Arromanches-les-Bains is 12 km north-east ofBayeux and 10 km west ofCourseulles-sur-Mer on the coast where theNormandy landings took place onD-Day, 6 June 1944. Access to the commune is by the D514 road fromTracy-sur-Mer in the west passing through the town and continuing toSaint-Côme-de-Fresné in the east. The D87 road also goes from the town south toRyes. The D65 road goes east toMeuvaines. About a third of the commune is the urban area of the town with the rest farmland.[3]
Arromanches is remembered as a historic place of the Normandy landings and in particular as the place where aMulberry harbour artificial port was installed. This artificial port allowed the disembarkation of 9,000 tons of materiel per day.[citation needed]
It was on the beach of Arromanches that, during theInvasion of Normandy immediately after D-Day, the Allies established an artificial temporary harbour to allow the unloading of heavy equipment without waiting for the conquest of deep water ports such asLe Havre orCherbourg. Although at the centre of theGold Beach landing zone, Arromanches was spared the brunt of the fighting on D-Day so the installation and operation of the port could proceed as quickly as possible without damaging the beach and destroying surrounding lines of communication. The port was commissioned on 14 June 1944.[citation needed]
This location was one of two sites chosen to establish the necessary port facilities to unload quantities of supplies and troops needed for the invasion during June 1944, the other being built further west atOmaha Beach. The British built huge floating concrete caissons which, after being towed from England, then had to be assembled to form walls and piers forming and defining the artificial port called the Mulberry harbour. These comprised pontoons linked to the land by floating roadways. One of these ports was assembled at Arromanches and even today sections of the Mulberry harbour still remain with huge concrete blocks sitting on the sand and more can be seen further out at sea.[citation needed]
Some key figures: by 12 June 1944 more than 300,000 men, 54,000 vehicles, 104,000 tons of supplies had been landed. During 100 days of operation of the port 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles, and 4 million tons of materiel were landed. The best performance of the port was in the last week of July 1944: during those seven days the traffic through Arromanches exceeded 136,000 tons or 20,000 tons per day.[citation needed]
Today, Arromanches is mainly a tourist town. Situated in a good location for visiting all of the battle sites and war cemeteries, there is also a museum at Arromanches with information aboutOperation Overlord and in particular, the Mulberry harbours.[4]
On 21 September 2013Bradford-based sand sculpting companySand in Your Eye created a tribute called "The Fallen 9,000". It was a temporary sculpture project—a visual representation of 9,000 people drawn in the sand which equates the number of civilians, German forces and Allies that died during the D-day landings. It coincided withPeace Day, and was washed away with the tide at the end of the day.[5]
Azure, an anchor of Or debruised by a mullet of Argent between two chains of Sable posed in chevron inverted broken, in chief Gules debruised by a leopard of Or armed and tongued Azure.
François Carpentier, son of Jules Carpentier, French architect and mayor of the commune. He created the Museum of the Landings in Arromanches.[citation needed]
Sylvie Joly owned a villa in the commune. Her father was mayor of the commune from 1947 to 1963.[citation needed]
TheBoisgelin family owned a large part of the commune and still have a large house.[citation needed]
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