The long, wide, sandy beach of Omaha gained the infamy of Bloody Omaha, as so well portrayed in the beginning of "Saving Private Ryan". That was set at the Western end of the beach, near Vierville. Here remain 2 large gun bunkers,and once you get right up to one, you can look through a mesh cover to see a heavily rusted Pak 41 still inside. Just stand in front and look along the beach. You can see right over to the far side of the Omaha Beach landing area, and it is all in range of the gun.Behind the beaches are bluffs which still hold the bunkers of strongpoints. Today some appear to be used as store sheds in private gardens.Above the centre of the beach stand the US Cemetery, with 9,000 white marble crosses marking the final resting place of men from all the US Services, army, navy and air forces, and who came from all parts of America. The chapels and memorials of this immaculate site need to be seen. The view down onto the beaches also gives a good idea of the view of the defenders who were shooting down on the troops caught up in the wet sand of the landing.Near Vierville are 2 museums, both full of original bits of kit that will provide any modeller with a cornucopia of reference material with a camera in hand.
Omaha
There is just no substitute for visiting the real battlefields of WW2 in Europe if you have an opportunity to do so.
Links to other Small Scale Scene sites:-
Small Scale Scene Main Site
Military Modelling website
Section 2 - Normandy, Battlefields and even more models...
Small Scale Scene - The Real Battlefields
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