Established 1944 Unknown burials 87 | Total burials 2,958 | |
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Similar Bény‑sur Canadian War Cem, Bayeux War Cemetery, Normandy American Cemetery, Ryes War Cemetery, Mémorial Pégasus | ||
The Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery is a war cemetery containing predominantly Canadian soldiers killed during the later stages of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. It is located close to the village of Cintheaux and named after Bretteville-sur-Laize in the Calvados department, between Caen and Falaise in lower Normandy.
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Bretteville sur laize canadian war cemetery
History
Bretteville-sur-Laize was created as a permanent resting place for Canadian soldiers who had been temporarily buried in smaller plots close to where they fell. At the time of the cemetery's creation, France granted Canada a perpetual concession to the land occupied by the cemetery. Of the 2,958 burials, 2,782 are Canadian of whom 87 remain unidentified, together with 80 British, four Australian and one each from France and New Zealand. There are records for 2,792 of the Canadian men.
A large number of dead in the cemetery were killed late July 1944 around Saint-André-sur-Orne and in the battle for the Falaise Pocket in August 1944. Soldiers from nearly every unit within the II Canadian Corps are represented in the cemetery.
Canadians killed earlier (June and early July) in the Battle of Normandy are buried near Juno Beach in the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery.
Location
The cemetery is located on the road between Caen and Falaise, about 14 km from Caen, in the commune of Cintheaux.