Orne
Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.department in north-western
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Geography
The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, La Cour du Bosq and Coudehard.
The commune has the following streams running through its borders, the Secqueville, the Besion, the Foulbec, the Mont-Ormel and the Costillets.
Points of Interest
Hill 262
Hill 262, or the Mont Ormel ridge (elevation ), is an area of high ground above the village of Coudehard in Normandy that was the location of a bloody engagement in the final stages of the Battle of Falaise in the Operation Overlord, Normandy Cam ...
is an area of high ground above the commune that is a site of a bloody engagement in the final stages of the
Battle of Falaise
The Falaise pocket or battle of the Falaise pocket (; 12–21 August 1944) 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, cons ...
as part of
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. This is where a single polish regiment, the 1st Armoured Division, held back the German forces for 3 days on their own to close the
Falaise pocket
The Falaise pocket or battle of the Falaise pocket (; 12–21 August 1944) 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, c ...
, before being relieved by the
Canadian Grenadier Guards
The Canadian Grenadier Guards (CGG) is a reserve infantry regiment in the 34 Canadian Brigade Group, 2nd Canadian Division, of the Canadian Army. The regiment is the oldest and second-most-senior infantry regiment in the Primary Reserve of t ...
. The Mémorial de Coudehard–Montormel museum, in the neighbouring commune of Mont-Ormel was constructed on the same site on the battle's 50th anniversary in 1994.
See also
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Communes of the Orne department
The following is a list of the 381 communes of the Orne department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):