The First French Town Liberated

The village of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, made famous by the movie 'The Longest Day,' was not the first town liberated — that honor goes to Ranville, taken by British paratroopers of the 6th Airborne Division at 00:30 on D-Day. But Ranville was recaptured by the Germans and had to be taken again the next day. The actual first PERMANENTLY liberated town held continuously from D-Day was La Madeleine, near Carentan, secured by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division at approximately 04:00 on 6 June, 1944.