A Beach Scattered with Wartime Harbour Caissons: Plage Arromanches-les-Bains

Plage Arromanches-les-Bains is the beach at Arromanches-les-Bains, a commune in the Calvados department of Normandy in north-western France. Its defining sight is a field of massive concrete Phoenix caissons, visible across the sand and shallow water as surviving parts of the Mulberry Harbour built after D-Day.

What is Plage Arromanches-les-Bains?

Plage Arromanches-les-Bains is the beach associated with the commune of Arromanches-les-Bains on the Normandy coast. Its identity is inseparable from the artificial harbour assembled offshore after the Allied landings: the beach and its shallow waters still contain large physical remains of that wartime engineering project.

Why are there concrete caissons on the beach?

The concrete structures are Phoenix units, towed from southern England in the days following D-Day on June 6, 1944. They were anchored to form an artificial port at Arromanches, allowing men, vehicles and supplies to land directly on the French coast without relying on captured ports.

Individual Phoenix caissons could weigh up to 6,000 tons. They were part of a larger harbour system: floating piers called Whales were connected to the shore by roadway pontoons called Beetles. Together, these structures created a route from ship to beach for unloading equipment.

What can you notice along Plage Arromanches?

The surviving harbour structures reward close attention. On some caissons, faint stenciled numbers remain visible. Other surfaces show the practical evidence of wartime repairs, including patches of different-coloured concrete, steel plates bolted into place and twisted metal around the former walkways.

These details belong to the Phoenix caissons and the other harbour structures standing in the sand and shallow water, not to the beach in general. To place those remains within the wider D-Day story while you explore the shoreline, follow The Allied Landing at Arromanches, which visits this stop as part of its route.

How important was the artificial harbour at Arromanches?

Arromanches became the centre of the British logistical operation. The harbour, known as Mulberry B, survived a fierce storm that destroyed the American Mulberry A at Omaha Beach between June 19 and 22, 1944.

Mulberry B operated for 10 months, far beyond its planned 90-day lifespan. At its peak, the harbour unloaded up to 7,000 tons of equipment per day. In total, over 2.5 million troops, 500,000 vehicles and 4 million tons of supplies passed through the artificial harbour.

Walk Plage Arromanches-les-Bains with those structures in view, then start The Allied Landing at Arromanches to explore the harbour remains as part of an interactive route.