Bombings in Nantes

The squadrons sought to destroy the {{Interlanguage link|Port of Nantes|lt=port of Nantes|fr|Port de Nantes}}, with a particular focus on the support vessels for German submarines and raiders (tankers and supply ships) moored at the {{Interlanguage link|Quai de la Fosse|lt=Quai de la Fosse|fr|Quai de la Fosse}},{{Cite web |title=Les bombardements de Nantes |url=http://www.archeosousmarine.net/nantes1943.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114084617/http://www.archeosousmarine.net/nantes1943.html#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url |archive-date=January 14, 2018 |website=archeosousmarine.net |language=fr |access-date=August 14, 2024 |url-status=dead }} as well as the German military airbase at Château-Bougon, situated five kilometers southwest of Nantes and the Loire River.{{Cite web |last=Vandangeon |first=Stéphane |date=2012 |title=Nantes. Un documentaire et une exposition sur les bombardements de 1943 |url=https://www.letelegramme.fr/loire-atlantique/nantes-44000/spannantes-spanun-documentaire-et-une-exposition-sur-les-bombardements-de-1943-1597526.php |archive-url=https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.letelegramme.fr%2Fig%2Fgenerales%2Fregions%2Fnantes%2Fnantes-un-documentaire-et-une-exposition-sur-les-bombardements-de-1943-10-09-2012-1833185.php#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url |archive-date=November 21, 2015 |access-date=November 22, 2015 |website=Le Télégramme |language=fr}} It was from this location that the Luftwaffe launched aircraft to bomb England.{{Cite web |title=Les escadres de la Luftwaffe à Nantes-Château-Bougon |url=https://www.absa3945.com/terrains%20bretagne/nantes_chateau_bougon.html |archive-url=https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.absa3945.com%2Fterrains%2520bretagne%2Fnantes_chateau_bougon.html#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url |archive-date=November 27, 2015 |language=fr}} The nearby aviation factory was severely damaged in a previous raid on 4 July 1943.{{Cite journal |last=Vallero |first=Luigi |date=2009 |title=France's Oceanic Gateway |journal=Airports of the World |language=fr |pages=64–67}} However, rather than flying along the Loire to target the quays, the bombers, arriving from the north, crossed the city at a perpendicular angle at a considerable altitude, resulting in the scattering of their bombs over the city.{{Cite web |title=Nantes sous les bombes alliées - Une histoire oubliée de la France en guerre, wocomoDOCS | website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90t6n98LW28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202081803/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90t6n98LW28#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url |archive-date=February 2, 2017 |language=fr |access-date=August 14, 2024 |url-status=bot: unknown }} Consequently, most of the bombs failed to reach their intended targets and instead crashed into the city center.{{Cite web |last=Le Gall |first=Erwan |title=Nantes et les bombardements de septembre 1943 |url=http://enenvor.fr/eeo_actu/wwii/nantes_et_les%20bombardements_de_septembre_1943.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921061122/http://enenvor.fr/eeo_actu/wwii/nantes_et_les%20bombardements_de_septembre_1943.html#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |access-date=September 16, 2013 |website=En Envor |language=fr |url-status=bot: unknown }}

It appears that the quay and bridges were not significantly damaged, as evidenced by their continued functionality less than a year later, in August 1944. Before the city's evacuation by the German army, the latter took measures to sabotage these structures, thereby impeding the advancement of the American army.{{Cite web |title=Il y a 70 ans, Nantes libérée, le 12 août 1944 |url=https://archives.nantes.fr/PAGES/EXPO/EXPO/70e_anniv_liberation_nantes/Expo_70eme_anniversaire_liberation_nantes.pdf |archive-url=https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.archives.nantes.fr%2FPAGES%2FEXPO%2FEXPO%2F70e_anniv_liberation_nantes%2FExpo_70eme_anniversaire_liberation_nantes.pdf%2Findex.html#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url |archive-date=November 15, 2021 |language=fr}}

As early as 1938, Nantes had established a civil defense system (headquartered in the Hôtel Rosmadec, one of the buildings of the {{Interlanguage link|Hôtel de ville de Nantes|lt=City Hall|fr|Hôtel de ville de Nantes}}){{Cite web |last=ONAC |title=Les bombardements de Nantes - 16 et 23 septembre 1943 - 60e anniversaire |url=https://www.onac-vg.fr/files/uploads/les_bombardements_de_nantes.pdf |archive-url=https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onac-vg.fr%2Ffiles%2Fuploads%2Fles_bombardements_de_nantes.pdf%2Findex.html#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url |archive-date=December 1, 2021 |access-date=November 23, 2015 |website=onac-vg.fr |language=fr}} that allowed residents to take shelter. However, on the German side, there was no reaction from the Flak (anti-aircraft defense). During the second bombing on 23 September, the Germans set up smoke screens to obscure visibility.

