"The cruel martyrdom of Normandy had indeed saved the rest of France"




From Antony Beevor's D - Day: The Battle for Normandy.

Page 519.


"The cruel martyrdom of Normandy had indeed saved the rest of France.

"Yet the debate about the overkill of Allied bombing and artillery is bound to continue.

"Altogether 19,890 French civilians were killed during the liberation of Normandy and an even larger number seriously injured.

"This was on top of the 15,000 French killed and 19,000 injured during the preparatory bombing for Overlord in the first five months of 1944.

"It is a sobering thought that 70,000 French civilians were killed by Allied action during the course of the war -- a figure which exceeds the total number of British killed by German bombing..."