Country: France

Locality: Calvados

Identified Casualties: 2415

Google Earth Link: 

Cemetery Location

Ranville is best reached by taking the D513 north-eastwards out of Caen, and after about 9 kilometres turning left at Herouvillette. Go north for one kilometre and then turn left into Ranville village. The War Cemetery is on Rue des Airbornes.

Cemetery Information

The village of Ranville was an objective of 6th (Airborne) Division on 6th June 1944, and was captued by units of this formation on the morning of D Day. The churchyard was used for immediate burials, and some soldiers from 6th (Airborne) were laid to rest at this location as the fighting for the Eastern Flank continued. After the Second World War the site was chosen to regroup burials from this part of the battlefield, and graves were brought in from a number of areas, including: Amfreville, Colleville-sur-Orne, Houlgate, Colombelles and Villers-sur-Mer. The cemetery was finally closed in 1946. A very high proportion of the dead here are men from 6th (Airborne) Division.

WW2 Graves

The graves here are from fighting in the 6th (Airborne) Division sector around Ranville, Pegasus Bridge, the Bois de Bavant and Merville Battery. There are also many graves from Operation Goodwood and the fighting for Caen.

The breakdown of graves is:

British -2,151
Canadian - 76
Australian - 1
New Zealand - 1
Belgium - 1 
French - 5
Polish - 1
Unknown Allied - 1
German - 322
Totally Unidentified -1

Photo Archive