Adventures Online: A Look at WWII in London & Normandy

1:00 p.m. Welcome and Orientation. The Group Leader will greet everyone and review the program theme, the up-to-date daily schedule and any changes, Zoom meeting protocols, roles and responsibilities, and answer any questions. 1:15 p.m. Lecture. Dr. Spencer Jones will give us a presentation on Allied Planning for D-Day. From the summer of 1940 onwards, Allied planners pondered how they might one day liberate Europe from the Nazis. Numerous options were considered and rejected, exposing a rift between American aggression and British caution. We will learn about this difficult planning process and examine why the Allies eventually agreed on the Normandy landings. The lecture will be followed by Q&A. 2:45 p.m. Break. 3:00 p.m. Introductions. We’ll say hello to one another during group introductions facilitated by our Group Leader. 3:15 p.m. Virtual field trip. Historian Ruth Polling will lead us virtually through the streets of Westminster to explore the impact of the war on the city by the time of the D-Day landings and the new bombing campaign unleashed against London in 1944. In Britain’s center of monarchy and political power, we will learn about the role of the royal family, where key decisions were made, and the experiences ordinary Londoners had lived through since the outbreak of war. Among the highlights we will see are Buckingham Palace; Guards’ Chapel; Queen Anne’s Gate; Churchill War Rooms; Horse Guards Parade; the Women at War Memorial; Parliament Square; the Palace of Westminster; and Westminster Abbey. We’ll also have Q&A. 4:45 p.m. Wrap-up and notes for tomorrow. 4:50 p.m. Today’s session will end.

1:00 p.m. Lecture. Dr. Spencer Jones will address German planning to resist D-Day. From 1942 onwards, the Germans had considered how to defend occupied Europe from an Allied seaborne invasion. This resulted in the construction of Hitler’s vaunted “Atlantic Wall” that ringed the coast of France, and the deployment of mobile forces to resist any landings. Yet German preparations were hampered by infighting and Hitler’s frequent interference. Dr. Jones will examine the strengths and weaknesses of German defenses on the eve of D-Day. The lecture will be followed by Q&A. 2:30 p.m. Break. 2:45 p.m. Virtual field trip. Nettah Yoeli-Rimmer will lead our experience of D-Day and the Normandy Beaches. The D-Day landings were the greatest seaborne invasion in history, in a location that was the “least worst” option, but far from ideal. We will look at the geography of the Normandy beaches and surrounding countryside, examine strategic sites such as Pegasus Bridge, and discuss the logistics of the operation in greater detail. We’ll also explore the consequences of D-Day for the landscape and “visit” some of the monuments to that heroic day. We’ll also have Q&A. 4:15 p.m. Wrap-up and notes for tomorrow. 4:30 p.m. Today’s session will end.

1:00 p.m. Virtual field trip. Nettah Yoeli-Rimmer will lead our experience of the Battle for Normandy and the liberation of Paris. D-Day itself was merely the beginning of a much larger and decisive operation. Three months after the landings, Allied forces marched into Paris and liberated the city from German control. We will learn about these events and the path to Paris. We’ll also examine the divisive yet heroic figure of Charles de Gaulle and see some key sites in Paris that still bear the memory of August 1944. With Q&A. 2:30 p.m. Break. 2:45 p.m. Interactive discussion on wartime Britain and the Normandy landings with Spencer Jones, Ruth Polling, and Nettah Yoeli-Rimmer. Our discussion will end with Q&A. 4:15 p.m. Wrap-up and farewells. 4:30 p.m. This concludes our program.