The Royal Air Force At Omaha Beach

Chapter 2 - The Normandy coast before D-Day

A series of photos taken on June 30, 1943, of and near Vierville-sur-Mer, when the Germans had begun destroying seaside villas

(The photos sweep the coast from right to left viewed from the sea, West to East. Perversely, they should be read from left to right, top to bottom if viewed on a PC, laptop or tablet, and from top to bottom on a smart phone.)

The descent from Vierville, with the anti-tank wall. In the background the castle, and the Than manor.
Immediately further east, in the background, the castle, Than manor and the church.
Next, Mount Olive.
Mount Olive and the villas further on to the East.
The location of the current villas Cordelle, Prost, Ponsart, Godard.
The villa Les Hortensias (belonging to the Hardelay family)
The Hardelay and Chevalier villas.
The villas Chevalier, Fortescu and others to the East.
A little to the right of the current Philippe Marchal villa.
The last villa of Vierville (Davidoff) and the hamlet of Moulins in St-Laurent.

The villa “Les Hortensias” in 1944, after D-Day (owned by the Hardelay family)

Almost as if there was no war…

A German military band plays in the garden of the Parmentier villa, circa 1941
The western part of the beach and the town of Vierville, June 30, 1943, montage by Thierry Nicolle