One of the main reasons for planning our trip to France the way we did was so that we could see several sites related to the D-Day invasion of Normandy (a.k.a. Operation Neptune).  The first stop on our D-Day road trip was Arromanches-les-Bains to see what remains of the British mulberry harbor (a.k.a. Mulberry B and Port Winston).

Mulberry harbors were designed by the British during WWII.  They were temporary harbors that were used to facilitate the unloading of troops and supplies — a truly brilliant feat of engineering.  The mulberry harbors were designed to be able to offload enough supplies to sustain Operation Overlord for three months (the amount of time they thought it would take to capture a French port for more permanent use).

The British built Mulberry B (the Gold Beach mulberry harbor), which remained in use for ten months, at which point the Allies captured Antwerp and were able to use its port instead.  Mulberry B had 10 miles of floating roadways that were used to bring both supplies and troops to shore.  It took 600,000 tons of concrete to build Mulberry B.  According to Wikipedia, Mulberry B was used to offload over 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles, and 4 million tons of supplies — the numbers definitely make it easy to see how important Mulberry B was for Operation Overlord.  The Americans were responsible for building an additional mulberry harbor (a.k.a. Mulberry A) at Omaha Beach; however, it was destroyed by the storm that hit the Normandy coast on June 19, 1944.

Portions of Mulberry B can still be seen in Arromanches today.  Several sections of the 10 miles of road are washed up on the beach.  You can also hike up a nearby bluff to get a better view of the Phoenixes (concrete caissons) that remain there today.

Prior to arriving at Gold Beach, it never really dawned on me that the Normandy beaches are actual beaches — beaches that people swim in and play on and use for boating.

Gold Beach at Arromanches

Mulberry Harbor Remains at Arromanches

Mulberry Harbor Remains at Arromanches

Children Playing

Mulberry Harbor Remains (Arromanches in the Background)

After we were finished looking at what remained of Mulberry B on the beach, we walked west through the town and then along a dirt trail that took us up onto a bluff where we were able to see the additional portions of Mulberry B.  The Phoenixes are visible in Google Maps.

Black Redstart

I quickly learned that flowers will grow everywhere in France.  While I’m not certain if that is really true, it definitely seemed that way.

Flowers Growing in a Wall

Houses Closest to the Beach

Arromanches Beach House

Pink Wildflower

French Hollyhock

Yellow Fabaceae Wildflower

First View of Phoenixes

Mulberry B Phoenixes

Mulberry B Phoenixes

Gold Beach

Cap Manvieux & Mulberry B Phoenixes

Walking Path to Cap Manvieux

Early Morning in Arromanches

Red Poppy & Barbed Wire

The Stories These Walls Could Tell