Cobra 44 Commemorative Festival – 2nd edition – July 22 to 24, 2022
After the success of the first edition, the Cobra 44 Commemorative festival returns to the Normandy Victory Museum. For several days, we will celebrate the end of the battle of the hedgerows marked by General Bradley’s Operation Cobra. Through these different events we will pay tribute to the soldiers and civilians who fought for our dear Freedom.
Friday 22nd July
Saturday 23rd July
Sunday 24th July
Installation of the reenactment camps
Friday July 22 from 6 p.m.
Several groups of re-enactors will set up camp near the museum These associations of enthusiasts with recognized work, will share their knowledge of history with the public. Presentations, demonstrations… you will discover in great detail the life in the camps for the units which took part in one of the last battles for the liberation of Normandy: operation COBRA.
Thanks to Forty’s Group – Front Line Issue – Mayenne WW2 for their presence
Free
Vintage dinner with Swing Melodies orchestra concert
Friday July 22, evening
The A10 Canteen restaurant offers a meal in period dress with musical entertainment.
(Menu at €25/Pers.: onion soup; confit pork cheek, Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes; rice pudding; 1/4 cider or wine or soft drink.)
Booking required directly at the A10 Canteen on +33 (0)233 545 183 – Period dress required
The concert of the Swing Melodies Orchestra (This norman group of happy musicians will delight you with tunes from the 40s and 50s) will be held outdoors and can therefore be listened to by all.
Friday 22nd July
Saturday 23rd July
Sunday 24th July
Reenactment camp
Day 2
Thanks to Forty’s Group – Front Line Issue – Mayenne WW2 for their presence
Free
Guided tours of the temporary exhibition “Trippelwagen”, by Grégory Oswald, curator of the Museum of Molsheim (Alsace)
Saturday July 23, between 9.30 a.m. and 7 p.m. – Exhibition hall inside the museum
Grégory Oswald will share with you all the secrets of the mythical amphibious car, especially during its production in the Bugatti factory in Molsheim from 1940 to 1944, all in front of the last example kept in France, the SG6-41 in the Musée des Blindés de Saumur.
Passionate about cars and history? Order your copy of Gregory Oswald’s book on this amazing vehicle and pick it up at the museum the day you come.
Included in the museum ticket
Conference « Le Mythe ENIGMA » by Edmond KERN, crypto enthusiast!
Saturday July 23, at 10.30 a.m. in the Greenfield room
Edmond Kern, the specialist in the ENIGMA machine, offers you a conference in which he goes into detail about the history of the famous coding machine that the Germans believed to be indecipherable…
Free
“Ambassador” benefit: do you have a museum ambassador card? Your seat is reserved in the front row and you benefit from a privileged moment with Edmond Kern (find out more about the ambassador program)
Signing of the comic book “Le Petit Théâtre des Opérations” by the author, Julien Hervieux
Saturday 23 July, between 10.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m., in the hall of the museum
For the second year, Julien Hervieux, the popularizer of history, known under the pseudonym he gave himself: “Un odieux connard” will be present. He will sign his successful comic book: “Le Petit Théâtre des Opérations”. Remember to reserve your copies in our E-shop! We set them aside for you and you collect them on the day of the event!
Free
Demonstrations of the “ENIGMA” coding machine
Saturday 23 July, between 2pm and 7pm, inside the museum
Edmond Kern will be inside the museum to show you the famous German coding machine, of which he knows all the secrets. he will make you code and then decode your first name on one of the rare machines still in operation in the world.
Included in the museum ticket
Thematic guided tours: “Cobra’s objects come out of the vitrines”.
Saturday July 23, between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., inside the museum
Patrick Fissot, one of the founders of the museum and professor of history, takes you on an intimate visit through the aisles of the museum. For you, objects that were present during Operation Cobra will come out of the windows and tell you their story.
Three visits are planned during the afternoon with groups of 15/25 people.
Included in the museum entrance ticket
Conference “The hell of the bocage through letters from GI’s ” by Clément Horvath
Saturday 23 July at 16.30 in the Greenfield Hall
The author will give an exclusive lecture on the letters of soldiers during the Battle of the Hedgerows. Contents from his book Till Victory, of course, but also unpublished letters and other unpublished correspondence from a new project, which C. Horvath will unveil at the end of the meeting…
It will also be an opportunity to have your copies of the book Till Victory autographed, which we would like to remind you that it received the Stéphane Bern Foundation Prize for History in 2019 and the “Distinguished Writing Award” from the Army Historical Foundation ( National Museum of the US Army), in 2022 for the English version of his book livre.
Free
“Ambassador” benefit: do you have a museum ambassador card? Your seat is reserved in the front row and you benefit from a privileged moment with Clement Horvath (find out more about the ambassador program)
Guided tour / Special tour « At the heart of the Hedgerows hell»
Saturday July 23 at 5 p.m. (Duration 1h30)
Embark aboard a vintage military vehicle (Dodge WC51) for a guided tour in the heart of what was the scene of the Battle of the Hedges: the Normandy bocage.
Our guide takes you in the direction of Montmartin-en-Graignes passing through the hamlet of Raye or Saint-Jean-de-Daye, places which saw the passage of the 29th and 30th American infantry divisions in 1944. Places which saw soldiers struggle and toil meter after meter with heavy casualties.
To understand what happened in those days of July 1944, get on board and let history tell you.
Booking required here – 44€/Pers. Max 7 people Max 7 people
Performance “Forgotten heroes and battles” by Julien Hervieux, the popularizer of history
Saturday July 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the Greenfield room
Halfway between a history lesson and stand-up comedy, the creator of “Le Petit Théâtre des Opérations” takes you with him into a world he knows very well and which he likes to show with simplicity and emotion. This show on the battles and forgotten heroes of the Second World War is as instructive as it is entertaining and not to be missed!
Free
“Ambassador” benefit: do you have a museum ambassador card? Your seat is reserved in the front row and you benefit from a privileged moment with Julien Hervieux (find out more about the ambassador program)
Concert Swing Melodies orchestra
Saturday 23 July, from 8:30 p.m.
For the second evening, the group Swing Melodies Orchestra will be there to make you dance and sing to the tunes of the 40s and 50s.
Free
Friday 22nd July
Saturday 23rd July
Sunday 24th July
Reenactment camp
Day 3
Thanks to Forty’s Group – Front Line Issue – Mayenne WW2 for their presence
Free
Guided tours of the temporary exhibition “Trippelwagen”, by Grégory Oswald, curator of the Museum of Molsheim (Alsace)
Sunday 24 July, between 09.30 and 19.00 – Exhibition hall inside the museum
Grégory Oswald will share with you all the secrets of the mythical amphibious car, in particular during its production in the Bugatti factory in Molsheim from 1940 to 1944, all in front of the last example preserved in France, the SG6-41 in the Musée des Blindés in Saumur.
Included in the museum ticket
Demonstrations of the “ENIGMA” coding machine
Sunday 24 July, between 9.30 am and 7 pm, inside the museum
Edmond Kern will be inside the museum to show you the famous German coding machine, of which he knows all the secrets. In particular, he will make you code and then decode your first name on one of the rare machines still in operation in the world.
Included in the museum ticket
Signing of the comic book series “NORMANDIE JUIN 1944” by Jean-Blaise Djian
Sunday 24 July, between 10 am and 6 pm, in the hall of the museum
Jean-Blaise Djian will be with us to sign his historical comics “NORMANDIE JUIN 1944”. A series of books that has been a great success thanks to its didactic format accessible to all and the quality of the work of historical restitution, the scenarios and the drawings.
Good to know! Good to know! You will soon be able to reserve your comics for signing in our E-shop and pick them up the same day.
Free (Books to be purchased)
Conference: “The American army in Normandy: strengths and weaknesses” by Christophe Prime
Sunday, July 24, 10:30 a.m. in the Greenfield room
Free
“Ambassador” benefit: do you have a museum ambassador card? Your seat is reserved in the front row and you benefit from a privileged moment with Christophe Prime (find out more about the ambassador program)
Signing of the comic book “Le Petit Théâtre des Opérations” by the author, Julien Hervieux
Sunday 24 July, between 10.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m., in the entrance hall of the museum
For the second year, Julien Hervieux, the popularizer of history, known under the pseudonym he gave himself: “Un odieux connard” will be present. He will sign his successful comic book: “Le Petit Théâtre des Opérations”. Remember to reserve your copies in our E-shop! We set them aside for you and you collect them on the day of the event!
Free
Thematic guided tours: “Cobra’s objects come out of the vitrines”.
Saturday July 23, between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., inside the museum
Patrick Fissot, one of the founders of the museum and professor of history, takes you on an intimate visit through the aisles of the museum. For you, objects that were present during Operation Cobra will come out of the windows and tell you their story.
Three visits are planned during the afternoon with groups of 15/25 people.
Included in the museum entrance ticket
Book signing of the book “D-DAY, un jour noir” by the author, Yves Corver
Sunday 24 July, between 2pm and 6pm, in the entrance hall of the museum
Yves Corver gives us a fiction about the history of black American soldiers who fought during the Second World War. Through the story of Firmin, he tackles the subjects of the war and the D-DAY but also of the intolerance and racism that these men had to face on the ground as well as within the troops themselves.
Book in our E-shop and get your copy to be autographed by the author, the day of the event
Free
Screening of the “Résistance” web series – Multi award-winning
Sunday July 24, at 3 p.m. in the Greenfield room
In the presence of actors from the series and the director of photography
A Norman director, Maxime Chefdeville, a Norman production, the French Corp, and a 99% Norman cast for this wesberia on the Resistance in Normandy. The series, with its quirky tone and its assumed references to such French films as “La Grande vadrouille”, “La 7ème Compagnie” or “Kaamelott”, takes us on the adventures of the FIFI (and not FFI), a group of Normans determined to resist the German occupier.
A selection of episodes will make up this one-hour screening, which will be followed by an exchange with the team.
“Ambassador” benefit: do you have a museum ambassador card? Your seat is reserved in the front row and you benefit from a privileged moment with with the film crew. (find out more about the ambassador program)
Guided tour / Special tour « At the heart of the Hedgerows hell»
Sunday July 24 at 5 p.m. (Duration 1h30)
Embark aboard a vintage military vehicle (Dodge WC51) for a guided tour in the heart of what was the scene of the Battle of the Hedges: the Normandy bocage.
Our guide takes you in the direction of Montmartin-en-Graignes passing through the hamlet of Raye or Saint-Jean-de-Daye, places which saw the passage of the 29th and 30th American infantry divisions in 1944. Places which saw soldiers struggle and toil meter after meter with heavy casualties.
To understand what happened in those days of July 1944, get on board and let history tell you.
Booking required here – 44€/Pers. Max 7 people Max 7 people
Retro Festival
organised by the A10 Canteen
Sunday 24 July, 10am to 7pm – Restaurant and outdoor terrace
Hot Rod 56 concert – From 1:15 p.m.
50’s Rockabilly – Tribute to Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry and other Rock’n’Roll legends.
Gathering of old civilian and military vehicles
Activities and stands on the theme of the 1950s
“Guinguette “and mussels/french fries party
Musical entertainment by Ludo and wooden dance floor for amateurs!
Find the full programme, information and booking details on the restaurant website
–> See the A10 Canteen Facebook page
–> Or call at +33 233 545 183
They will be present during the festival
Exhibition of models and dioramas by C’MAFIG – Cherbourg
In the barracks, outside the museum
This club of enthusiasts which participates in numerous exhibitions and competitions will present its achievements to you in the form of models and dioramas including planes, armored vehicles, civilian and military vehicles… On the occasion of the festival, they will present to you stagings and models mainly on the theme of the Battle of Normandy.
Free
Information on conferences, screenings and events at +33 233 717 494
Important : for catering, please contact the restaurant directly
Our thanks to the association of reenactors Forty’s Group Reenactment for its participation in the logistics of the event.
