In France, D-Day evokes both the joys of liberation and the pain of Normandy's 20,000 civilian dead

[sl8]

Last edited Wed Jun 5, 2024, 08:02 AM - Edit history (1)

https://apnews.com/article/dday-wwii-civilians-france-germany-military-normandy-72c0afc51a8a76222e510771a2474563

In France, D-Day evokes both the joys of liberation and the pain of Normandy’s 20,000 civilian dead

BY JOHN LEICESTER
Updated 12:10 AM EDT, June 5, 2024

[...]

But also seared into survivors’ memories in Normandy are massive Allied bombing raids that pulverized towns, villages and the cities of Caen, Rouen and Le Havre, burying victims and turning skies fire-red.

The 80th anniversary this week of the June 6, 1944, Allied invasion on D-Day that punched through Hitler’s western defenses and helped precipitate Nazi Germany’s surrender 11 months later brings mixed emotions for French survivors of the Battle of Normandy. They remain eternally grateful for their liberation but cannot forget its steep cost in French lives.

[...]

Some 20,000 Normandy civilians were killed in the invasion and as Allied forces fought their way inland, sometimes field-by-field through the leafy Normandy countryside that helped conceal German defenders. Only in late August of 1944 did they reach Paris.

Allied casualties in the Normandy campaign were also appalling, with 73,000 troops killed and 153,000 wounded.

[...]

[Doc Sportello]

1. Link to the updated article?

The links above are to previous articles.

[sl8]

2. Doh! Here it is:

https://apnews.com/article/dday-wwii-civilians-france-germany-military-normandy-72c0afc51a8a76222e510771a2474563

Aded to OP. Thanks for the heads-up.

[Doc Sportello]

3. Thanks

It is an under reported aspect of the invasion in my mind. I think most everyone agrees civilian deaths in this case were an inherent part of the operation, and troops on the ground were told to minimize as much as possible civilian casualties. But they didn't have laser-guided bombs and the aerial bombardments were often wildly inaccurate.