Atlas of Battles

battle, major, interwar and Second World War

Battle of Cherbourg

Battle of Cherbourg was a battle fought on 6 June 1944 at Cherbourg, in what is now France; it lasted 24 days. It was part of Operation Overlord. The recorded result: Allied victory. Recorded strength: Unknown against 40,000.

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Map of German positions on Cotentin Peninsula, D-Day, 6 June 1944
Map of German positions on Cotentin Peninsula, D-Day, 6 June 1944. Historical Division, Department of the Army, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought6 June 1944lasted 24 days
WhereCherbourg, France49.639N, 1.625W
OutcomeAllied victory
BelligerentsUnited States; United KingdomagainstNazi Germany
Part ofOperation Overlord1944

Where it sits in Operation Overlord

Battle for Caen, 1944Battle of Cherbourg, 1944Battle of Carentan, 1944Battle of Bréville, 1944Battle of Bloody Gulch, 1944Battle of La Haye-du-Puits, 1944Second Battle of the Odon, 1944Battle for Brest, 1944Falaise Pocket, 1944Liberation of Paris, 194419441944Battle of Cherbourg, 1944
10 placed engagements of Operation Overlord in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date6 June 1944
to 30 June 1944
PlaceCherbourg, France
49.639N, 1.625W
KindBattle, interwar and Second World War
StrengthUnknown40,000
Casualties and losses2,800 killed in action; 5,700 missing; 13,500 wounded; Total: 22,0007,000 killed; 30,000 captured; Total: 37,000–38,000+
Commanders
  • Friedrich Dollmann
  • Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben
Battle of CherbourgBattle of CherbourgRaid on CherbourgAction at CherbourgBattle of CherbourgAction of 24 March 1811Action at La HogueBattle of CherbourgAction at La HogueLe HavreBrightonPortsmouthCaenExeterSt.-Brieuc100 km49.639N, 1.625W
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Cherbourg
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Cherbourg today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-07-11. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 8 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -2 to 184 m, 185 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 35% built-up, 29% tree cover, 21% water.

built-up: 35%tree cover: 29%water: 21%grassland: 12%built-up 35%tree cover 29%water 21%grassland 12%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 92 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 132 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 3 times between 1692 and 1944.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1944

Battle of Cherbourg is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 1,383 in present-day France.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q516202, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Cherbourg, revision 1370436989, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.