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The Battle for Caen (June to August 1944) was a military engagement between the British Second Army and the German Panzergruppe West in the Second World War for control of the city of Caen and its vicinity during the Battle of Normandy.
- The Bombardment Begins
- 7 July 1944
- A Bloody Cross and A New Legend
- Annihilation of Almost All of Caen
- Liberation, at A Price
- The Most Beautiful Day
- The Horror Lingers
- ‘I Am Ashamed’
On 6 June American bombers, aiming to knock out bridges on river Orne, missed their targets and destroyed sections of an unsuspecting city. Over 300 people died. This was just the beginning. Cécile Leclerc, then a 17 year old student nurse recalled the bombardment after D-Day: “I was a nurse with my sister Therese in a dispensary near the Rue des C...
Survivors always said 7 July was the worst day for Caen. On that day records show Lancaster and Halifax bombers dropped 2500 tons of bombs on the city. André Heintz, a 24-year old resistance fighter was in Caen when the bombs dropped. “I was haunted by what I saw, it was terrible to see so many wounded. It was difficult to bear.”
André had to resort to dipping sheets in blood to create a red cross he laid across the roof of their makeshift hospital, in the hope this would keep the bombers away. Somehow the Abbey survived and the hospital, thanks to that huge red cross. Both buildings were still hit by nearly 200 shells, but around them city was hit with 600,000 shells in th...
Living just a few miles from the city Marie Louise Osmond recorded the bombardment in her diary; July 9 “The offensive lasted 36 hours (we were stupefied by the noise)… July 11 “I learn for certain of the annihilation of almost all of Caen, of the death of so many people”. After news reaches Marie Louise of friends dead or lost in the chaos, she re...
Although parts of Caen were liberated on 9 July, still the enemy resist and the Allies could not get across the Orne river that bisects the city. A further 7,000 tons of bombs and 250,000 shells were aimed at Caen. Finally the enemy are completely pushed back on 21 July. The city has been reduced to rubble, impassable by Allied troops. After living...
But there was also the euphoria of liberation. André Heintz says; “I went to the northern part of the city, to the area that is now part of the university campus. The whole area looked like I imagined the moon to be, because the many bombs that had been dropped had brought lots of white stone to the surface.” “When I saw the first Allied soldier I ...
But the damage Caen suffered was a shock to many people across the world, a shock that has lingered. Following the capture of Caen, British war correspondents for the Daily Mail reported on 28 July; “One must drive through Caen every time one goes to or from the Orne front and it’s still a horrible and rather shaming thing. The people of Caen will ...
When asked about the controversy surrounding the terrible bombing of Caen, André Heintz said: “Obviously it was a crime to cause such destruction and kill so many people, but probably it was the only thing to stop the Germans long enough from rushing towards the sea…” He recalled an emotional meeting with a British student in Edinburgh, where he ta...
Apr 2, 2019 · The Battle of Caen was fought from June 6, to July 20, 1944, during World War II (1939-1945). Situated on the Orne River approximately nine miles from the Normandy coast, the city of Caen was a key road and rail hub in the region.
Feb 4, 2005 · In front of Caen Castle the citizens of Caen have erected a memorial sculpture to the 3rd British Infantry Division that honours and commemorates their liberators.
During the Battle for Caen, more than three quarters of the buildings in Caen were destroyed. It was to become known as a ‘Martyr City’, or in French: ‘ville martyre’.
The initial plan of the Allies foresees the liberation of the city of Caen on the evening of Tuesday June 6, 1944 by the British troops of the 3rd division of infantry. Thus, many infantrymen are equipped with foldable bicycles when landing in order to move more quickly.
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Caen on 9 July 1944. Caen, the ancient capital of Normandy, was a vital road and rail junction that the Allies needed to capture before they could advance south through the excellent tank country...
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