SUTTON Travels: World War II

Showing posts with label World War II. Show all posts

15 December 2021

Imperial War Museum-North Manchester England, UK

The Imperial War Museum-North is in Manchester England. The museum focuses on telling the story of Britain at war since the First World War.

The storyboards, photos, and objects are organised in a timeline. The museum uses more than 2,000 objects, photos and interactive displays to reveal the history and impact of war.

Large objects like the following fill spaces between large pods focused on specific topics.

A letter of welcome to Americans expresses gratitude.

Cultural events mix with war news as in this 1918 poster.

This contact sea mine is a reminder of the war surrounding the UK.

The legacy of war has many dimensions. The tower of luggage reminds us of the homeless, refugees, and immigrants.

There's a café and gift shop with some unique items.

Periodically during my visit, a special 360 presentation was announced. This takes place in a large open area where the walls of the pods serve as giant screens. Some seats are better than other to follow the action or read the captions.

As with many museums, the lighting causes a glare for items under glass and is sometimes too dim to read posted texts.

Some notable items

Tolkien's First World War Revolver
The field gun that fired the first British shots in 1914
A 7-metre piece of steel from the World Trade Center attack in NYC of 911

The 5 IWM (Imperial War Museums)

IWM LONDON
CHURCHILL WAR ROOMS, LONDON
IWM DUXFORD
IWN NORTH- MANCHESTER
HMS BELFAST, On the Thames in London

Link to Website for more information

Address

IWM North, The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road, Manchester M17 1TZ

In 2021, I took the X50 bus from central Manchester

Google Map for IWM North Manchester

Examples of IWM books

First World War -Poems from the front

World War 2-The Definitive Visual Guide

The First World War Retold

War Report - From D-Day to Berlin as it Happened

07 December 2021

USS Arizona Memorial Pearl Harbor Hawaii

The site of the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii is both stunning and sober for this watery grave is a sacred space.

A wall of names reminds us of the Americans who lost their lives while serving their country.

I took a video, which tracks the story as provided by the National Park Service.

#PearlHarbor #USSArizona

Resources to learn more

December 7th DVD

December 7th The Pearl Harbor Story DVD

Pearl Harbor 80 years later LIFE paperback

Geoffrey W Sutton

www.suttong.com

03 September 2021

World War II Remembered Understanding WWII by Travel

World War II Remembered

Understanding WWII by Travel

Each September I am remined of the Second World War. The war began 1 September 1939 and ended 2 September 1945 thus it lasted 6 years and 1 day.

This page contains links to places that tell the story of World War II. I will update the page as I visit other locations around the world.

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I was born in London, England. For me, World War II is personal because my parents, grandparents, and most of my family lived through the war in London or wherever they were sent to defend my homeland. And World War II partly explains why I live in America and not England.

We lived in a house where my mother was trapped in a closet beneath the stairs when a nearby German bomb blast shattered windows and buckled the floor. During my childhood, World War II was an historic family marker—family events were told in terms of “before the war” or “after the war.”

After the US entered the war, an American soldier and one of my mother’s sisters fell in love. They married at a London church near in England. My aunt joined him in America and, a decade later, my American uncle sponsored us when my parents decided to emigrate.

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United Kingdom

Imperial War Museum, London England World War II commands considerable space in the history of British wars.

Imperial War Museum North - Manchester

HMS Belfast, River Thames, London, England

Churchill War Rooms, London, England

Bletchley Park, England Discover the role of British and allied intelligence efforts to break enemy codes.

Castletown D-Day Centre, Portland, England - Interactive Museum of the Dockyard where Americans embarked for Normandy

Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, Cambridge England

Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth, England See stories of the British Navy at war.

Royal Army Museum, London, England Learn the history of the British Army.

Royal Air Force Museum, London, England See the planes that fought in the Battle of Britain and note the tribute to the United States Air Force.

European Continent

D-Day Overview and Timeline

France

Pegasus Bridge, Benouville, Normandy, France

Utah Beach Normandy, France

Sainte-Mère-Église, Normandy, France

Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, France

The Battle of Merville Gun Battery

Grand Bunker Museum, Ouistreham, Normandy, France

Hungary: Shoes on the Danube Memorial, Budapest

United States

The United States officially entered World War II following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. The US led the allies in defeating the Axis of Germany, Italy, and Japan.

