làThe place where History was written☀️ Summer❄️ WinterOpen airUnmissable🍁 Fall🌱 Spring Posted on 29.06.2025
After visiting the Mémorial de Caen, why not continue your tour by visiting one of the D-day landing beaches: Sword Beach, the only landing beach where French commandos actually landed.
Sword beach, the place where french commandos landed
The first thing we noticed when we arrived at Sword Beach, is that it looked a lot like Omaha Beach with large stretches of fine sand. We easily understood why these beaches were chosen to ease the Landing.
At 7.23 am on 6 June 1944, the two barges carrying the 177 French commandos under the command of Captain Kieffer landed on the beach at Colleville-sur-Orne (now Colleville-Montgomery) at a place known as ‘La Brèche’.
The commandos’ primary objective was to liberate Ouistreham, a mission they accomplished despite the loss of seven commandos, including the medic. They set off again for Colleville-sur-Orne before heading for Pegasus Bridge.
We pass by the statue of Bill Millin, the famous bagpiper, which pays tribute to all pipers.
A little further on, we came across D-day Landing vestiges such as blockhauses and the famous “dragon’ teeth” that were used to impede the movement of the tanks. But we had to keep our eyes open because they can be difficult to see, since they are sometimes covered with sand and nature.
A bit further, “the flame” memorial fascinated us. We climbed the 7 steps that separated us from the monument. Each step represents one of the 7 soldiers killed on Sword Beach. On the headstone we could read the names of the fallen soldiers, and next to it, there is a stone statue bearing the effigy of the Commanding Officer Kieffer.
Back at the Ouistreham Tourist Office, we climb onto the roof terrace to relive 6 June 1944 on Sword Beach. Thanks to the Soldat Léon experience, we can relive in augmented reality the landing of the French soldiers of the Commando Kieffer through the testimony of Léon Gautier. It’s a must-try if you want to learn more about the duty of remembrance!
To the east of the beach, a memorial stone commemorates the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings with two excerpts from famous speeches by Winston Churchill. Behind the memorial stone, figures relating to the landings at Sword Beach and the 6 June 2014 commemoration are displayed.
In 2024, to mark the 80th anniversary, the town of Ouistreham Riva-Bella planted 177 Trees of Liberty, in tribute to the 177 French soldiers of Commando Kieffer. Each tamarisk tree is linked to a French soldier sponsored by two schoolchildren from Ouistreham Riva-Bella.
We like
- Discover the very place where the French landed
- Find the remains of the D-Day landings on the beach
- The Tree of Liberty, a symbol of peace
