Battle of Normandy & the Liberation of Coutances

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First published: October 2025

The Battle of Normandy (6 June – 25 August 1944) was one of the most decisive campaigns of World War II. While many visitors focus on the D-Day landing beaches, the fiercest and most strategic fighting took place inland — across the fields, hedgerows, and towns of La Manche. From Carentan to Saint-Lô, Marigny, Roncey, Périers, Montcuit, and Coutances, this region — including our village of Nicorps — was at the heart of the Allied breakout.

This blog traces the five major stages of the battle, with a focus on the American advance through the southern Manche and the liberation of Coutances — and how local events impacted the landscape around the gîte.

🗺️ Operation Overlord & the Postponed D-Day

The Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France began under the codename Operation Overlord. Initially scheduled for 5 June 1944, it was postponed by 24 hours due to rough seas and poor visibility. Had the Allies launched on 4 or 5 June as planned, high winds and low cloud would have made the landings and air support disastrous. The decision to go on 6 June changed the course of the war.

⚔️ Phase 1: Widening the Bridgehead (6–13 June)

After landing on the beaches, Allied forces pushed inland to expand their hold. One of the most critical objectives was Carentan, just 40 minutes from the gîte. American paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division fought fierce house-to-house battles to connect Utah and Omaha beaches. The German defence included Panzergrenadier units and paratroopers, supported by artillery emplacements across the flooded Douve Valley. Carentan was finally secured on 12 June after brutal urban fighting and flanking manoeuvres by U.S. tanks.

🛡️ Phase 2: Consolidating the Bridgehead (14–24 July)

Progress stalled as Allied forces became entangled in the infamous Normandy bocage — a labyrinth of sunken lanes and thick hedgerows perfect for German ambushes. The countryside around Roncey, Marigny, Montcuit, Périers, and Nicorps saw daily artillery exchanges, tank skirmishes, and sniper fire. The 2nd SS Panzer Division “Das Reich” and the 17th SS “Götz von Berlichingen” entrenched themselves in the hills and woodland of southern Manche, using every field and lane as cover.

Saint-Lô — known as the “Key to Normandy” — was all but destroyed. Over 95% of the town was reduced to rubble by mid-July. American bombers targeted German strongholds there, but many civilian evacuation leaflets failed to arrive in time. The destruction was so severe that post-war, the Memorial Hospital of Saint-Lô was constructed by the U.S. military as a gesture of goodwill — with support still symbolically extended today.

During these bombardments, residents of Nicorps — including those who once lived here — took refuge in the deep stone cellar of the main house, now known as La Ruche, beside what is today the Ursula gîte.

🔥 Phase 3: Operation Cobra & the Breakthrough (25–30 July)

After weeks of attritional warfare, the Allies launched Operation Cobra, a breakout strategy spearheaded by American forces. On 25 July, 3,000 bombers dropped high explosives on German positions around Saint-Lô. Tragically, friendly fire killed hundreds of U.S. troops, including General Leslie McNair.

In the days that followed, American troops — aided by Sherman “Rhinoceros” tanks equipped with hedgerow-cutting prongs — punched through the German lines. Towns and villages like Marigny, Montcuit, and Périers were scenes of intense tank battles, roadblocks, and house-to-house fighting. Columns of U.S. armour rolled through Roncey, forming what became known as the Roncey Pocket — a trap that destroyed thousands of German vehicles and artillery, just minutes from the gîte.

Nicorps stood directly in the breakout corridor. The hills, lanes, and fields surrounding the gîte echoed with the rumble of tanks, the hum of reconnaissance aircraft, and the heavy sound of artillery moving toward Coutances. Much of the 116th Panzer Division “Windhund” attempted to regroup in the nearby hills, but were intercepted during the advance.

🏙️ Liberation of Coutances (28 July)

By 27 July, the American 2nd Armored Division had outflanked Coutances by pushing from Tessy through Montpinchon and past Nicorps. On 28 July 1944, the town of Coutances was liberated. General Patton himself drove through the town and continued the advance south toward Avranches. Today, the city honours him with Avenue Général Patton.

🪖 Phase 4: Operation Bluecoat & the Push East (30 July–7 August)

While the Americans moved west, the British launched Operation Bluecoat from Caumont toward Vire — a diversion to stop German reserves from reinforcing Coutances. The 116th Panzer and elements of the 1st SS Panzer Division “Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler” were drawn into fierce counterattacks east of the gîte area, allowing Cobra’s breakout to hold.

🪤 Phase 5: Falaise Pocket (8–21 August)

The final stage of the Battle of Normandy saw Canadian and Polish forces trap German armies near Falaise in what became known as the Falaise Pocket. More than 50,000 German soldiers were killed or captured. The Allies now controlled Normandy — and Paris was liberated four days later.

🕊️ Memorials in Every Village

Every village church in Coutances Mer & Bocage maintains a memorial to the fallen. In Nicorps, a monument stands in the churchyard of Saint Corneille — a quiet reminder of the human cost of war, and of those who never returned.

⚰️ War Cemeteries Near the Gîte

🇩🇪 Marigny German Military Cemetery (20 mins)

More than 11,000 German soldiers lie here, many of whom were killed in battles around Saint-Lô, Roncey, and Montcuit. It’s one of the largest German cemeteries in Normandy, stark and sobering in its design.

🇺🇸 🇬🇧 Allied Memorials & Sites

• Roncey Pocket Memorial – small plaque near village centre
• Montcuit Hill – site of tank battle and German retreat
• Memorial Hospital, Saint-Lô – post-war U.S.-funded hospital on the site of heavy fighting
• Coutances Cathedral – used for triage during liberation

📍 Local WWII History Highlights Near Our Gîte

• 🏙️ Carentan – 40 mins (fierce town battle between U.S. Airborne and German troops)
• 🔥 Saint-Lô – 35 mins (nearly 95% destroyed; key turning point)
• 🚜 Marigny – 20 mins (centre of German defensive line)
• 🎖️ Roncey – 12 mins (encirclement of German forces in the pocket)
• 📍 Nicorps – 0 mins (gîte stood within breakout corridor, La Ruche used for shelter)

Whether you’re a WWII enthusiast, a descendant of veterans, or simply curious about the history all around you, southern Manche is one of the richest and most moving areas of the entire Normandy campaign — and all of it is within a short distance from our gîte.

Ready to explore Normandy?