The Douve () or Ouve is a river, in length, which rises in the commune of Tollevast, near

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

in the department of

Manche Manche (, ; Norman language, Norman: ) is a coastal Departments of France, French ''département'' in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy on the English Channel, which is known as , literally "the sleeve", in French. Manche is bordered by ...

. ''Ouve'' is considered its old name (''Unva'' in ancient texts): Ouve appears to have been misspelled over the course of time as "Douve river" and then as "River of the Douve" (Douve literally means Ditch). The French name for this watercourse is ''la Douve''. After passing Tollevast, the river proceeds through the hills of the

Cotentin peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...

(Cherbourg peninsula) and goes by Sottevast, l'Étang-Bertrand and Magneville. It borders Néhou and crosses Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte. Once it reaches Bauptois, it alters its direction towards the Bay of the Seine in the south-eastern

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, passing through Carentan. The Douve is a navigable river owing to its flat bottom and adequate depth of flow. In 1944 German troops, preparing Rommel's

Fortress Europa Fortress Europe () was a military propaganda term used by both sides of Second World War, World War II which referred to the areas of Continental Europe occupied by Nazi Germany, as opposed to the United Kingdom across the English Channel, Ch ...

, flooded the valley to prevent landing paratroops or gliders. On

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, the river was the boundary between the left flank of Allied landing forces on Utah Beach (on its left bank and so to the west nearest

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

) and the bloody defensive battle that occurred at

Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors of the amphibious assault component of Operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies of World War II, Allies invaded German military administration in occupied Fra ...

. The Utah beach landings were part of contingency planning only scheduled after ample landing craft became available and designed to give the Allies a leg up on taking a port city, in this case,

, to bolster Allied logistical capacity. Had the landing craft been lacking, the river would have protected the exposed right flank of the allied invasion lodgement. With Utah in the plan, it was used to originate an offensive aimed squarely at the early domination of the peninsula and capture of Cherbourg and

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

(and eventually

) at the opposite end of the lodgement. These cities were well protected by their German defenders. Among those landing at the Douve was the demolition unit known as the Filthy Thirteen, whose exploits are said to have inspired the 1965 bestseller

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

by E. M. Nathanson and the 1967

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

'' The Dirty Dozen'' by

Robert Aldrich Robert Burgess Aldrich (August 9, 1918 – December 5, 1983) was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. An iconoclastic and maverick '' auteur'' working in many genres during the Golden Age of Hollywood, he directed main ...

Hydrology

The

Merderet The Merderet is a river in Normandy, France, which is a tributary to the river Douve. It runs roughly north-south down the middle of the Cotentin peninsula from Valognes to the junction with the Douve at Beuzeville-la-Bastille, Beuzeville la Bas ...

is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the Douve.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Normandy Rivers of France Rivers of Manche 0Douve