Blog
Normandy Tour 2007
A Wargamer’s Guide to D-Day
Last year I organized, with the help of my brother, a one-week tour of the Battle of the Bulge. The tour was tailored for war-gamers, wherein we toured the Ardennes during the day and broke out the war games at night. It was very successful and all the participants expressed their enjoyment and appreciation. This year, with the help of two D-Day/Normandy grognards who I met on the Bulge Tour (Tray Green and Capt. James Wombell), I’m excited to announce another Band-of-Gamers event: a one-week Normandy tour.
I don’t think you will find a better tour of Normandy. We’ve got it all planned, down to knowing every gun-emplacement, museum, or point of interest in Normandy. There are hundreds of sights to see and a dozen D-Day/WWII museums. We will take you to the best spots, and show you places that you would never see on a regular public tour.
This year we are fully insured. We will travel in 2 large 8-seater vans so we can form a group of 16 people. The price of the tour is $1200 and includes lodging, transportation, breakfast and lunch for the entire week. You will be responsible for your air ticket and nightly meals. We will greet you at the airport and drop you back off a week later.
| Itinerary “Kelly’s got it all figured out” |
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Day 1
ARRIVAL DAY: We’ll pick you up at the Paris airport between 9am and 11am Sunday morning. Traveling in two large comfortable vans we’ll drive you to Bayeux (see the D-Day Museum), then over to the coast at Arromanches where we will stay for 3 nights. There will be gaming almost every night. We have prepared or designed scenarios using existing games (Combat Commander, miniatures, etc.) to highlight the sights we’ll see each day. Day 2
We’ll start the day with a stop at a building that has a good claim to being the first building liberated in Europe–the Gondree Cafe. After coffee at the cafe we will visit the Pegasus Bridge sites, Merville Battery or Strong Point Hillman before heading North to Ouistreham, Sword Beach, Le Grand Bunker, Lion sur Mer, St Aubin sur Mer and then back to Arromanches. Day 3
We’ll get a relaxed start on this day to allow you to enjoy the village of Arromanches. We’ll hit Gold Beach, the Mulberry Museum, Courseulles sur Mer, Juno Beach, and the Juno Beach museum. Then back to Arromanches. We are close to the downtown area of Arromanches for those who like to wake up early and get cappuccino and pastries. Day 4
Longues sur Mer Battery (the only battery on the D-Day beaches that still has it’s original guns), Colleville cemetery, Omaha Beach and museum, and Point du Hoc (cratering still there – moonscape – very impressive – might get to the field where the guns from Point du Hoc were moved and destroyed on D-Day). Then to our lodging at the Chateau Bellenue outside of Carentan. Day 5
We wil start the day off visiting the causways at Chef du Pont and la Fiere before going into Ste. Mere Eglise. Following stops at Ste. Marie du-Mont and Pouppeville we will visit Utah beach and the museum and markers there. Then back inland to visit beach exits and the batteries at Crisbecq and Azeville. Once again, we’ll stay at the Chateau Bellenue. Day 6
We’ll make quick stops in Carentan and St. Lo with a possible stop at a brand new museum with a C-47 simulator (this museum is currently under construction – inclusion in the tour will depend on its being completed and its hours of operation working with our schedule). Then run down to Falaise to visit the museum there and a stop by the gap with the memorial to the Poles. Drive to Saumur (on the Loir River west of Tours) and stay the night. Day 7
We will spend all morning at the famous Musee des Blindes This museum features over 850 armored vehicles. Afterwards we’ll drive to Chartres to see the Cathredral. Then on to Paris where we will drop you off at De Gaul Airport. |
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Lording |
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| Cost |
| The cost of this tour is $1200. We will take care of your lodging, car rental, gas, museums, breakfast, lunch, maps, Normandy trivia and driving. All you have to take care of is your own air ticket and nightly meals. Ticket prices to Europe range from about $550 to $850 depending where you depart from in the US. top |
| Signing Up |
| THIS TOUR IS LIMITED TO 16 PEOPLE! Contact either Tray or Mark and we’ll get you signed up. Tray Green 3009 Pinewood Cir. Manhattan, KS 66502 Tel: 785-341-6762 Email: trayg@abandofgamers.com Mark Simonitch 13 Amity Ln. Rockwall, TX 75087 Tel: 972-771-7567 Email: Simon7itch@aol.com Request More Information top |
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Troop List so far… |
| Mark Simonitch Capt James Wombwell Tray Green Jerry Axel Peter Caton Diana Devereaux John Devereaux Brent Hathhorn Chris Hathhorn Todd Hively Danny Holte Chad Jensen Elliot Kwock Victor Louie Mark Merritt Marty Sample Sean Vessey John Wilson top |
| Misc. |
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| Questions? Q: OK, I’m interested, when do I have to commit? A: At anytime. Sending $120 will secure you a spot. Send the remaining $1080 at the first week of July – our deposits are due then. Q: If I have to cancel at the last minute can I get my money back? A: If somebody is available to take your slot, all the money that you have sent so far (that includes deposit) will be refunded. And we will help as much as we can to fill the slot. If the slot is not filled, we will refund $200. Q: Can I bring my wife? A: Yes, as long as she can put up with 15 wargamers for a week. Q: What kind of accomodations will be provided? A: Unless otherwise stated, all rates are based on double occupancy. If you will be joining the tour as a single, we will pair you up with another gamer. Q: I can only make it part of the week. Can I still come at a reduce rate? A: You can come for just part of the week, but the rate would stay the same. A lot of the museum and lodging prices are based on group rates. Q: Has the countryside changed much since 1944? A: The area has been rebuilt and there has been a lot of growth. The memorials and museums were substantially enhanced for the 50th and 60th Anniversaries. That being said, there is a remarkable amount of unimproved/non-commercial remnants of the German defenses to be seen. We will also have several opportunities to take remarkable then and now shots. Q: Is this a GMT event? A: No. This is a Band of Gamers event. Q: What if the $/Euro rate goes up? A: Your costs are fixed. Q: I’d like to go to a certain spot in Normandy. Can you make special trips? A: Yes, special trips will be accommodated as much as possible. Let us know a head of time. Q: So you say “tours by gamers for gamers”… What exactly does that mean? A: It means that being historical gamers ourselves, we have tried to design into our tours the kind of things we (as gamers) would appreciate. We will hit the major memorials and museums, but we will also include minor stops that would not be on a typical tour. Every evening we will give you gaming opportunities and conduct map briefings relating to the stops on the tour. We will choose lodging not only based on typical amenities but also on suitable areas for extended gaming and briefings. Q: Which games will you be using on the tour and why? A: On the Normandy 2007 tour we will be using GMT’s Combat Commander, Fantasy Flight’s Tide of Iron and a home brewed version of the Seven Coffins for Seven Brothers system. Both systems have been selected with scale, ease of Introduction (we want to get everyone up and playing) and speed of play (we will be spending all day touring, want to allow you to sample the local food for dinner, play some games and still get a good nights rest). That being said, we will have space for additional gaming. So if you would like to bring along anything from SPI’s Normandy to New England’s Killing Ground – ASL to Axis and Allies, feel free. We would love to see you bring and play anything you would like. Q: I would rather go to the Ardennes. When are you going back there? A: In 2008 we will tour the Battle of the Bulge again. If the Normandy tour fills up, and there is enough interest, we will consider tacking on an Ardennes Tour after the D-Day tour (October 15th – 22st). top |
The first 3 nights of the tour, we will stay just inland of Gold beach at 
After visiting Omaha Beach we will spend 2 nights at 
