Villers-sur-Mer (Calvados)
The cities of Normandy during the 1944 battles
Liberation: August 22, 1944
Deployed units:
1st Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles, 6th Airlanding Brigade, 6th Airborne Division
1er groupement indépendant belge “Brigade Piron”, 6th Airborne Division
711. Infanterie-Division
History:
On 17 August 1944, more than two months after D-Day, the British launched Operation Paddle in the direction of the Seine. The Belgian and Luxembourg soldiers of the “Piron Brigade” (1st Belgian independent group led by Colonel Piron and attached to the 6th Airborne Division) are in the front line in the race towards the Seine river.
On August 22, after taking possession of Houlgate, the Allies reached the outskirts of Villers-sur-Mer and seized the town despite the large number of obstacles, mines and traps left by the Germans of the 711 Infantry Division.
Villers-sur-Mer maps:
