The easternmost landing beach, Sword was anchored by the port of Ouisterham at the eastern end. A short distance inland is Pegasus Bridge, where the first gliders landed in the early hours to capture the two bridges over the Orne canal. Slightly further over lays the Merville Gun battery, scene of further airborne troop landings.The Cafe Gondre and the Pegasus Memorial museum are a "must" visit. Now replaced by a new one, but the original bridge sits in the museum grounds. Markers nearby show just how close the 3 main gliders managed to land. When you see this, you cannot fail to be amazed by how close they got to the target, and in the pitch dark. Look at the displays inside the cafe, and buy a coffee to sit outside and watch the world go by this most historic landing site.
In Ouisterham itself, go to the Atlantic Wall Museum, located in a large wartime observation bunker just 100 yards or so behind the beach. There is also a Flak position on the roof.Out on the beach itself, today it is a wide sandy expanse that is ideal for a beach holiday. Hard to imagine it now, covered in obstacles, under fire, and covered with the debris of the intitial landing, along with troops, vehicles and supplies churning up the beach.The Merville Gun Battery, with some bunkers still under water, is well kept and well worth a look round. Again, it is easier now that there are no trenches, barbed wire or mines to trap the unwary.
Sword
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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