The War Cemeteries of Normandy

The cemeteries of Normandy are among the most moving sites of the campaign, each reflecting the nation it commemorates.

The Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer is the most visited, its white marble crosses set above Omaha Beach. The La Cambe German War Cemetery, by contrast, is dark and sombre, holding over 21,000 dead beneath low basalt markers.

The Bayeux War Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth cemetery of the war in France, while Bény-sur-Mer gathers the Canadians who fell on Juno Beach and in the drive on Caen.

Furthest east, Ranville War Cemetery lies beside the church of the first village liberated, holding many of the airborne soldiers who secured the Orne bridges.

See how these places sit in relation to each other on the interactive map.