Sainte-Mère-Église () is a commune in the northwestern French 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 ...

, in

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 ...

. On 1 January 2016, the former communes of

Beuzeville-au-Plain Beuzeville-au-Plain () is a former commune in the Manche department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the commune of Sainte-Mère-Église. World War II After the liberation of the area by Allie ...

Chef-du-Pont Chef-du-Pont () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the commune of Sainte-Mère-Église. During World War 2, as part of the opening phase of Operation Overlord, ...

Écoquenéauville Écoquenéauville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the commune of Sainte-Mère-Église.Foucarville Foucarville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the commune of Sainte-Mère-Église. Following World War II, for 21 months, tens of thousands of Nazi POWs were detained a ...

were merged into Sainte-Mère-Église. On 1 January 2019, the former communes of

Carquebut Carquebut () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Sainte-Mère-Église.Ravenoville Ravenoville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Sainte-Mère-Église.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 ...

known locally as ''le Plain'' (as opposed to the standard French term ''la plaine''). The Plain is bounded on the west by 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 ...

River and by the English channel to the east, and by the communes of Valognes and

Carentan Carentan () is a small rural town near the north-eastern base of the French Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy in north-western France, with a population of about 6,000. It is a former commune in the Manche department. On 1 January 2016, it was m ...

to the north and south, respectively. Besides Sainte-Mère-Église, the Plain's other major town is Montebourg, and its coast includes Utah Beach. Although most of the Cotentin Peninsula belongs to the

Armorican Massif The Armorican Massif (, ) is a geologic massif that covers a large area in the northwest of France, including Brittany, the western part of Normandy and the Pays de la Loire. It is important because it is connected to Dover on the British side o ...

, the Plain is part of the

Paris Basin The Paris Basin () is one of the major geological regions of France. It developed since the Triassic over remnant uplands of the Variscan orogeny (Hercynian orogeny). The sedimentary basin, no longer a single drainage basin, is a large sag in ...

.Guide géologique Normandie Maine. Editions DUNOD. 2ème édition. Page75. . Argillaceous limestone from the

Sinemurian In the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age (geology), age and stage (stratigraphy), stage in the Early Jurassic, Early or Lower Jurassic epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series. It spans the time between 199.5 ±0.3 annu ...

contributes to the region's dairy product appellation (AOC) Isigny-Sainte-Mère, which it shares with

Bessin Bessin () is an area in 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 Norman ...

. Horse breeding has long been practiced in the Plain, which is regarded as the cradle of the

Anglo-Norman horse The Anglo-Norman horse is a warmblood horse breed developed in Lower Normandy in northern France. A major center of horse breeding, the area had numerous regional types that were bred to one another and then crossed with Thoroughbreds to form th ...

breed, the product of English stallions and mares from the Cotendin Peninsula.

History

Founded in the eleventh century, the earliest records (1080–1082) include the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

name ''Sancte Marie Ecclesia'', meaning "Church of St. Mary", while a later document written in the local language, Norman, in 1317 mentions ''Saincte Mariglise''. The current French form of the name means " Holy Mother Church". The town was involved in the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

and the Wars of Religion.

D-Day battle

The town played a significant part in the

World War II 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 ...

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

because of its position in the middle of route N13, which the Germans would have used to counterattack Allied landings on

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

and

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 ...

es. In the early morning of 6 June 1944, mixed units of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and U.S. 101st Airborne Divisions occupied the town in

Mission Boston Mission Boston was a parachute combat assault at night by Major General Matthew Ridgway's U.S. 82nd Airborne Division on June 6, 1944, part of the American airborne landings in Normandy during World War II. Boston was a component element of Ope ...

, making it one of the first towns liberated in the invasion. The early airborne landings, at about 1:40 a.m., resulted in heavy casualties. Some buildings in town caught fire that night, illuminating the sky, and making easy targets of the descending men. Some were killed by the fire. Many hanging from trees and utility poles were shot. A well-known incident involved paratrooper John Steele of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), whose parachute got caught on the tower roof and spire of the town church. He hung there for two hours, pretending to be dead until the Germans took him prisoner. Steele later escaped and rejoined his division when U.S. troops of the 3rd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment attacked the village, capturing 30 Germans and killing 11. The incident was portrayed in the movie '' The Longest Day'' by actor

Red Buttons Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and Golden Globe for '' Sayonara''. He was nominated for awards for his work such as ''Harlow'' (1965), '' They Shoot Ho ...

At 5 a.m., a force led by Lieutenant Colonel Edward C. Krause of the 505th PIR took the town with little resistance. Allegedly, the German garrison was confused and had retired for the night. However, heavy German counterattacks began later in the day and into the next. The lightly armed troops held the town until reinforced by tanks from nearby Utah Beach in the afternoon of 7June. Krause and Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin H. Vandervoort received the Distinguished Service Cross for their actions during the capture of the town. Sgt. George Bowler Tullidge III received the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

; his parents would distribute ''A Paratrooper's Faith,'' a collection of Tullidge's letters home plus Bible verses, throughout the 82nd Airborne until 1995. 2nd Lt. Thomas J. Tighe of the 70th Tank Battalion was killed when his tank was hit by German artillery fire on the morning of June 7; he received the Silver Star posthumously.Armor in Operation Neptune (Establishment of the Normandy Beachhead), a research report prepared by Committee 10, Officers Advanced Course, the Armored School, Fort Knox, Kentucky, May 1949, page 34 Paratrooper Henry Langrehr crashed through a greenhouse roof, as retold in ''The Longest Day''. On 6November 2007, he received the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

medal from the

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

, along with five other men.

Heraldry

Population

Sights

Tourism in Sainte-Mère-Église today centres on its role in the D-Day invasion. There are many small museums (such as the Airborne Museum) and World War II-related gift shops and eating places. A dummy paratrooper hangs from the church spire, commemorating the story of John Steele. Behind the church is a spring, believed by

pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

s to have healing powers, dedicated to Saint Mewan (Saint Méen). Sainte-Mère-Église is twinned with the English village of Sturminster Marshall in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

Gallery

File:John Steele Sainte-Mère Eglise.jpg, Parachute Memorial in Sainte-Mère-Église Image:StMereEgliseChurch.JPG, Sainte-Mère-Église Church. Image:StMereEgliseParachute.JPG, Church bell tower with dummy parachutist.

Notable people

William of Sainte-Mère-Église William of Sainte-Mère-Église was a medieval Bishop of London. Life William's family originated from Sainte-Mère-Église, in the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy,Greenway Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300: Volume 1, St. Paul's, London: Bish ...

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

from 1198 to 1221.