Country: France

Locality: Calvados

Identified Casualties: 491

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Cemetery Location

Fontenay le Pesnil is a village on the D9 Caen-Caumont road, about 16km west of Caen. The cemetery is about 1km south of the village, on the D139 to Grainville. Following this road you reach the memorial to the 49th (West Riding) Division on the right; directly opposite is a signposted track for the cemetery. Follow this to the parking just before the cemetery.

Cemetery Information

Fontenay le Pesnel saw heavy fighting in June and July 1944, particularly involving units of the 49th (West Riding) Division whose memorial is close by. The cemetery was started after the capture of the village, and was used by fighting units extensively in July 1944, in particular the South Staffordshire Regiment, East Lancashire Regiment, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Durham Light Infantry and Armoured units. The German graves are largely soldiers from the 12th SS Panzer Division (Hitlerjugend).

WW2 Graves

The cemetery contains graves from several regiments, including the South Staffordshire Regiment, East Lancashire Regiment, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Durham Light Infantry and Armoured units.

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