File:365th Bombardment Squadron - B-17 Flying Fortress.jpg of the 8th Air Force, identical to those which carried out the bombardments.]]

Given that the center of Nantes had never been bombed, the civilian population of Nantes did not take the alerts seriously. They had become accustomed to hearing alarms that ultimately announced planes heading to bomb Saint-Nazaire over several months. Consequently, few people made their way to shelters when the sirens sounded. However, by 16 August 1943 Nantes had already experienced 373 alerts and nine bombings that had killed 33 people.

File:DIV85SL040 Saint Laurent-sur-Sèvre - La Sagesse - Ancien vitrail de la chapelle de l'hôpital Saint Jacques à Nantes.jpg window from the former chapel of Hôpital Saint-Jacques (Nantes) commemorating the death of 13 Sagesse nuns in the 16 September bombardment. The stained glass windows from this chapel are now in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre (Vendée), at the religious congregation's motherhouse.]]

File:Rue d'Ancin Nantes fresque bombardement.jpg

At approximately 3:30 p.m.,{{Harvsp|Thomas|1996|p=37}} the sirens began to sound.{{Harvsp|Ville de Nantes - Lycée professionnel Michelet|2005|p=8}} Approximately ten minutes later, 147 B-17 Fortresses from the U.S. 8th Air Force flew over the city.{{Harvsp|Jame|2005|p=13}} At 4:05 p.m., the initial American aerial bombardment of Nantes commenced. The impact was not uniform across the city; various districts, including the Butte Sainte-Anne and the Ateliers et Chantiers de Bretagne, were affected.{{Harvsp|Scheid|1994|p=52}} The Hôtel-Dieu, which was housing 800 patients at the time, was struck by 47 bombs,{{Harvsp|Gille|1993|p=40}} resulting in the deaths of 40 patients and 36 injuries among the hospital staff.{{Harvsp|Caillaud|1978|p=38}} In fifteen minutes, 1,450 bombs were dropped on 600 impact points within the city and its surrounding area. The city center, which had been severely damaged, received 130 projectiles, which triggered numerous fires,{{Harvsp|Gille|1993|p=47}} particularly in {{Interlanguage link|Rue du Calvaire, Nantes|lt=Rue du Calvaire|fr|Rue du Calvaire (Nantes)}}, Place Royale, and the Basilica of Saint-Nicolas.

A new air raid was initiated against the city, as the objectives set out for the Allies had not been fully achieved on 16 September. Six groups from the 8th Air Force{{Harvsp|Thomas|1996|p=77}} were ordered to bomb the port of Nantes. At 9:14 a.m., the first planes flew over the city, and the alarm was sounded. At approximately 9:20 a.m., the first bombs were dropped on the port area.

At 6:55 p.m., another alarm sounded,{{Harvsp|Thomas|1996|p=81}} indicating the return of approximately one hundred B-17s to bomb the city.{{Harvsp|Gille|1993|p=44}}

In total, 1,463 civilians were killed and more than 2,500 were injured during these bombings.{{Harvsp|Scheid|1994|p=48}} A burning chapel of rest was set up in the Musée des Beaux-Arts.{{Harvsp|Gille|1993|p=42}} In the days following the attacks, 10,000 people were left homeless.

