Civilians and the Resistance
The bombing of Norman cities
Around 2:00 a.m., for the 1020th time since the start of the war, sirens wailed over Caen. This time it signaled a vast bombing campaign targeting Norman cities. Already, in the three months preceding June 6th, more than 42,000 tons of bombs had been dropped by 22,000 aircraft on some one hundred railway targets, including all the engineering structures in the Seine Valley between Le Havre and Paris, in order to isolate the future battlefield.
In April and May 1944, German fortified positions, listening posts, and radar stations were targeted by bombers. The second phase of the bombing began on the night of June 5-6. Between 11:30 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., more than 1000 British bombers relentlessly pounded the ten coastal batteries between Cherbourg and Le Havre, relieved at dawn by 1527 American bombers targeting the beaches between Le Havre and the Vire River. That morning, the urban centers of a dozen towns and cities, where rail and road hubs were located, were not spared. Caen, Flers, Condé-sur-Noireau, and Lisieux, among others, were engulfed in flames. The results were mixed, as the low cloud ceiling, dust, and smoke severely hampered the identification of targets.
Cities were then hit again, such as Caen. On an arc between Pont-L'Evêque and Coutances, about ten cities were overflown by bombers of the 8th US Air Force: Pont-L'Evèque, Lisieux, Vire, Condé-sur-Noireau, Flers, Coutances and Saint-Lô were hit in turn in order to prevent German reinforcements from reaching the beaches.
On the morning of June 7, the toll was heavy for results that were hardly satisfactory for the Allies: nearly 2,200 Norman civilians had died during these air raids.
The bombing of Caen
In Caen, the bombings aimed to destroy the four bridges over the Orne in order to prevent the Germans from moving back towards the sea.
In Caen, the Decaen barracks and then the train station district were severely hit around 7:00 a.m. At 13:30 p.m., a new attack by six squadrons of American B24 bombers very imprecisely dropped 200 tons of bombs over the city. The Saint-Jean district, between the château and the Orne River, was completely destroyed. 10 people fled the city out of a population of 000. The districts of Vaucelles, Place de la Mare, Gaillon, Route de la Délivrande, Rue Saint-Pierre, and the château were seriously affected. The victims and wounded were taken to the Bon-Sauveur and Miséricorde hospitals, while refugees were directed to the reception centers at the Lycée Malherbe and the town hall. Others finally chose to seek shelter in the underground quarries of Fleury-sur-Orne.
At 16:30 p.m., further air raids destroyed the old Saint-Etienne district. At 21:30 p.m., a third raid hit the city, pulverizing the Saint-Julien and Saint-Louis districts. By the evening of June 6, 300 dead were recovered from the ruins of the city, and the bridges over the Orne River were still intact.
United States 🇺🇸: 73,000 soldiers
- Beaches: Utah and Omaha
- Divisions involved: 1st, 4th and 29th Infantry Divisions, 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.
United Kingdom 🇬🇧: 61,700 soldiers
- Beaches: Gold and Sword
- Divisions involved: 50th and 3rd Infantry Divisions, 6th Airborne Division.
Canada 🇨🇦: 21,400 soldiers
- Beach: Juno
- Division engaged: 3rd Canadian Infantry Division.
Free France 🇫🇷: 177 soldiers
- French forces under the command of Commander Kieffer.
Poland 🇵🇱: 1,100 soldiers
- Mainly engaged in aviation and the navy.
Norway 🇳🇴: 13100 military sailors and 1300 civilian sailors
- In the Royal Navy and Norwegian commandos.
Netherlands 🇳🇱: 500 soldiers and sailors
- Enlisted in the Navy and Special Forces.
Belgium 🇧🇪: 600 soldiers and sailors
- Particularly in the Piron Brigade (Belgian forces in exile).
Denmark 🇩🇰: 900 sailors