World War II Museum, New Orleans, Louisiana.

This massive complex tells the story of America at War in Europe and the Pacific in large buildings full of artefacts and audio-visual presentations.

The Road to Berlin

The Road to Tokyo

D-Day at the World War II Museum

Boeing Center at the World War II Museum

World War II Memorial, Washington, DC

Holocaust Memorial Museum Washington, DC

Truman Library and Museum, Independence Missouri

See my website www.suttong.com

Check out my YouTube travel Channel

24 May 2019

Utah Beach Normandy France

American troops landed on Utah Beach 6 June 1944 (D-Day and H-Hour, 06:30). The American contribution to the liberation of France is recognized in monuments at this site.

I visited the site 8 March 2012. It is an impressive reminder of the importance of the United States to the liberation of Europe. The allied unit was the 4th U.S. Infantry Division.

Here's a map to see where the U.S. and other allies landed on that significant day in world history. Utah is the furthest landing point of Operation Overlord, the Normandy Invasion on 6 June 1944. The area is about 3 miles across.

At the end of the day, 23,500 American soliders and 1,700 vehicles landed. And 197 Americans died. They progressed about 4 miles to be within a mile of Sainte-Mère-Église.

Read more about D-Day and World War II at this site.

https://suttontravels.blogspot.com/2019/05/d-day-allies-invade-nazi-europe.html

23 May 2019

D-Day Allies Invade Nazi Europe An Overview and Timeline

D-Day was 6 June 1944.

I was in Normandy, France for the 75th anniversary events. The sacrifices were incredible! So many died in the pursuit of freedom. D-Day was the beginning of the end of World War II.

Many Flags- People working together

D-Day is the day, the Allied forces of the United States, Great Britain, and Canada amassed the largest armada in history to invade German occupied France and liberate Western Europe forcing Germany and Italy out of World War II.

The “D” refers to the designated day for the operation and the “H” in H-hour is the hour a scheduled operation began.

Troops from other allied nations were also represented: France, Poland, Belgium, Netherlands, Australia, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Norway, and New Zealand.

Other nations were involved in the war effort at many other locations around the world. It was truly, and sadly, a world war.

Five Beaches of the D-Day Invasion

On 4 June, chief meteorologist James Stagg of Scotland told U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower the weather looked good for 6 June. On 5 June Eisenhower gave the order for Operation Overlord—telling the troops, "The eyes of the world are upon you".

The invasion forces left southern England on 5 June 1944.

5 June On Our Way

17:00 The largest armada in world history left the south coast of England with troops, supplies, and ammunition. Eventually, naval forces would include 6,939 warships and vessels: 4, 126 landing crafts and boats, 1,213 combat ships, 736 other craft, and 864 merchant ships.

22:00 Airborne troops make final checks and begin boarding Horsa Gliders.

D-Day 6 June 1944

00:16 British paratroopers land on target at two bridges later named Pegasus and Horsa, on the path to Caen (Read more about Pegasus Bridge).

00:26 British forces defeat Germans to take Pegasus bridge. A nearby house (now a museum) is among the first liberated from German occupation.

Pegasus Bridge, Normandy / Geoff Sutton 2012

01:11 German General Marcks gets word of paratroopers, but decides to wait.

01:55 American paratroopers land around Sainte-Mère-Eglise on the path to Cherbourg. After several hours of fighting, the first village is liberated (Read more about the Americans at Sainte-Mère-Eglise).

U.S. Paratrooper Survives at Sainte-Mère-Eglise

04:30 British capture the Merville Battery (Read more about the British at Merville).

05:23 Allied warships begin firing on the German defenses along the coast. Naval operations were under the command of British Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay.

06:00 American bombers join British bombers, but many bombs fall behind the German defenses. Over 2,000 British, Canadian, and American bombers attacked areas along the coast.

Landing Craft- National WWII Museum, New Orleans

6:30 H-Hour: Americans land on Omaha and Utah Beaches in specially designed landing craft (Higgin's Boats). The US zones were under the command of General Omar Bradley.

Utah Beach/ Geoff W Sutton 2012

07:00 U.S. Rangers scale the cliffs to attack the guns of Pointe-du-hoc (Read more about the Americans at Pointe-du-Hoc).

Pointe-du-Hoc, Normandy / Geoff W Sutton 2012

7:25 British forces land on Sword and Gold Beaches.

