The beautiful Medieval town of Saumur has a long history of conflict dating back centuries, but it’s the actions just after D-Day in June 1944 which have perhaps become its most notable.
Saumur’s impressive 10th Century castle was originally constructed to protect the Loire River crossing the town straddles from attacks by Norman armies from the north. It also saw action during the Battle of Saumur in 1793 between the French Republic and the Catholic Armies.

As German forces swept across France in May 1940, the town stood firm against the invaders with the teenage cadets from the local Cavalry School defending the area until finally being overrun by a much more powerful adversary.

On June 8th and 9th, 1944 – days after the D-Day landing to the north in Normandy – Allied forces undertook a raid to destroy the Loire railway crossing at Saumur. The raid was an attempt to slow the progress of German Panzer Divisions, including the infamous 2nd SS Das Reich Division - as they made their way north via the road and rail network to reinforce the Normandy front with heavy armour.
The task was handed to the RAF’s 617 Squadron – better known as ‘The Dambusters’ – whose specially adapted Lancaster bombers targeted the railway bridge and tunnel at Saumur with a new bomb called a ‘Tallboy’.
These 12,000lb ‘earthquake bombs’ were the Allies’ most powerful weapon at the time and, thanks to target marking by Mosquito and Lancaster aircraft, the latter from 83 Squadron, they scored several hits on the areas around the bridge and a direct hit on the tunnel itself, putting the rail line temporarily out of action. This was the first time Tallboys had been used during the Second World War.

Towards the end of June, it was the turn of the US Air Force to continue the disruption of this key transport link with one of their newest weapons, the Azon 1,000lb guided bomb, being used.
Targeting the narrow railway bridge, it was only the fourth time the precision bomb had been used in combat and unfortunately, they were unable to hit the spot. On June 24, the USAAF returned with conventional bombs and damaged the bridge over the river, putting it out of action.
Despite the scale of the air raids, today it’s difficult to spot any of the damage caused in the area.

Saumur is also home to France’s national armour museum - the famous Musee de Blindes – which boasts one of the largest collections of tanks and military vehicles in the world - check out our special feature on the museum in this section of our website, plus see walkarounds on our YouTube channel.