Saint-Pierre-du-Mont, Calvados
Encyclopedia
Saint-Pierre-du-Mont is a commune
in the Calvados
department in the Basse-Normandie
region
in northwestern France
.
just north of the commune along the coast.
Saint-Pierre-du-Mont was liberated by American Ranger forces on 7 June 1944 after moving inland from Pointe du Hoc
. The area north of the commune was used by the United States Army Air Force as a combat airfield, known as as Advanced Landing Ground
"A-1" (Saint-Pierre-du-Mont
). The airfield was used between early June and September 1944. It was abandoned after the Americans moved east into Central France with the advancing Allied Armies.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Calvados
Calvados
The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
department in the Basse-Normandie
Basse-Normandie
Lower Normandy is an administrative region of France. It was created in 1956, when the Normandy region was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy...
region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
in northwestern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
World War II
During World War II, the area was heavily bombarded on several occasions during May and early June 1944 by Allied bombers, attacking German coastal fortifications of the Atlantic WallAtlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...
just north of the commune along the coast.
Saint-Pierre-du-Mont was liberated by American Ranger forces on 7 June 1944 after moving inland from Pointe du Hoc
Pointe du Hoc
Pointe du Hoc is a clifftop location on the coast of Normandy in northern France. It lies 4 miles west of Omaha Beach, and stands on 100 ft tall cliffs overlooking the sea...
. The area north of the commune was used by the United States Army Air Force as a combat airfield, known as as Advanced Landing Ground
Advanced Landing Ground
Advanced Landing Ground was the term given to the temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II in support of the invasion of Europe...
"A-1" (Saint-Pierre-du-Mont
Saint-Pierre-du-Mont Airfield
Saint-Pierre-du-Mont Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield which is located in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northern France....
). The airfield was used between early June and September 1944. It was abandoned after the Americans moved east into Central France with the advancing Allied Armies.