'How many Frenchmen did you kill?' British bombing policy towards France (1940-1945)

Dodd, Lindsey and Knapp, Andrew (2008) 'How many Frenchmen did you kill?' British bombing policy towards France (1940-1945). French History, 22 (4). pp. 469-492. ISSN 0269-1191

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Abstract

The Allied bombing of France between 1940 and 1945 has received comparatively little attention from historians, although the civilian death toll, at about 60,000, was comparable to that of German raids on the UK. This article considers how Allied, and particularly British, bombing policy towards France was developed, what its objectives were and how French concerns about attacks on their territory were (or were not) addressed. It argues that while British policymakers were sensitive to the delicate political implications of attacking France, perceived military necessities tended to trump political misgivings; that Vichy, before November 1942, was a stronger constraint on Allied bombing than the Free French at any time and that the bombing programme largely escaped political control from May 1944.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain D History General and Old World > DC France
Schools:	School of Music, Humanities and Media
Depositing User:	Graham Stone
Date Deposited:	04 Sep 2012 10:27
Last Modified:	01 Dec 2016 14:27
URI:	http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/14677

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