Beyond the beach: the Allied war against France

Beyond the Beach examines the Allied air war against France, especially from April through June 1944. During this period, General Dwight David Eisenhower, as Allied Supreme Commander, took control of all American, British, and Canadian air units, including the heavy bombers of RAF Bomber Command and the United States Army Strategic Air Forces. Rather than employ these aerial systems in a strategic manner, attacking targets deep in Germany, he used them for his own tactical and operationalpurposes. Employing bombers as, virtually, his long-range artillery he, through his air staff and commanders, directed the destruction of bridges, rail centers, ports, militaryinstallations, and even French towns, with the intent of preventing German reinforcements from interfering with Operation Neptune, the Allied landings on the Normandy beaches. This intense bombing operation, conducted against a friendly occupied state, resulted in a swath of physical and human destruction across northwest France. Ultimately, this air offensive resulted in the death of over 60,000 French civilians and an immense amount of damage to towns, churches, buildings, and works of art.

This book explores, therefore the relationship between ground and air operations and its effects on the French population. It begins by considering the three broad groups the air operations involved: the occupied French, the occupying Germans, and Eisenhower's headquarters. It then examines the doctrine and equipment used byAllied air force leaders to implement the supreme commander's plans. Next, it examines each of the eight major operations, called lines of effort, that coordinated the employment of the thousands of fighters, medium bombers, and heavy bombers that prowled the French skies that spring and summer of 1944. Each of these sectionsdiscusses the operation's purpose, conduct, and effects upon both the military and the civilian targets. Finally, the book explores short and long term effects of these operations and argues that this ignored narrative should be part of any history of the D-Day landings.