Villers-Bocage (French pronunciation: [vilɛʁ bɔkaʒ] ) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in Northern France.

The Battle of Villers-Bocage was a significant battle between British and German forces on 13 June 1944 during the Battle of Normandy. Further fighting occurred two weeks later during Operation Epsom, during which the village was destroyed by 250 RAF heavy bombers.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,121 —     1800 1,010 −1.48% 1806 1,223 +3.24% 1821 1,177 −0.26% 1831 1,178 +0.01% 1836 1,178 +0.00% 1841 1,146 −0.55% 1846 1,134 −0.21% 1851 1,127 −0.12% 1856 1,105 −0.39% 1861 1,156 +0.91% 1866 1,155 −0.02% 1872 1,147 −0.12% 1876 1,139 −0.17% 1881 1,084 −0.98% 1886 1,147 +1.14% 1891 1,057 −1.62% 1896 1,104 +0.87%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 1,047 −1.05% 1906 1,073 +0.49% 1911 1,141 +1.24% 1921 1,039 −0.93% 1926 1,060 +0.40% 1931 1,093 +0.62% 1936 1,202 +1.92% 1946 743 −4.70% 1954 1,431 +8.54% 1962 1,825 +3.09% 1968 1,985 +1.41% 1975 2,317 +2.23% 1982 2,623 +1.79% 1990 2,845 +1.02% 1999 2,904 +0.23% 2007 2,894 −0.04% 2012 3,072 +1.20% 2017 3,108 +0.23%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

The commune is twinned with:

• Bampton, Devon, UK since 1974

• Communes of the Calvados department

• Website of the office of tourism (in French)
• Information about Villers-Bocage