Cherbourg-Octeville (French: [ʃɛʁbuʁ ɔkt(ə)vil] ) is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. It was formed when Cherbourg and Octeville merged on 28 February 2000. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, of which it became a delegated commune.
Cherbourg-Octeville is represented by a delegate mayor (Sébastien Fagnen, elected in 2017) and a delegate municipal council.
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (French pronunciation: [ʃɛʁbuʁ ɑ̃ kɔtɑ̃tɛ̃], lit. 'Cherbourg in Cotentin'; Norman: Tchidbouo) is a major port city in the department of Manche, Normandy, northwestern France, established on 1 January 2016. The commune takes its name from Cherbourg, the main town of the commune, and from the Cotentin Peninsula. Cherbourg is an important commercial, ferry and military port on the English Channel.
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin is a maritime prefecture and a sub-prefecture of Manche. The merger makes it the most populous commune in the department, with 79,144 inhabitants as of 2018 (of which 35,545 in Cherbourg-Octeville) and the largest city of the department, ahead of the Saint-Lô prefecture, and the second-largest city in the region, after Caen. Its urban unit is composed of three communes (Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Martinvast and Tollevast) and has 81,963 inhabitants (2018). Its larger functional area covers 77 communes and had 152,630 inhabitants as of 2018.
Cherbourg is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 February 2000, which was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin on 1 January 2016.
Cherbourg is protected by Cherbourg Harbour, between La Hague and Val de Saire, and the city has been a strategic position over the centuries, disputed between the English and French. Cited as one of the "keys to the kingdom" by Vauban, it became, by colossal maritime development work, a first-rate military port under the leadership of Napoleon I, and holds an arsenal of the French Navy. A stopping point for prestigious transatlantic liners in the first half of the 20th century, Cherbourg was the primary goal of US troops during the invasion of Normandy in 1944.
The Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue took place during the Nine Years' War, between 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.) and 4 June O.S. (14 June N.S.) 1692. The first was fought near Barfleur on 19 May O.S. (29 May N.S.), with later actions occurring between 20 May O.S. (30 May N.S.) and 4 June O.S. (14 June N.S.) at Cherbourg and Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue in Normandy, France.
The French attempt to restore James II to the English throne—the Williamite War in Ireland—ended in defeat in October 1691. Instead, a fleet of 44 ships of the line under Admiral de Tourville was to transport an invasion force commanded by Bernardin Gigault de Bellefonds. The Anglo-Dutch ships wintered in separate ports, and Tourville was ordered to put to sea as early as possible, hoping to intercept them before they could combine. However, when he finally did so in late May, the two fleets under Admiral Edward Russell had already met up and were 82 strong when they encountered the French off Cape Barfleur.