Ranville () is a commune in the Calvados department in the

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 ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in northwestern

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 ...

. Ranville was the first French village liberated 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 village was liberated by the British 13th Parachute Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Peter Luard. The ''château du Heaume'' in the village was subsequently used by the headquarters of the British 6th Airborne Division. The village features prominently in the book ''13 - Lucky For Some'' which is about the history of the 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion. There are many then and now photographs as well as maps and diagrams of battles that took place in the region.

Population

Sights

* Château de Guernon-Ranville *

Memorial Pegasus Memorial Pegasus at Ranville in Lower Normandy is a museum and memorial to the 6th Airborne Division (United Kingdom), 6th Airborne Division in the Normandy landings and particular the capture of the Caen canal and Orne river bridges.Memorial Peg ...

* Ranville War Cemetery

Gallery

File:Bailey bridge element, Ranville 01 09.jpg, A

Bailey bridge A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, Prefabrication, pre-fabricated, Truss Bridge, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British Empire in World War II, British for military use during the World War II, Second World War and saw ...

section at the

museum in Ranville File:1 Château de Guernon-Ranville, côté cour.jpg, The Château de Guernon-Ranville File:FranceNormandieRanvilleCimetiereMilitaire.jpg, Ranville War Cemetery File:Lavoir Ranville.JPG,

Lavoir A lavoir (, wash-house) is a public place set aside for the washing of clothes. Communal washing places were common in Europe until industrial washing was introduced, and this process in turn was replaced by domestic washing machines and by s ...

References

Communes of Calvados (department) Calvados communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{Lisieux-geo-stub

Population

Sights

Gallery

See also

References