Beyond Band of Brothers

June 6, 2009 will mark the 65^th anniversary of D-Day: the Allied Invasion of Europe during World War II.  The 1944 assault on Nazi-occupied northern Europe was the largest in the history of amphibious warfare and represented a major turning point in World War II.   A unique History tour offered by Beyond Band of Brothers retraces the Allied advance through Western Europe.   Based on the award-winning HBO mini-series that follows the path of the 101^st Airborne “Easy Company”, Beyond Band of Brothers features local people who witnessed these historic events.

The tour begins in Littlecote House, England at the 506^th  Parachute Infantry Regiment Command center, where “Operation Overlord” was staged.  The German Army anticipated an attack coming from Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel. However, Allied forces focused on the beaches near Caen.  

A ferry transports the tour across the English Channel to the coast of Normandy where 20,000 Allied airborne troops parachuted into France.  Because of foggy conditions and anti-aircraft fire, paratroopers were scattered over a wide area of the beaches.  Nearly 1500 soldiers from 2 airborne divisions were killed or captured.   The Beyond Band of Brothers tour visits Utah Beach, Brecourt Manor and Dead Man’s Corner Museum, as well as the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer.  

As the war progressed, the 101^st Airborne Division was called upon to lead the assault in Nijmegen, Netherlands, where the Operation Market Garden campaign began. The paratroopers were to secure the innumerable dikes, ditches and canals to allow ground troops to continue their assault on German forces.  The Beyond Band of Brothers tour focuses on these battles throughout the Netherlands and into Belgium.

The Battle of the Bulge, outside of Bastogne, Belgium was the bloodiest of the battles that US forces experienced in WWII:  19,000 American dead.   US forces eventually prevailed and “Easy Company” remained in Bastogne clearing the way for ground reinforcements.  Battle sites as well as the Mardasson monument and Fort Boggs are part of the tour.   General George S Patton and many of the “Easy Company” soldiers are buried in the American Cemetary in Hamm, Luxembourg; another stop on the Beyond Band of Brothers itinerary.    

The tour visits concentration camps liberated by the American army in Bavaria including Dachau and  a courthouse where war criminal trials were held.  “Easy Company” captured The Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s vacation retreat in Berchtesgaden at the end of WWII.   Beyond Band of Brothers also visits Dokumentation Obersalzberg, an exhibit on the history of the Third Reich   

Companion tour:    

While the tour caters to the “history buff”, it also offers a unique option:   a Companion tour which runs parallel to the History Tour.   The Companion tour veers into London for a day of sightseeing and shopping, then travels by Eurostar high-speed train to Paris.   The 2 day Paris visit includes the Louve, a city tour and free time for shopping or museums.  The Companion Tour then rejoins the History Tour in the Netherlands.  A city tour of Amsterdam and a walking tour of Nijmegen are featured.   Both groups travel together for the remainder of the tour, but the Companion tour includes sightseeing tours of Luxembourg, Munich and Salzburg.

The 10 day tours begin in mid-April and run through October.  For prices and available dates, please contact me!

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