Battlefield Site Archives - Mechtraveller https://mechtraveller.com/category/attractionexperience/battlefield-site/ Mechanically-minded travel Tue, 05 May 2026 10:47:07 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Dynamo Museum Dunkirk, revisited https://mechtraveller.com/2026/02/dynamo-museum-dunkirk-revisited/ https://mechtraveller.com/2026/02/dynamo-museum-dunkirk-revisited/#respond Fri, 13 Feb 2026 16:11:57 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=12683 Operation Dynamo was the name given to the hurried extraction of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), plus allies (mostly French), from the beach at Dunkirk (Dunkerque) in May/June 1940. The Musée Dunkerque 1940 is located in Bastion 32, the headquarters for the French and Allied forces during the Battle of Dunkirk and Operation Dynamo. This […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2026/02/dynamo-museum-dunkirk-revisited/feed/ 0 The Airborne Museum, Sainte-Mère-Église – Updated https://mechtraveller.com/2025/10/the-airborne-museum-sainte-mere-eglise-updated/ https://mechtraveller.com/2025/10/the-airborne-museum-sainte-mere-eglise-updated/#comments Sun, 26 Oct 2025 14:46:59 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=12357 The Airborne Museum at Sainte-Mère-Église is considered a ‘must see’ for those touring Normandy, and it’s usually one of the first or last stops on a tour of the Normandy beaches because it’s out there on the western flank, which is exactly why the US airborne forces set out to capture it on the night […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2025/10/the-airborne-museum-sainte-mere-eglise-updated/feed/ 2 The Dives River Bridge Memorials, Normandy https://mechtraveller.com/2025/10/the-dives-river-bridge-memorials-normandy/ https://mechtraveller.com/2025/10/the-dives-river-bridge-memorials-normandy/#respond Sat, 18 Oct 2025 15:28:40 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=12339 The five bridges over the river Dives marked for destruction by Allied airborne forces on the night of 6 June 1944 are rarely visited these days, but they were crucial to securing the eastern flank of the D-Day landings. So it’s definitely worth exploring the area to get an understanding of the dangers faced in […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2025/10/the-dives-river-bridge-memorials-normandy/feed/ 0 The Wellington Quarry tunnels under Arras https://mechtraveller.com/2025/09/the-wellington-quarry-tunnels-under-arras/ https://mechtraveller.com/2025/09/the-wellington-quarry-tunnels-under-arras/#respond Thu, 11 Sep 2025 09:37:12 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=12018 The Wellington Quarry, or Carrière Wellington, is a World War I memorial, museum and battlefield site, in, or rather under, the streets of Arras in Pas-de-Calais, France. It played a significant role in hiding thousands of British & Commonwealth troops for weeks before unleashing them in a major assault on German lines in April 1917. […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2025/09/the-wellington-quarry-tunnels-under-arras/feed/ 0 Bullecourt 1917 Museum, Pas-de-Calais https://mechtraveller.com/2024/09/bullecourt-1917-museum-pas-de-calais/ https://mechtraveller.com/2024/09/bullecourt-1917-museum-pas-de-calais/#respond Sat, 21 Sep 2024 15:12:59 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=10516 The ‘Bullecourt 1917, Jean & Denise Letaille Museum’, to give it its full name, is the home of an evocative collection of WW1 artefacts collected and preserved by Bullecourt farmer and former mayor, Jean Letaille and his wife Denise. Jean had been finding battlefield relics in his fields for years. In fact, everyone did. In […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2024/09/bullecourt-1917-museum-pas-de-calais/feed/ 0 La Forteresse de Mimoyecques V3 Museum, Pas-de-Calais https://mechtraveller.com/2024/08/la-forteresse-de-mimoyecques-v3-museum-pas-de-calais/ https://mechtraveller.com/2024/08/la-forteresse-de-mimoyecques-v3-museum-pas-de-calais/#respond Sat, 03 Aug 2024 15:22:33 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=10435 The huge World War II underground site in a clay quarry at Mimoyecques was the secret location intended for several batteries of German ultra long range superguns, Hitler’s V3 weapon, aimed at London. The V-Weapon Programme The Third Reich’s propaganda ministry first mentioned a sinister programme of Vergeltungs-Waffen (retaliation weapons) in June 1944, as the […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2024/08/la-forteresse-de-mimoyecques-v3-museum-pas-de-calais/feed/ 0 Review: Memorial Pegasus, Normandy https://mechtraveller.com/2023/08/review-memorial-pegasus-normandy/ https://mechtraveller.com/2023/08/review-memorial-pegasus-normandy/#respond Thu, 17 Aug 2023 14:53:25 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=5307 Most people know that the famous airborne glider attack on Pegasus Bridge just after midnight on 6th June 1944 marked the start of D-Day, but I suspect many are a little confused about where exactly this dramatic action took place. At the east end of the landing beaches in Normandy, lies the town of Ouistreham […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2023/08/review-memorial-pegasus-normandy/feed/ 0 The New D-Day Landing Museum, Arromanches https://mechtraveller.com/2023/06/the-new-d-day-landing-museum-arromanches/ https://mechtraveller.com/2023/06/the-new-d-day-landing-museum-arromanches/#comments Sat, 17 Jun 2023 10:42:15 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=9124 Arromanches-les-Bains is the site of the famous Mulberry B Artificial Harbour and home to the D-Day Landing Museum, known locally as the ‘Musée du Débarquement, Arromanches’, which focuses on the astounding piece of engineering that still dominates the seascape today. My last visit to the museum was in 2019. Since then the old single storey […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2023/06/the-new-d-day-landing-museum-arromanches/feed/ 2 The mystery piece of wreckage from HMS Campbeltown in Saint-Nazaire https://mechtraveller.com/2022/11/the-mystery-piece-of-wreckage-from-hms-campbeltown-in-saint-nazaire/ https://mechtraveller.com/2022/11/the-mystery-piece-of-wreckage-from-hms-campbeltown-in-saint-nazaire/#respond Wed, 23 Nov 2022 15:40:20 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=8310 A piece of wreckage, thought to be from HMS Campbeltown was discovered in 2020 on the seabed and is now awaiting a new home. Other Saint-Nazaire Posts Operation Chariot Battlefield Trail in Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire Mystery Wreckage Submarine Espadon – Museum Ship EOL Centre éolien – Learning Centre Écomusée – Industrial Heritage Museum Escal’Atlantic – Transatlantic […]

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]]> https://mechtraveller.com/2022/11/the-mystery-piece-of-wreckage-from-hms-campbeltown-in-saint-nazaire/feed/ 0 Saint-Nazaire – The Operation Chariot Trail https://mechtraveller.com/2022/11/saint-nazaire-the-operation-chariot-trail/ https://mechtraveller.com/2022/11/saint-nazaire-the-operation-chariot-trail/#comments Wed, 23 Nov 2022 14:51:59 +0000 https://mechtraveller.com/?p=8308 On 28 March 1942, the Royal Navy and British Commandos attacked the docks at Saint-Nazaire in what became known as ‘The Greatest Raid of All’. The targets of the amphibious assault, Operation Chariot, and the key locations of the onshore skirmishes are still there, and Saint-Nazaire Tourisme has created a battlefield trail for visitors interested […]

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