Les Gateys National Cemetery (also called Les Gateys National Necropolis ()) is a Second World War French military
war grave
A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations.
Definition
The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...
cemetery, located close to the village of
Saint-Nicolas-des-Bois and north-west of
Alençon
Alençon (, , ; ) is a commune in Normandy, France, and the capital of the Orne department. It is situated between Paris and Rennes (about west of Paris) and a little over north of Le Mans. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alenà ...
in the
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.[Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...]
, France. It contains the graves of 19 French soldiers from the
2nd Armoured Division that died during the
Battle of Alençon in August 1944.
History
The soldiers interred in this small cemetery were part of General
Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque
Philippe François Marie Leclerc de Hauteclocque (22 November 1902 – 28 November 1947) was a Free France, Free-French general during World War II. He became Marshal of France posthumously in 1952, and is known in France simply as or ju ...
's French
2nd Armoured Division. The division had landed on 1 August 1944 at
Saint-Martin-de-Varreville, close to
Utah Beach. The division was involved in the encirclement of German forces in what became known as 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 ...
. The soldiers here were killed during the
Battle of Alençon in August 1944. The division later played a major part in the liberation of Paris.
Formation
The site, located in the
forest of Écouves, was originally a battlefield cemetery created in August 1944 for five fallen French soldiers. In 1968 and 1969 the remains of 14 soldiers, previously buried in communal cemeteries in the Orne department, were reburied at Les Gateys. The cemetery also has a memorial plaque naming 69 soldiers of 2nd French Armoured Division who died fighting in the Orne department. The inauguration of the national cemetery took place on 15 March 1970, in the presence of General Leclerc's widow Madame la
Maréchale Leclerc and General
Jacques Massu
Jacques Émile Massu (; 5 May 1908 – 26 October 2002) was a French general who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War, the Algerian War and the Suez Crisis. He led French troops in the Battle of Algiers, first supporting and later ...
and the site is maintained by the French state (''Ministere des Anciens Combattants et Victimes de Guerre'').
See also
*
List of military cemeteries in Normandy
The following military cemeteries were established in the French region of Normandy in memory for casualties of the World War II battles there:
American
* The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, located near the battle site at Omaha Bea ...
References
External links
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World War II memorials in France
World War II cemeteries in France
1944 establishments in France
Cemeteries in Normandy