet emerging from the sea fog. This is filmed at the Batterie of Longues-sur-Mer, but his actual observation post was at WN 60. There are stories that he was not at his post on D-Day, but on his way to Paris in a train, together with a few female dancers. Our next stop is WN 62, where the German Hein Severloh fired continuously on the US troopers landing on the beach below him, inflicting hundreds of casualties. He fled his post in time but was captured inland. As a POW he survived the war. Then we take time to visit the US Normandy Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer and pay our respects to the 9,387 graves of American soldiers stretching along the top of the bluff overlooking Omaha Beach. We hope to be able to arrange also an official wreath laying at the cemetery. On our way back to the campsite we pass the memorial for the first cemetery along Omaha Beach. Finally, we stop at Dog Green sector of Omaha Beach, with the monument for the men of the National Guard. At this point A Company, 116th Regiment (29th Infantry Division) landed at 06:30 hours. Among them 21 young men of the small-town Bedford, Virginia. Within an hour 19 of them were killed.
Day 4: Sunday June 2nd (D-Day-4) HISTORICAL TOUR US 101ST AB and UTAH BEACH This day we follow the paras of the 101st Airborne Division. On June 6th the Para Infantry Regiments 501, 502 and 506 of the 101st AB would be dropped over three drop zones behind the landing beach Utah, where at daybreak the 4th US Infantry Division would land. 501 and 506 PIR had to clear the exits 1 and 2 and secure the area around Sainte-Marie-du-Mont for a smooth passage of troops and tanks towards Carentan. 502 PIR had to secure the causeways on the western side for easy access inland towards Ste. Mère-Église. However, due to heavy FLAK the regiments were dropped widely dispersed over Normandy. Small units, often of different regiments, worked together assaulting the enemy and securing objectives. It also had advantages, as the Germans could not pinpoint the attack and determine what the aim was. They even doubted whether this was the actual invasion they were expecting. Our first stop is at Angoville-au-Plain, where to US medics hid in a church, right in the middle of a raging battle between US paras and German soldiers. For three days they treated wounded soldiers, Americans and Germans, and saved many lives. The blood stains on the church benches are still visible. Our next stop is the German strongpoint Holdy. Re-enactors reconstructed in 2019 the strongpoint, including trenches and a German FLAK gun. From there we drive to the farmhouse Brécourt Manoir, where Dick Winters with his men eliminated three guns in emplacements, which would be a threat for the US 4th Infantry Division going inland to Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. The first battle of 506 PIR in the famous series ’Band of Brothers’. Of course we stop at Utah Beach, where in the first wave Colonel Eugene M. Caffey landed with his men of 20th Engineer Regiment. Together they cleared the beach of mines and obstacles for the 4th Infantry Division. Our last stop of this historical tour is at the small town SainteMarie-du-Mont. Around the church is always a gathering of re-enactors and owners of WW2 vehicles. In the church you still can see the traces of fights to eliminate the last Germans.
Day 5: Monday June 3rd (D-Day-3) HISTORICAL TOUR BRITISH and CANADIAN BEACHES Today we make an extra early start, as we have a long drive ahead and many historical sites and important locations, that we want to visit with you. Our first stop is at the German Navy Coast Battery at Longues-sur-Mer. This strongpoint was only finished in May 1944. The guns could reach more than 12 miles, so also incoming ships at Omaha Beach and Gold Beach. In the observation bunker at the cliff ‘Major Pluskat’ was filmed for the film ‘The Longest Day’. From there we have a long drive to the other side of the area, where the Second British Army landed on D-Day. We stop at the Pegasus Bridge, where Major John Howard landed with his men and support groups in gliders to secure the bridges over the Canal de Caen en the Orne River. There are many monuments here and a museum. From the Pegasus Bridge we drive along Sword Beach, where the 3rd British Infantry Division landed, and 1st Special Service Brigade who had to relieve Major Howard. Subsequently we stop Juno Beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer, where the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division landed on D-Day. Later that year also the Polish Armoured Brigade came ashore here and the Dutch Prinses Irene Brigade. Our next stop is at the British Normandy Memorial in Versur-Mer, where all British casualties are remembered that died in the battles for Normandy. Our last stop is at Arromanches-les-Baines for a visit of the renewed D-Day Museum. Luckily the museum still has the scale models of the British Mulberry Harbor, so you better understand the ingenuity of the design. Day 6: Tuesday June 4th (D-Day-2) HISTORICAL
Day 6: Tuesday June 4th (D-Day-2) HISTORICAL TOUR US 82ND AB and Sainte-MÈRE-ÉGLISE This day we follow the paras of the 82nd Airborne Division. On June 6th the Para Infantry Regiments 505, 507 and 508 would be dropped over three drop zones: 505 PIR north of SainteMère-Église with the task to take the town. 507 and 508 PIR had to take the bridges over the Merderet River on the east side and the causeways leading inland. Due to heavy FLAK the droppings were widely dispersed. Paras from 82nd AB and 101st AB landed scattered and spontaneously formed groups. Our first stop is at the church of Sainte-Côme-du-Mont, where SSgt. ‘Jumping Joe’ Beyrle of 506 PIR (101AB) landed and all alone wandered a night and a day in search of his unit. He had several narrow escapes, but was eventually made POW. Subsequently we drive to Chef-du-Pont, over the bridge over the Merderet River, where assistant commander 82AB General James Gavin suddenly was stopped by four German infantry units. A fierce fight broke loose for the causeway to Picauville. We stop at Hill 30, where Colonel Thomas Shanley with 60 men of 508 PIR desperately tried to hold their positions for more than four days, before relieved by the 90th US Infantry Division. We drive through Amfréville, where in the outskirts Lt.Col. Timmes with 30 men was forced to take cover in an apple orchard. We pass Cauquigny church and follow the causeway to the bridge over the Merderet River at La Fière farm. Here the famous battle of La Fière and the causeway of Cauquigny raged for three days. We stop to visit the statue Iron Mike. Our last stop of the day is the town Sainte-Mère-Église, where an unfortunate stick of 505 PIR landed above the town square, with disastrous consequences.
Day 8: Thursday June 6th (D-DAY) in the morning 06:30 hrs. 80th ANNIVERSARY CEREMONY AT OMAHA BEACH. 0930 Breakfast, and 1430 hrs WW2 PARADE along OMAHA Beach.
Day 9: Friday June 7th (D-Day+1) HISTORICAL TOUR THE BATTLE FOR CARENTAN This historical tour focuses on the struggle of several units of the 101st Airborne Division to advance and capture Carentan against the fanatical and battle-hardened units of the German 91st Airborne Infantry Division. Our first stop is Deadman’s Corner Museum at Sainte-Côme-du-Mont. Here we first see a spectacular film in the 3D-Cinema. In ‘D-Day Experience’, we subsequently feel what paras in a C47 must have felt, when flying through FLAK-fire over Normandy, being hit and making a crashlanding. In the museum Deadman’s corner you can see the uniform of Dick Winters of 506 PIR and many other unique collectors items. From there we drive through the area were 501 PIR was dropped and the beloved Chaplain ‘Father Sam’ had his First Aid Post. We return to Carentan over ‘Purple Heart Lane’. This causeway between St. Côme-du-Mont and Carentan earned this name from the struggle of Lt. Col. Robert Cole and his 502 PIR trying to reach Carentan. As this advance was supported by 506 PIR, it appeared also in the series ‘Band of Brothers’’. Next we drive to Le Moulin, where a Demolition Squad of 3rd Battalion 506 PIR, known as ‘Filthy Thirteen’, on the other side of the Canal de Carentan protected the two wooden bridges and the ferry to Le Moulin. For three days they layed under constant machinegun and mortar fire, but they held their positions. The local inhabitants honored them for their bravery with a beautiful monument. Our last stop on this tour is the Normandy Victory Museum, located next to the former American temporary airfield ALG A-10. This museum has a beautiful exhibition focused on the difficult battle between the hedgerows, when the US divisions tried to advance to St. Lô. It also shows how locals had to live under these difficult war circumstances.
Day 10: Saturday June 8th (D-Day+2) HISTORICAL TOUR BAYEUX, the first liberated city in Normandy On the last evening of BAIV’s 80th Anniversary D-Day Experience we celebrate the friendships that emerged over the days. We party, sing and drink on all the good things we shared, and swap addresses and telephone numbers to keep in touch in the future. A bit sad that it’s over, but grateful that we were there and could witness it together. We will remember ...

