Private Tour 3 Days WWII Dunkirk 1940 and Dieppe 1942 From Paris

Once the group has met and left Paris, we will be heading to Dunkirk where your guide will give you a guided tour of the town and the beach where Operation Dynamo took place in May 1940.

Close to the East Mole and the evacuation beaches, the Dunkirk War Museum is located in Bastion 32, the headquarters for the French and Allied forces during the Battle of Dunkirk and Operation Dynamo. The Dunkirk War Museum tells the incredible story of the Battle of Dunkirk and Operation DYNAMO in May-June 1940, the largest evacuation effort in military history. The museum houses a rich collection of weapons, uniforms, models, photos and maps of military operations.

With its buildings buried under the sand, the Fort des Dunes is a remarkable example of a military installation designed by General Séré de Rivières. It was built in 1878, at the same time as the Zuydcoote Battery, to protect Dunkirk and its port from attacks from the east. During the Second World War the Fort des Dunes was at the heart of Operation Dynamo, the biggest evacuation operation in military history, which allowed 338 000 allied soldiers to escape the Hell of Dunkirk. A hundred or so soldiers died under the intense German bombing and among them was General Janssen, commander of the 12th Motorised Infantry Division. Other dramatic events took place during the war, in particular, the execution of 8 members of the French resistance in 1944.

After 2 1/2 drive from Dunkirk to Dieppe, start the visit of Dieppe and learn about Operation Jubilee. In Dieppe all the details of Operation Jubilee will be presented by your guide. Operation Jubilee took place in 1942 and marks a milestone during WWII.

Located in the ancient municipal theater, built in 1926 next to the seaside, this Memorial maintains the Duty of Remembrance of the canadian and allied Raid of 1942, August 19th on Dieppe and the beaches from west to the east over 14 kms and shows collections, documents, uniforms, and a subtitled flm of archives pictures and interviews about this Raid, tragical event of the WWII.

It holds the bodies of 957 Allied soldiers, including 707 Canadians; 192 could not be identified. While the cemetery consists primarily of Canadian and British soldiers who died in Operation Jubilee, other men and one woman are also buried there. Dieppe was home to a military hospital in 1939 and 1940, where a number of soldiers succumbed to their wounds. There are also a great many graves of Allied pilots, because during the Second World War the department of Seine Maritime lay on the flight path to Germany and its factories, and was therefore a target for Allied bombing raids. In addition, the regiments that took part in the raid of 1942 were the same ones that liberated Dieppe in August 1944, which means there are gravestones for soldiers from the same regiments but who died two years later.

Drive back to Paris.

On our drive back to Paris, visit the Monet house and gardens.