Graye sur Mer
| Graye-sur-Mer | ||
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| Commune | ||
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 Graye-sur-Mer
Location within Normandy region
Graye-sur-Mer
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| Coordinates: 49°19′48″N 0°28′16″W / 49.33°N 0.4711°WCoordinates: 49°19′48″N 0°28′16″W / 49.33°N 0.4711°W | ||
| Country | France | |
| Region | Normandy | |
| Department | Calvados | |
| Arrondissement | Bayeux | |
| Canton | Courseulles-sur-Mer | |
| Intercommunality | Bessin, Seulles et Mer | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor (2008–2014) | Jean-Pierre Lachèvre | |
| Area1 | 6.54 km2 (2.53 sq mi) | |
| Population (2008)2 | 652 | |
| • Density | 100/km2 (260/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 14318 /14470 | |
| Elevation | 2–47 m (6.6–154.2 ft) (avg. 6 m or 20 ft) |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Graye-sur-Mer is a commune in the Calvados department (14) in the Normandy region, la Basse-Normandie, in northwestern France, 1.1 km from Courseulles-sur-Mer, and 3.4 km from Sainte-Croix-sur-Mer.
The commune probably acquired its name from an old landed estate in its vicinity owned by a knight subordinate to William the Conqueror, Anchetil de Greye.
On D-Day, not garrisoned as a defensible strong point, Graye-sur-Mer, lay in the shadow of fighting at the German Stongpoint: Stützpuntkte (StP) at Courseulles-sur-Mer, and for one more day under the ‘influence' of Ost-Bataillon 441./ nfanterie-Division 716. The 7th Canadian Infantry (Assault) Brigade (Group)landing on D-Day, on the Mike and Nan Green beaches, would liberate Graye-sur-Mer, greatly benefiting from the Naval Bombardment Programme, about which the arriving Canadians had complained early in the day. Graye-sur-Mer, liberated early on 06.06.1944, was the object of several notable tactical engagements on D-Day, before the day was concluded. The citizens getting their first taste of something at 06h30 (Paris Time) when naval bombardment began to their west at Ver-Sur-Mer and then took up to their southeast at 06h52 (Paris Time). Not knowing it was the Normandy Landings, the sound of war got closer to the village at 08h45 (Paris Time) when the French Destroyer Escort La Combattante (FNFL) began to shell Hameau Vaux and Hameau de la Valette. The first Canadians to see action in Graye-sur-Mer was 'C’ Company, The Canadian Scottish Regiment in ‘destroying’ the German Resistance Nest at Breche Le Bisson and ‘capturing’ the Château de Vaux. The village was ‘liberated’ by 'D' Company, Royal Winnipeg Rifles just after 10 AM (Paris Time, The ‘Little Black Devils’ clearing the town, and quickly moving off to Banville.
D-Day Operation Neptune: Naval Bombardment was set out within a deliberate timetable, to ensure that naval gunfire could eliminate targets inland, that would threaten the landing beaches. Operation NEPTUNE was the kick-off, toward the liberation of France, it the amphibious phase of Operation OVERLORD. In the NEPTUNE Plan, the basic facts were that the landing of troops and continuing neutralization of enemy batteries was the direct responsibility of Allied Naval and Air Support. As the citizens of Graye-sur-Mer were woken up by the sounds of guns, not far from their homes, its two components could not have been distinguishable. First, the ‘Counter Battery Fire Support’ Programme, delivered by the Royal Navy: (BBF) Bombardment Force ‘E’ Juno Beach (x2 targets) and (BBF) Bombardment Force ‘G’ Gold Beach (x2 targets), delivered first counter battery fire.
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