2650.00 PER PERSON PRICING

***LIMITED TIME & SPACE AVAILABLE All information about BAIV’s 80th Anniversary D-Day Experience Normandy, i.e. content, conditions, costs etc. you can find at our website. The number of participants is restricted! If you want to be part of this unique experience, sign up as soon as possible. Information and registration www.baiv.events

Participating in BAIV’s D-Day Experience Normandy eliminates the stress of planning logistics, accommodations, transportation, and scheduling. We handle all these aspects during your stay in Normandy (travel to/from France not included). 

What we offer you 

  • Itinerary designed by our historians 
  • Unique campsite on historic ground at Omaha Beach in WW2 military style (including modern   facilities as electricity, showers, toilets, Wi-Fi, etc)
  • Lodging in historic military tent with a field bed, pillow and sleeping bag and chair 
  • Large mess tent for joint breakfast and relaxation in the evenings 
  • All breakfasts, several lunches and most dinners 
  • Daily briefings on next day’s program and historical background
  • Touring in historic military vehicles and armored cars
  • Seven historical day tours with guides and full-time logistical escort (including entrance fees to museums and attractions visited)
  • Educational booklets with historical information and stories for all day tours 
  • Daily support and comradeship of our crew 
  • Farewell party on the last evening

Not included:  Transport to/from Normandy, France, and Personal purchases & expenses. 

 

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