D-Day Through French Eyes: Normandy 1944 par Mary Louise Roberts (review)

Reviews 253 all 16 of the full-page plates from Sous les pots de fleurs provides the opportunity for scholarly examination of an album that has now become quite a rarity, fetching prices in excess of a600 on the collector’s market. Those interested in the representation of the Great War in the neglected category of popular illustration will find this modestly priced book moving as well as informative. Skidmore College (NY) John Anzalone Roberts, Mary Louise. D-Day Through French Eyes: Normandy 1944. Chicago: UP of Chicago, 2014. ISBN 978-0-226-13699-8. Pp. 211. $25. Roberts surveys the Allied Landing of 6 June 1944 and its aftermath from the viewpoint of the French residents of the Norman towns and villages whose territory was invaded. After years of occupation, the residents were initially overjoyed to see the arrival of their liberators, but joy soon turned to fear and uncertainty as their lives were not only disrupted but placed in great peril.Allied strategy called for the bombing of German installations and transportation routes throughout the region; the city of Cherbourg was bombarded and captured in order to use its harbor as a supply port. The warning leaflets dropped by the Allies often went far astray of their targets, and the bombing itself was equally imprecise. Many civilians died in the rubble or witnessed loved-ones killed before their eyes. In the countryside, residents were forced to take cover in ditches, mines, and caves. Others tried to flee to relatives in other regions of France, mostly on foot and with no shelter en route. Over seven thousand civilians perished in bombing raids which followed the landing. Other civilians found themselves on the front lines of combat, caught between German and American forces, often in their own backyards. They were injured by mines set by retreating Germans and booby-trapped helmets which attracted children. Over nineteen thousand French residents perished in the campaign to take Normandy. Those who survived, city and country dwellers alike, saw their homes and livelihoods destroyed. So little remained of the cities of Le Havre, Caen, and Saint-Lô that returning inhabitants did not recognize them.Yet even amid the devastation, civilians were determined to contribute to the ultimate success of the invasion. They supplied intelligence about German locations and helped the Americans find hidden paths through the hedgerows of the local terrain. They cared for injured Americans, at great risk to themselves. At first, American soldiers were suspicious of French civilians, knowing that some were collaborators. Later, soldiers gladly accepted the hospitality of Norman families who offered them their best food and introduced them to Calvados. In turn, soldiers distributed gifts of chocolate, cigarettes, and chewing gum and showed children their military gear and equipment. In one touching detail, the reader learns that the colorful silk parachutes which the paratroopers no longer needed were given to women for use in making clothes. They became the fabric of wedding dresses for hundreds of Norman brides over the next several years. This work is a collection of selections, presented in English translation, from diaries and journals written by French citizens and situated in historical context. The impressions of most Americans concerning the invasion are largely shaped by the work of professional journalists and photographers. The tone of these first-person accounts, written by non-professionals, is personal and heartfelt. The selections are compelling evidence of both the sufferings and the contributions of the Norman civilians. For both general readers and specialists, the work adds an important dimension to the history of the D-Day invasion. Southeast Missouri State University Alice J. Strange Simon-Carrère, Anne. Chanter la Grande Guerre: les “Poilus” et les femmes (1914– 1919). Seyssel: Champ Vallon, 2014. ISBN 978-2-87673-928-4. Pp. 288. 25 a. Simon-Carrère presents an excellent study of societal attitudes reflected in popular music in France during the Great War. In particular, the book focuses on popular musical representations of male-female relations and the impact of the war upon them. In Chanter la Grande Guerre, Simon-Carrère engages in an analysis of songs written for venues such as the music-hall and the caf...