Overtaken by snails

It took us 6 hours to move 6 kms today. We were moving to Juno beach, but I'd missed the site of an important battle at Merville Battery so we back-tracked to it, via fort Hillman, a German defensive position.

Hillman was an HQ rather than a fighting position, though well defended by bunkers, trenches, barbed wire and mines. You can see here the view to the sea that made it so important.

Merville battery was attacked by 9th Para Regiment, 6th Abn Div on the night of 5/6 June. Only 150 odd men from the 700 dropped made it to this point and only 75 of those walked away. They succeeded in neutralising the battery during the initial landings, though the Germans re-occupied it later in the day, and were able to manage some fire from it thereafter. (See After the Battle Vol 68.)

The rest of 9th Para landed scattered across the area, many drowning in the inundated areas, others sheltered by French citizens until they could make it through German lines. The Regt could scrape together a maximum of 270 men before it was relieved late in August.

Juno beach. This was the 3rd Canadian Division's landing beach. Sword beach is way down to the right of the photo, Gold somewhere off to the left.

Our park-up is a camping ground that got rave reviews but that is not our cup of tea at all. We'll use it to charge up, but won't stay more than a night. It is handy to the beach if nothing else.