World War II
No single conflict has affected so many people over such a wide area as the war that engulfed the world from 1939. The Second World War truly is the defining act of the Twentieth Century. A clash of extreme doctrines, of dictatorships and democracies that resulted in over 50 million killed and countless millions left homeless.
A conflict during which the world awoke to the reality of warfare in a technological age and learned a new vocabulary: Blitzkrieg, Total War, Holocaust and Human Rights.
Our World War II Tours
Suggested Itinerary
3-day Arnhem by coach
Day 1: Hell’s Highway
Day 2: US Airborne, Nijmegen
Day 3: British Airborne, Oostebeck
*Brittany Ferries option Portsmouth/Caen is subject to availability. Price on application.
Operation Market Garden – Arnhem
In the summer of 1944 Allied
High Command gave its approval
to an ambitious plan to secure a
bridgehead across the last natural
barrier to Germany – the Lower
Rhine. To airborne troops was
given the responsibility of securing
the bridges over the canals and
rivers on the Eindhoven-Arnhem
road along which the British
2nd Army would then advance.
Although this operation, to be known as Market Garden, would see numerous incidences of personal heroism it would not deliver the breakthrough sought and would result in over 1,200 British soldiers losing their lives. More>
The Home Front Britain & the Blitz
Why not combine one of our London Walking Tours, run in conjunction with Square Route Walks, and a visit to the Imperial War Museum?
Come and see the site of the first bomb and learn about the Spirit of the Londoner, collateral damage to many fine buildings and those lost forever, Churchill’s “Angels with grimy faces”, the Thames as an enemy navigation aid, Messerschmitts in the street, Royalty under attack and the Queen Mother amongst the rubble. Alternatively we can arange visits to the Cabinet War Rooms, the National Army Museum, Bletchley Park or the Dover White Cliffs Experience. More>
Suggested Itinerary
2-day Dunkirk & Occupied France by coach
Day 1: Retreat to Dunkirk & evacuation
Day 2: Life in occupied France
The Development of Warfare - From Stalemate to Blitzkrieg
Meeting the requirement of new
specifications to examine the
nature of warfare across different
periods, we are able to offer
combination tours, specifically
designed to meet your needs.
Beginning with an examination of the nature of trench warfare on the Western Front, this 2-day tour looks at how the nature of warfare changed during the latter part of the Great War. From that point we head back to Dunkirk, following the route of the German Army in 1940, and consider how the roots of ‘Lightning War’ lay in the final months of World War One. More>
Normandy D-Day – June 6th 1944
The largest and most ambitious military operation ever staged, the Normandy Landings of June 1944 paved the way for the Allies’ eventual victory in the Second World War. Our D-Day tours are tailor-made to suit your curriculum needs and your location in the UK.
We can combine visits to the sites of the British and American airborne landings, and the beach landings along the coast, combining museum visits with stands delivered by our team of expert guides. More>
Operation Dynamo - Dunkirk
The story of the evacuation of the British Army from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940 is one that turned a potential disaster into a miracle. On 10th May 1940 Hitler launched his Blitzkrieg attack west into Luxembourg, the Low Countries and France.
The German Army, led by tanks and overwhelming air superiority, cut through the opposing armies like a hot knife through butter.The decision was taken to withdraw the BEF via the Channel Ports and on 27th May the first troops were evacuated from Dunkirk. More>
Specifications/topics supported by these tours
AQA Specification B > Britain at War
Edexcel Specification A > War and the Transformation of British Society 1931-1951 > The impact of War on Britain 1914-1955
Themes
- Hitler’s Foreign Policy
- The Origins of World War II
- Britain at War
- The impact of war and transformation of British society
- The development of warfare – tactics and technology in the Second World War
Other options
Occupied France
Apart from the Ardennes the two most northern departments of France, Nord and the Pas-de-Calais, are the only ones to have been occupied by German troops twice in the Twentieth Century.
ANGLIA is able to offer a tour which brings into sharp focus the struggle to survive during a period where finding food and keeping warm became an obsession. It considers the temptations of collaboration and the fate of those who sought to resist the Nazi regime.
Suggested itinerary
1-day France by coach and shuttle
Day 1: La Coupole - Hitler's V-weapons - St Omer - Life in occupied France
