Broadcast United

British paratroopers had to undergo passport checks when entering France after the Normandy landings

Broadcast United News Desk
British paratroopers had to undergo passport checks when entering France after the Normandy landings

[ad_1]

British paratroopers asked to show passports after parachuting France Before Normandy Landing Commemoration.

Hundreds of soldiers parachuted into the same rural drop zone Used during the Normandy landings 80 years ago Wednesday, Sanneville, Normandy.

More than 300 soldiers jumped into the battlefieldAfter landing, they were greeted by a makeshift customs counter where French immigration officials asked them to show their travel documents.

The crowd also went to watch the jump and after landing the troops were given a huge round of applause.

More than 300 soldiers parachuted, including jumpers from Belgium and the United States
More than 300 soldiers parachuted, including jumpers from Belgium and the United States Jordan Pettit/PA Wire

Brigadier General Mark Berry, commander of the 16th Air Assault Brigade, told sun: “This is something we’ve never experienced before.

“But considering the royal welcome we’ve received elsewhere, it seems a small price to pay for coming to France.”

American soldiers also had to be checked when they landed, but the Belgian troops bypassed the checks because they were EU citizens.

French immigration official Jonathan Monty said the drop station was set up to “welcome British soldiers.”

He said sun: “We are doing immigration control, we are not supposed to be out in the field. But for this special event, for the 80th anniversary, we welcome British soldiers.”

Hundreds of soldiers parachuted into the same rural drop zone in Normandy as they did during the D-Day landings 80 years ago
Hundreds of soldiers parachuted into the same rural drop zone in Normandy as they did during the D-Day landings 80 years ago Jordan Pettit/PA Wire

British paratroopers jumped from three A400M military aircraft, mirroring the Royal Air Force Dakota drop 80 years ago. American and Belgian military aircraft followed in formation.

Capt. Mike Biggs was one of 250 soldiers with the Army’s 16th Air Assault Brigade who landed in a field near Sunnyvale. Normandy Wednesday, June 6, 1944, was the designated K drop zone.

Biggs, who is responsible for organizing joint training for paratroopers from the two countries, said Wednesday’s skydive was “much easier” than the last one. D-Day Because the weather is fine.

He added: “It’s an honour for me to actually do this at night like the soldiers did 80 years ago.”

Troops are checked at a makeshift customs counter, where French immigration officials ask them to show their travel documents
Troops are checked at a makeshift customs counter, where French immigration officials ask them to show their travel documents Jordan Pettit/PA Wire

Thousands of Allied airborne troops descended into drop zones along the Normandy coast in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944. Ground forces subsequently landed along five assault beaches.

The paratroopers landed behind German lines and were tasked with disrupting German defenses, capturing strategic bridges and establishing defensive positions.

The Ministry of Defence said no known veterans of the D-Day landings had been to Normandy from the British Army’s 6th Airborne Division.

[ad_2]

Source link

Share This Article
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *