Multinational military exercise at 'perfect' beach used as training for D-Day landings

A MULTINATIONAL marine rehearsal saw a spectacular display of military precision and international co-operation - all at a North Devon beauty spot beloved by holidaymakers.

- by ABIGAIL NEEP

On June 4, I was escorted by the Ministry of Defence to the Braunton Burrows military training area at Crow Point, a strip of beach transformed into the dramatic setting for a multinational amphibious exercise. The first thing I heard were loud helicopters circling the area, these choppers thundered overhead all day.

The event was part of Exercise Catamaran, the UK's contribution to the French-led POLARIS 2025 exercise taking place across north west France and the south west of the UK.

This leg of the operation, which lasted from Sunday, June 1, to Saturday, June 7, brought together some 3,500 personnel from the armed forces of five nations. Among them are about 1,200 marines from the UK, France, Italy and Spain, co-ordinating a large-scale landing and tactical beach assault.

I met Major Martyn Heenan, a UK amphibious training expert, who explained why North Devon, specifically Crow Point, is such a key site for military rehearsal.

"Braunton Burrows and specifically this training area has been used by the UK military as a training area since 1942," he said.