The Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy

The Memorial Museum of the battle of Normandy is located next to the British military cemetery in Bayeux. The museum shows, step by step, how the Allies battled the German forces for ten weeks, from the Allied landings on D-Day until the withdrawal of the Wehrmacht beyond the River Seine.

The museum provides a 2000 square metre space where the military actions and the soldiers’ and civilians’ everyday life during the battle are illustrated by mannequins, pictures, weaponry and other means. In addition to the armour displayed outside, a vast hall houses vehicles and pieces of ordnance, as well as a diorama evoking the decisive struggle in the Falaise pocket. An archive film recounts the battle in both French and English.

The permanent exhibition is not limited to the armed confrontations, but also deals with aspects of a military campaign that are often ignored: the feeding of the troops, the care for the wounded, logistics, communication, engineering and so on. The significant role played by the Allied air forces is not forgotten either. Bayeux was the first city in France that was liberated. Therefore the museum also recalls the highly symbolic visit of general Charles de Gaulle a few days after the landings. His enthusiastic reception by the population of Bayeux led the Allies (and 3specially U.S. president F.D. Roosevelt) to recognise him as the only legitimate leader of France.