Town in FRance

[Sue Parsons]

Town in North West France severely damaged in World War Two

[Gef]

Rouen?

[dzug]

Possibly Brest.

Rouen is NE France.

[maximo]

It could be Lorient too. Do you have any more clues ? Numerous towns were severely damaged in the North West of France in WW2 !

[maximo]

Oh, and Rouen is in the North West, not North East. It's in Normandy.

[john91]

Caen?

[Paul22118]

Because of the impasse that happened at Caen after the Allies had landed on the Normandy beaches, the town itself received a huge amount of bombardment. It was a town that had to be taken and the Germans removed as it was stopping the greater expansion of the Allied lines. It was eventually taken but the beautiful old town was virtually razed to the ground.

If the old photographs of the area do any justice then CAEN must be your answer.

[Grunty]

I would guess that you are thinking of Caen. There was a controversy about whether it was really necessary to bomb it so heavily or to kill so many civilians. General Bradley's order was quite clear. "If it becomes necessary to save time, put 500 or even 1000 tons on the place and take the city apart."

http://www.valourandhorror.com/DB/ISSUE/Liberating_Caen. php

[pega]

if this is a crossword 23d mail on sunday ? - EVREUX