USAAF
In 1942 mainland Europe was under Nazi control and Britain was fighting desperately for her survival. Help came with the United States’ entry into World War II and the consequent deployment of USAAF - the United States Army Air Force – into Britain. The farmlands of East Anglia were replaced by hundreds of airfields, built to house the 60 heavy bomber groups who would go on to fight so heroically in the skies over Europe. Take a nostalgic trip back to the old USAAF airfields and the surrounding villages with their memorials to the men stationed there, the control towers and museums filled with memorabilia and the star attraction, the famous Duxford War Museum, boasting one of the most spectacular aviation collections in the world. Highlights include the American Air Museum, the Normandy Experience, Battle of Britain Exhibition and the original Operations Room.
NORMANDYThe Normandy Landings in June 1944 signified a major turning point in World War II and in those dark days gave hope to millions that Europe would eventually be liberated. D-Day – or ‘Operation Overlord’ – was an extremely large and complex undertaking. The successful coordination of American, British, Canadian and Free French Airborne troops, as well as the landing of infantry and armoured divisions, remains one of the greatest victories in history and the largest invasion of troops by sea. Tour highlights include Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword Beaches where the troops landed, Airborne drop zones, military cemeteries and Arromanches to see an artificial harbour built by the Allies. We visit Saint Mere Eglise, the famous 13th Century church with the Airborne stained glass windows and ‘Pegasus Bridge’, named after the emblem worn by the British airborne forces that defended the bridge against Nazi attack.
BATTLE OF THE BULGE
In September 1944 Hitler faced the prospect of defeat after more than five years at war. In a desperate bid to regain the offensive he announced a counter-attack, to take place in the Ardennes forests of Belgium. In the early hours of 16th December 1944, the Battle of the Bulge began. Hitler’s aim was to split the British and American Allied line in half, capturing Antwerp and then destroying four Allied armies, thereby forcing the Western Allies to sign a peace treaty in his favour. The Nazi plan failed but the Battle, described by Winston Churchill as ‘an ever-famous American victory’, was the single biggest and bloodiest that US forces experienced during World War II. Visit the key sites of the Battle, the headquarters used by Generals Patton and Bradley, military cemetaries and monuments commemorating all US units who served in the Battle.
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