Douve
river in France
The Douve (French pronunciation: [duv]) or Ouve is a river, 78.6 km (48.8 mi) in length, which rises in the commune of Tollevast, near Cherbourg in the department of Manche. Ouve is considered its old name (Unva in ancient texts): Ouve appears to have been misspelled over the course of time as "Douve river" and then as "River of the Douve" (Douve literally means Ditch). The French name for this watercourse is la Douve.
After passing Tollevast, the river proceeds through the hills of the Cotentin Peninsula (Cherbourg peninsula) and goes by Sottevast, l'Étang-Bertrand and Magneville. It borders Néhou and crosses Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte. Once it reaches Bauptois, it alters its direction towards the Bay of the Seine in the south-eastern English Channel, passing through Carentan. The Douve is a navigable river owing to its flat bottom and adequate depth of flow.
In 1944 German troops, preparing Rommel's Fortress Europa, flooded the valley to prevent landing paratroops or gliders. On D-Day, the river was the boundary between the left flank of Allied landing forces on Utah Beach (on its left bank and so to the west nearest Rouen) and the bloody defensive battle that occurred at Omaha Beach. The Utah Beach landings were part of contingency planning only scheduled after ample landing craft became available and designed to give the Allies a leg up on taking a port city, in this case, Cherbourg, to bolster Allied logistical capacity.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Douve” as river in France. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as river in France. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 3, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1252782. VIAF identifies the subject as 172556154. Authority coordinates are 49.359, -1.169. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1944.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Douve”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Douve primary sources, Douve archive and Douve research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Douve”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Douve” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.