The battle plan: Canadian, Polish and British units block the Wehrmacht's escape to the north.  France's 2nd Armoured Division and the US Third Army close the pincer from the south.
 
It becomes one of the bloodiest encounters of World War II, as thousands die in the 'The Corridor of Death'.  But the path to Paris – and its liberation – is decisively cleared.

Orne has played its hand in Europe's history before.  Henry II and the fabulous Eleanor of Aquitaine had a Plantagenet court here, at Domfront.  William The Conqueror, who was born in nearby Calvados, once besieged the castle there.

Today, you can relive their stories and the epic 1944 struggle across a network of battle sites, museums and memorials, and via a series of special Battle of Normandy trails.