Bespoke Tours
Utah Beach to Cherbourg
About This Tour
Capturing Cherbourg was one of the first major strategic objectives of the Normandy campaign. Without a deep-water port, the Allies would struggle to supply the armies advancing into France. This bespoke tour traces the American VII Corps advance from Utah Beach north through the Cotentin Peninsula: through the villages of the peninsula, past the German defensive lines, to the fortress of Cherbourg itself, besieged and taken in late June 1944. The German garrison demolished the port facilities as they surrendered, but the campaign to capture it was a textbook example of operational manoeuvre.
Detailed Itinerary
Capturing Cherbourg was one of the first great strategic objectives of the Normandy campaign, this tour traces the American VII Corps drive north through the Cotentin Peninsula to the vital Atlantic port.
Utah Beach
The starting point of the VII Corps drive north, the least costly of the D-Day landings, Utah Beach saw the 4th Infantry Division come ashore and immediately begin pushing inland to link up with the scattered paratroopers.
Sainte-Mère-Église
The first liberated town in France and the hub of the VII Corps' early advance north through the Cotentin, a strategic crossroads that had to be held while the division pushed toward Cherbourg.
Montebourg
The key road junction where the VII Corps advance initially stalled, as German reinforcements pushed south along the Cherbourg road. The fighting around Montebourg in mid-June 1944 was a preview of the resistance the Allies would face all the way to the port.
Valognes
The gateway to the Cherbourg peninsula proper, taken after fighting through Norman villages and bocage country as the VII Corps accelerated its drive north after breaking through at Montebourg.
Cherbourg
The fortress city, the Roule Fort, the outer ring of German defences, and the final surrender of the garrison on June 26, 1944. The German commander ordered the port facilities demolished before surrendering, but the city itself was taken after days of street fighting.
Tour Highlights
- Utah Beach
- Montebourg
- Valognes
- Cherbourg Fortress
- Cotentin Peninsula villages
What’s Included
- Expert specialist guide
- Private vehicle
- Battlefield maps