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In
1944, Lower Normandy’s three departments had a total of just over 1,900
communes. The first of these to be liberated, contrary to popular belief, was
not Sainte-Mère-Eglise (Manche) but Ranville (Calvados), which was taken by
British paratroops shortly after 2 am on June 6th. |
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Ranville, the “first village of Liberated France” |
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Due to
the unforeseen length of the Battle of Normandy, many communes, located
some distance away from the Landing Zones, had to wait many weeks for
Allied troops to arrive. |
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The liberation of Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes (Calvados) |
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The Manche
department was only totally liberated on August 15th. Due to
the collapse of the German forces, the liberation of the Orne was far
swifter, taking just twenty days, from August 3rd to the 23rd.
The last commune in Lower Normandy to recover its freedom ‑ on August 25th
‑ was Honfleur in the Calvados department, where the fighting had gone
on for 81 days
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Scenes
of rejoicing in Alençon, which was liberated on August 12th |
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