A subject rarely discussed in the context of World War II is the manner in which daily life gradually returned to a semblance of normality in France following D-Day, particularly in Normandy.
By 25 July, with most German armored units drawn westward by the British Goodwood Offensive, American forces encountered a front largely stripped of armor, allowing certain civilian freedoms to be restored.
The following day, 26 July 1944, marked a momentous occasion for the fishermen of the Cherbourg Peninsula. Half an hour before dawn, the fishing fleet put to sea en masse, the Tricolor flying from every vessel—free to sail for the first time in four years.
Since the D-Day landings, the Normandy fishermen disobeyed the Allied Expeditionary Force order to refrain from fishing for “reasons of military security.”
Previously, during the German occupation, they had either been secerely restricted or had had so much of their cath seized by the Nazis that their work almost profitless. These pictures show the fishermen resuming the livelihood practised by their fathers and forefathers for generations, this time with Allied cooperation and petrol supplied by the U.S. Navy.
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History of Sorts 
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