Possibly the most famous set of trenches in Normandy - a site which turned a group of exceptional men into global icons following one of the boldest assaults in WW2 history.

Brecourt Manor was the location of a trench system which once housed four positions for 105mm cannons, each covering the nearby Utah Beach area and roads the allies needed to use to get their men and armour off the beach.
Lt Richard D Winters and his men from the 101st were tasked with silencing the guns in an attack which proved that a small band of men can destroy a major gun position with the right tactics and bravery. The assault is still taught in US military academies to this day.

On the ground the site is a very different picture to that which has been portrayed on the big screen in Band of Brothers series – the trenches aren’t zigzagged at all, the tree where Carwood Lipton covered the advance is no longer there, and there never was a car in the hedgerow where the paratroopers fired from.
The trenches have gradually filled in over the years but in recent months a series of archaeological digs have taken place along the trench line and there have been some interesting finds. These are due to be revealed in a special display at the nearby Utah Beach Museum soon.

Please note this is private land and an working farm so no access is allowed. Our friends and Brécourt owner allowed us to photograph and fly our drone over the site and we enjoy listening to Monsieur de Vallavieille recalling the amazing history behind the site and his family’s first-hand involvement in D-Day.
It was his father, Michel, who was mistakenly shot by US soldiers and was evacuated to Britain for treatment, returning later to establish the Utah Beach museum and 101st Airborne Memorial nearby.