On June 6, 1944, D-Day, the Allied invasion of northern France began. Thousands of Allied soldiers, along with their equipment and vehicles, landed in Normandy on five main beaches. Most tanks arrived on the beaches by landing craft, and a few days later, after the construction of the temporary Mulberry harbor at Arromanches-les-Bains, tanks, along with supply trucks and more troops, started pouring from the ships into the ever-expanding beachhead. This guide book examines the surviving World War Two tanks, tank turrets and other armored fighting vehicles currently on display in Normandy, France, most of which took part in the fighting following the D-Day landings. The background history of each vehicle is explored, and location details are given.
Many of the tanks are exhibited in museums, but a number are on display as war memorials, with some being in difficult-to-find places. Also included are the fascinating, little-known stories of the Allied tank attacks on two separate German beach defense fortifications at Gold Beach, both of which survived the initial Air Force bombing and Navy bombardment. They have been preserved and can be visited.
