Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery | |
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission | |
![]() The war stone in the centre of Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery. The Cross of Sacrifice is visible in the background. | |
Used for those deceased 1944 | |
Established | 1944 |
Location | 49°3′37″N0°17′34″W / 49.06028°N 0.29278°W near |
Total burials | 2,958 |
Unknowns | 87 |
Burials by nation | |
Canada: 2,782 Britain: 80 | |
Burials by war | |
Statistics source: WWII Battlefields |
The Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery is a war cemetery containing predominantly Canadian soldiers killed during the later stages of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. It is located close to the village of Cintheaux and named after Bretteville-sur-Laize in the Calvados department, between Caen and Falaise in lower Normandy.
Bretteville-sur-Laize was created as a permanent resting place for Canadian soldiers who had been temporarily buried in smaller plots close to where they fell. At the time of the cemetery's creation, France granted Canada a perpetual concession to the land occupied by the cemetery. [1] Of the 2,958 burials, 2,782 are Canadian of whom 87 remain unidentified, together with 80 British, four Australian and one each from France and New Zealand. [2] There are records for 2,792 of the Canadian men. [3]
A large number of dead in the cemetery were killed late July 1944 around Saint-André-sur-Orne and in the battle for the Falaise Pocket in August 1944. Soldiers from nearly every unit within the II Canadian Corps are represented in the cemetery.
Canadians killed earlier (June and early July) in the Battle of Normandy are buried near Juno Beach in the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery. [1]
The cemetery is located on the N158 road between Caen and Falaise, about 14 km from Caen, in the commune of Cintheaux. However, there is no access directly from the roadway. The road into the cemetery, the Rue du Prieuré/D167 runs north out of the village of Cintheaux
It can be seen on Google Maps here
Operation Totalize was an offensive launched by Allied troops in the First Canadian Army during the later stages of Operation Overlord, from 8 to 9 August 1944. The intention was to break through the German defences south of Caen on the eastern flank of the Allied positions in Normandy and exploit success by driving south, to capture the high ground north of the city of Falaise. The goal was to collapse the German front and cut off the retreat of German forces fighting the Allied armies further west. The battle is considered the inaugural operation of the First Canadian Army, which had been activated on 23 July.
Bretteville-sur-Laize is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.
Cintheaux is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.
Hottot-les-Bagues is a commune in the Calvados department and Normandy region of north-western France.
The Falaise pocket or battle of the Falaise pocket was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. Allied forces formed a pocket around Falaise, Calvados, in which German Army Group B, consisting of the 7th Army and the Fifth Panzer Army, were encircled by the Western Allies. The battle resulted in the destruction of most of Army Group B west of the Seine, which opened the way to Paris and the Franco-German border.
The arrondissement of Caen is an arrondissement of France in the Calvados department in the Normandy region. It has 201 communes. Its population is 384,540 (2016), and its area is 1,595.7 km2 (616.1 sq mi).
The Battle for Caen is the name given to fighting between the British Second Army and the German Panzergruppe West in the Second World War for control of the city of Caen and its vicinity during the larger Battle of Normandy. The battles followed Operation Neptune, the Allied landings on the French coast on 6 June 1944 (D-Day).
The Ardenne Abbey massacre occurred during the Battle of Normandy at the Ardenne Abbey, a Premonstratensian monastery in Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe, near Caen, France. In June 1944, 20 Canadian soldiers were massacred in a garden at the abbey by members of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend over the course of several days and weeks. This was part of the Normandy Massacres, a series of scattered killings during which up to 156 Canadian prisoners of war were murdered by soldiers of the 12th SS Panzer Division during the Battle of Normandy. The perpetrators of the massacre, members of the 12th SS Panzer Division, were known for their fanaticism, the majority having been drawn from the Hitlerjugend or Hitler Youth.
The Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery is a burial ground containing predominantly Canadian soldiers killed during the early stages of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. It is located in, and named after, Bény-sur-Mer, in the Calvados department, near Caen, in lower Normandy. As is typical of war cemeteries in France, the grounds are landscaped and kept. Contained within the cemetery is a cross of sacrifice, a monument typical of memorials designed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Orglandes War Cemetery is a German World War II cemetery in Normandy, France. It is located on the northern edge of the village of Orglandes, about 30 km (19 mi) south east of Cherbourg and 7 km (4.3 mi) west of Sainte-Mère-Église on the Cotentin Peninsula. The burials come from summer 1944, immediately following D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. It is the second smallest of the six German war cemeteries in Normandy with a little over 10,000 burials. The cemetery is maintained and managed by the voluntary German War Graves Commission.
The Battle of Verrières Ridge was a series of engagements fought as part of the Battle of Normandy, in Calvados, during the Second World War. The main combatants were two Canadian infantry divisions—with additional support from the Canadian 2nd Armoured Brigade—against elements of three German SS Panzer divisions. The battle was part of the British and Canadian tacks south of Caen, and took place from 19 to 25 July 1944, being part of Operation Atlantic and Operation Spring.
Saint-André-sur-Orne is a village in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.
Brigadier-General Edward Alfred Charles Amy, DSO, OBE, MC, CD was a Canadian soldier who fought in World War II. He is one of Canada's most decorated soldiers.
Ranville War Cemetery is a Second World War cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers in France, located in Ranville, 10 km (6.2 mi) north east of Caen, Normandy. The cemetery contains predominantly British soldiers killed during the early stages of the Battle of Normandy. A large proportion of those interred were members of the British 6th Airborne Division. The cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Banneville-la-Campagne War Cemetery is a Second World War cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers located close to the commune of Banneville-la-Campagne, 11 km (6.8 mi) east of Caen, Normandy, France. The graveyard contains 2,175 graves of which 140 are unidentified The cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Hermanville War Cemetery is a Second World War cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers in France, located 13 km north of Caen, Normandy. The cemetery contains 1,003 commonwealth war graves.
Hottot-les-Bagues War Cemetery is a British Second World War cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers in France, located 15 km south-west of Bayeux, Normandy. The cemetery contains 1,005 commonwealth war graves and 132 German war graves.
Grainville-Langannerie Polish war cemetery is the only Polish Second World War cemetery in France. It is located 17 km south of Caen, Normandy, and contains 696 Polish war graves. It is one of seven military cemeteries now maintained by the French state.
Saint-Désir-de-Lisieux is a Second World War German military war grave cemetery, located close to the village of Saint-Désir and 4 km (2.5 mi) west of Lisieux in the Calvados department, Normandy, France. It is located adjacent to the British Saint-Désir War Cemetery and is unique as the two burial grounds are linked by a pathway. It is the smallest German war cemetery in Normandy and contains the remains of 3,735 German military personnel. The cemetery was created by the British Graves Registration Commission in August 1944 with British and German casualties buried in adjacent fields.