British land at Sword Beach/ WWII Museum

Gold Beach in 2019

7:55 Canadian and British forces land on Juno Beach.

9:00 African-American Soldiers of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion reach the beaches. Their task to construct a curtain of hydrogen-filled balloons with steel cables over the beaches. Read more at NBC.

9:32 BBC broadcasts that the allies have landed in France to audiences in the UK and worldwide.

10:15 German General Rommel learns of the invasion and returns to France. He had been celebrating a birthday in Germany.

11:00 Americans secure Vierville.

11:15 Canadians and British capture Saint Aubin-sur-Mer (Calvados).

12:00 Hitler at his Bavarian Alps Headquarters believes the allies will be driven back.

14:00 Soldiers continue to land with equipment.

14:30 Allies reach Caen but do not capture it. Germans execute previously captured French resistance fighters.

15:00 The first sections of ingeniously designed prefabricated harbours arrive (Mulberry Harbours) from England.

18:00 German Panzer division attacks British forces.

20:00 British and Canadians join forces and approach Bayeux.

20:10 Canadians capture Taillerville.

21:00 More than 140,000 Allies have landed along 55 miles.

At the end of D-Day, 4,413 allies died. Many are buried in the cemeteries at Normandy. When we consider the entire battle of Normandy, more than 425,000 men were killed, injured, or missing. Among the allied airmen, 16,714 died and 37,00 died amongst the ground forces.

Remembering

Further Reading and Resources

D-Day Normandy Landing Beaches by Holt and Holt

D-Day Illustrated Edition by Stephen E. Ambrose

D-Day Visitor's Handbook

D-Day Girls The Spies Who Armed the Resistance...

75th Anniversary of D-Day -- Video Clips from YouTube

An overview of our photos and video clips- including the Red Arrows flyover

The New British Memorial in Normandy

PM Theresa May stops for a visit.

Marching Band plays at the end of the Ceremony

The BBC coverage of the 75th Anniversary Ceremony

Places to Visit

Churchill War Rooms, London

Imperial War Museum-London

National World War II Museum, New Orleans, Louisiana USA

This museum complex is worth 2-3 days to begin to appreciate the scope of the global war.

D-Day Exhibit

Early Days and Home Front

Road to Berlin

Path to Tokyo

Planes of World War II

World War II Memorial, Washington DC

Holocaust Museum, Washington DC

Chicago Museum Science & Industry:

German U-Boat and Allied warplanes

Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy, France

More Websites

https://www.bbc.com/timelines/z9k99j6

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-10-things-you-need-to-know-about-d-day

22 May 2019

Pointe du Hoc Normandy France

Pointe du Hoc is a monument constructed by the French to honor the courageous assault on this German defense site above the American landing sites of Omaha and Utah beaches. The American Rangers were under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James E. Rudder. On 6 June 1944, the men climbed the 100-foot cliffs to disable the position.

The Rangers left their landing crafts at 7:10 a.m. and reached the top by 7:40 a.m. amidst heavy enemy fire.

A monument stone marks the event.

Photos of the site.

Additional Reading/ References

https://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/pointe-du-hoc-ranger-monument

https://www.wwiifoundation.org/films/15128-2/

Connections

My Page www.suttong.com

My Books AMAZON GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton PhD

PINTEREST www.pinterest.com/GeoffWSutton

Publications (many free downloads)

Academia Geoff W Sutton (PhD)

ResearchGate Geoffrey W Sutton (PhD)

D-Day The Battle of Merville Gun Battery

The Merville Gun Battery was part of the German “Atlantic Wall” defenses against an allied invasion. The Merville Gun Battery was assigned to a the British under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Terence Otway.

Otway’s parachute troops were scattered wide of the target. He began the assault just before 3:00 am on D-Day (6 June 1944) with about 150 of 540 troops. The actual attack began about 4:15 am. The fighting was fierce and included hand-to-hand combat. After about 20-minutes the Germans surrendered.

German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel ordered rapid completion of the site in March 1944. This site consisted of a command bunker, a trench system, and thick concrete casemates. The defense included a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun and several machine guns in an enclosed area surrounded by two fences of five (or six)-foot-high barbed wire, which was more than 10 feet wide. A minefield lay between the barbed wire fences. On the beach side was an anti-tank ditch, which was 10 feet deep and 14 feet wide.