Tag Archives: World War 2

Bombs Are Still A Serious Business in Germany

Today’s Washington Post contains an article stating that 45,000 residents of Koblenz are being evacuated from their homes as bomb disposal squads disarm one massive unexploded bomb lying alongside another, smaller unexploded bomb. Both of these war time relics were recently discovered wedged in the banks of the Rhine River when the waterline fell to a record low level.

Several months ago, we were walking through suburban Hannover when we spotted this van in the street. Since Germany was so heavily bombed by the allies during World War II, bomb inspection units still need to be called when any excavation is planned for utilities such as water lines or gas lines. And one friend in Germany told us that the basements of houses in Germany are never built until the area has been certified bomb free.

Munition van on the streets of Hannover. Germany searching for unexploded WW II bombs

I’ve mentioned in past articles that World War II is still a living, breathing fact-of-life here in Europe and friends have frequently had their own episodes of discovering remnants of that war in their own back gardens or in the walls of their homes as they began renovations. Today’s Washington Post article just reminds us yet again that the actions of our predecessors generations ago still echo solidly through our contemporary time period. Although we might be temporarily inconvenienced, it is barely fathomable in our present mindset to even try and imagine what it would be like to live a day to day life with bombs dropping on our heads.

Our parents’ and grandparents’ generations would have known those sensations of impermanence quite intimately.

Photo Of The Day: Attack On All Fronts

Here’s another example of the vintage posters from World War II that are on display at the Caen Memorial Museum in Normandy, France.

Attack On All Fronts vintage Canadian World War II poster at Caen Memorial Museum in Normandy, France

This strikingly diagonal 3 person image from 1943 summoned up a spirit of patriotism and reminded the Canadian public that the war was fought on the home front as well as the front lines of the battlegrounds.

Granville in Normandy: Seaside Views and Memories

There is simply no way to escape. The visible signs of the past are ever-present in this part of France and a simple trip to the seaside has turned once again into a history lesson.

After driving through the autumn coloured countryside of Normandy for an hour from our current location near Mortain, we passed through Avranches and drove on to Granville. Mark asked me, “Want to take a walk on the beach?” We parked the car and descended down the sharply angled street and I could immediately see that this was not the types of beach we were accustomed to.

Walking down the ramp to the beach at Granville on the Normandy coast of France

Gray stone, jagged boulders, and sand littered with shards and shells lay before us. What a contrast to our familiar Australian or American blonde-sand covered and fairly rock-free beaches.

Rock strewn beach at Granville on the Normandy coast of France

Back in the car, we passed the bustling port full of ships in all sizes, whisked quickly through the ‘new town’, and ascended the road toward the historic ‘old town’ Granville until we had reached the rocky peak. At the edge of the cliff, just outside the stone walls of the old town, we could see a lighthouse.

Lighthouse at Granville on the Normandy coast of France

The wind was so gusty that we had to plant each foot firmly as we walked. But the surprise that we encountered was that all around the lighthouse in an arc along the top of the ridge overlooking the sea were concrete bunkers left over from World War II. That dark bump on the left in the photo above turned out to be one of these relics of the past.

Coastal fortifications from WW II at Granville on the Normandy coast of France

During their active use, they each stored rather a lot of ammunition and had soldiers with a machine gun atop which had been mounted into the concrete. Today they provide an impromptu place to rest or an object for children to scramble over.

Gun emplacements from WW II at Granville on the Normandy coast of France

View from the 'old town' overlook toward the newer part of Granville on the Normandy coast of France

View of the port area and 'new town' Granville on the Normandy coast of France from high atop 'old town'

We plan to go back in a week or two and this time we will walk up and down those narrow streets in the ancient historic section. We were ‘stuck’ in the car on very thin one-way streets with no place to just get out for a few random minutes and take a photos. But there were far too many beautiful angles of light and shadow against stone walls within the old town for me not to visit on another sunny day.

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Vintage World War II Poster: Do The Job

A simple and gorgeous World War II poster recruiting women to enter the work force and do the jobs that the men had left behind when they went off to fight the war overseas.

This is on display at the Caen Memorial Museum in Normandy, France.

Vintage World War II poster recruiting women into the factories

Petite Chapelle Dans Les Bois – Little Chapel In The Woods Memorial

Abruptly turning the steering wheel, he directed the van along an ever-climbing and sharply twisting road until we arrived at the top and I saw the sign. Mark had decided to surprise me with a visit to La Petite Chapelle (the little chapel) perched high on an overlook above Mortain in Normandy, France.

Walking down the gravel path through tall trees toward the Petite Chapelle in Mortain, Normandy, France

Walking down a gravel path through the fragrant pines, we reached the tiny stone chapel, built in the late 1700s and then reconstructed in the 1850s, which is now dedicated to the American forces who lost their lives defending this strategic position from the advancing German troops and tanks during World War II.

La Petite Chapelle perched high atop Mortain, Normandy, France

Two marble memorial plaques stand in commemoration of their sacrifice.

Monument to the 30th Infantry in the woods outside the Petite Chapelle in Mortain, Normandy, France

Small memorial slab commemorating the participation of the 35th Infantry at the Battle of Mortain

The 30th Infantry is particularly highlighted and honoured for their role in the staggeringly intense Battle of Mortain as related in this historical report.

When you pass through the outcropping of boulders that snug the sides of the tiny chapel and venture out to the back, a steep set of stone stairs is set into that shallow bit of remaining land behind the chapel and those stairs lead to a viewing platform.

Twisty stone stairs leading to viewing platform behind the Petite Chapelle in Mortain, Normandy, France

The chapel itself is perched rather close to the end of the summit and you only realise that when you stand on the viewing platform and look back.

Back of the Petite Chapelle in Mortain, Normandy, France from the viewing platform

As long as you are not afraid of heights, the view from the top is breathtaking. On a clear day you are able to see for miles around including the seacoast beyond and Mont St. Michel in the distance. It’s obvious from the panoramic view that the American forces which were holding this position knew how vital it was to keep this high ground so that they could not only see any German troops on the way, they could maintain an ability to rain their weapons fire down onto the Germans who were struggling up the steep terrain.

A clear view for miles all around from atop the Petite Chapelle lookout in Mortain, Normandy, France

Today the land around the chapel in the woods is a silent place, a peaceful place — but still filled with memories and echoes of the past.

Entry to La Petite Chapelle perched high atop Mortain in Normandy, France

Signs Of The Past

65 years may have passed in Normandy in northern France, but the physical signs — whether bullet scarred buildings or actual road signs — still exist to remind the world that this was one of the most ferocious battlegrounds of World War II.

Bullet pocked roadsign for Caen, Normandy leftover from the World War II battles in France

Veterans Day — Remembrance Day

They call it Remembrance Day in Europe and the British Commonwealth countries. And they call it Veterans Day in the USA.

Today is the 11th day of the 11th month — and in this particular year, it’s the 11th year of the post 2000 marker.

I am writing this from a gite (cottage) in Normandy. In those dark days of the 1940s, a world war was being fought in the towns and fields all around us. The tangible signs of those battles still exist in the bullet holes that scar the face of stone buildings and the bits of bullets and shells that continue to be found to this day.

Whether now alive or gone from this mortal life, the men and women who serve their countries honourably deserve to be remembered for their sacrifices.

I am personally grateful that my own dear son came safely home from a war.

American Military Cemetary at Omaha Beach, Normandy, France