Tag Archives: Normandy

Bomb damage on picture postcards

It was common for photographs of destruction by bombs to be sent as postcards. This shows the destruction of rail installations at Vire, in Normandy, by a raid on 6 June 1944. Collection BDIC-MHC. Tous droits réservés.

Posted in Effects of Bombing | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Bomb damage on picture postcards

Public ceremony

Public ceremony: Marshal Pétain in St-Étienne, 5-6 June 1944. Pétain cut short his visit on hearing of the Normandy landings. This was his last appearance in public before his trial. Courtesy Archives Départementales de la Loire, 7/W/26. Tous droits réservés.

Posted in State responds | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Public ceremony

Le Havre, Winter 1944-45

Le Havre, Winter 1944-45. A report by H. Holbek, a Swedish Quaker visitor to Le Havre, described popular feelings there in November 1944. ‘One notices a sense of bitterness towards the British, a profound chagrin and disappointment, in Le Havre. … Continue reading

Posted in Effects of Bombing | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Le Havre, Winter 1944-45

‘To the inhabitants of this town.’

‘To the inhabitants of this town.’ The last warning: this leaflet, dropped in Normandy on the eve of the D-Day landings, made no reference to a specific locality and was ignored by most people who read it. Courtesy Mémorial de … Continue reading

Posted in Allied Strategies, 1940-45 | Tagged , , | Comments Off on ‘To the inhabitants of this town.’

Four days before the Normandy landings

Four days before the Normandy landings, Eisenhower instructed the air chiefs to minimise civilian casualties. His note preceded the three most intensive months of Allied bombing over France. © Crown Copyright. Courtesy The National Archives, AIR37.1012.

Posted in Allied Strategies, 1940-45 | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Four days before the Normandy landings