File:Nantes comblements.png

The devastation was extensive, with over 700 houses and buildings destroyed{{Harvsp|Thomas|1996|p=117}} and an additional 3,000 rendered uninhabitable. The Hôtel-Dieu sustained significant damage (approximately 60% of the building was rendered unusable), resulting in the Hôpital Saint-Jacques becoming the primary medical facility in Nantes until the reconstruction of a new Hôtel-Dieu (which commenced operation in 1964). A considerable quantity of sugar, estimated at thousands of tons, was destroyed in the Chamber of Commerce. A witness account describes the Decré department stores as "a gigantic lying skeleton."{{Harvsp|Thomas|1996|p=83}} The {{Interlanguage link|Maison des Tourelles, Nantes|lt=Maison des Tourelles|fr|Maison des Tourelles (Nantes)}}, which was heavily damaged, was subsequently demolished on the {{Interlanguage link|Quai de la Fosse|lt=Quai de la Fosse|fr|Quai de la Fosse}}.

As a consequence of these three bombings, a considerable migration of Nantes residents (approximately two-thirds of the population) occurred to neighboring municipalities, including Thouaré, Vertou, La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, and others.{{Harvsp|Thomas|1996|p=89}} A public notice was issued.{{Cite web |title=Avis à la population de Nantes à la suite des deux bombardements du 23 septembre |url=https://archives.nantes.fr/PAGES/DOSSIERS_DOCS/bombardements_1943/images/6Fi6940.jpg |archive-url=https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.archives.nantes.fr%2FPAGES%2FDOSSIERS_DOCS%2Fbombardements_1943%2Fimages%2F6Fi6940.jpg |archive-date=August 14, 2024 |access-date=October 12, 2011 |website=Archives municipales de Nantes |language=fr}}

The residents of Nantes harbored some resentment due to the tragic inaccuracy of these bombings, which may partially explain the slow development of the resistance movement in Nantes at the end of the war.{{Cite book |last=Pétré-Grenouilleau |first=Olivier |title=Nantes : Histoire et géographie contemporaine |date=2008 |publisher=Éditions Palantines |isbn=978-2-35678-000-3 |edition=2nd |location=Plomelin |pages=229 |language=fr}} Vichy propaganda and collaborationist press capitalized on this resentment by once again denouncing the bombings of cities. They labeled the Allied pilots "Anglo-American pirates" who killed men, women, and children and claimed that these bombings were unjustified because the city of Nantes had no strategic interest.

In the aftermath of the devastation and loss of life, the residents of Nantes demonstrated a remarkable capacity for resilience and reconciliation. Despite the significant damage and loss of life, most residents did not hold a lasting grudge and even gave a joyful welcome to the American troops when they entered the city on 12 August 1944. However, due to the extensive bombings, many of them did not participate in the festivities.

In 2014, the {{Interlanguage link|Cours Olivier-de-Clisson|lt=Esplanade des Victimes-des-bombardements-des-16-et-23-septembre-1943|fr|Cours Olivier-de-Clisson}} was designated at the intersection of {{Interlanguage link|Cours Olivier-de-Clisson|lt=Cours Olivier-de-Clisson|fr|Cours Olivier-de-Clisson}} and {{Interlanguage link|Boulevard Jean-Philippot|lt=Boulevard Jean-Philippot|fr|Boulevard Jean-Philippot}}.{{Cite web |title=Nantes. Bombardements: l'esplanade du souvenir |url=https://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/nantes-44000/nantes-bombardements-lesplanade-du-souvenir-2e41c43b-dbd8-11e9-8deb-0cc47a644868 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814185304/https://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/nantes-44000/nantes-bombardements-lesplanade-du-souvenir-2e41c43b-dbd8-11e9-8deb-0cc47a644868#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url |archive-date=August 14, 2024 |website=Presse Océan |date=16 September 2014 |language=fr |access-date=August 14, 2024 |url-status=bot: unknown }}

Annually, commemorative ceremonies are conducted on 16 September at the Chauvinière Cemetery, the final resting place of the victims.{{Cite web |title=Les cimetières nantais > le cimetière de la Chauvinière |url=https://archives.nantes.fr/pages/DOSSIERS_DOCS/cimetieres/chauviniere/chauvinere.htm |archive-url=https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.archives.nantes.fr%2Fpages%2FDOSSIERS_DOCS%2Fcimetieres%2Fchauviniere%2Fchauvinere.htm#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url |archive-date=November 27, 2015 |website=Archives municipales de Nantes |language=fr}}

A local odonym in Saint-Herblain (Rue du 16-Septembre) commemorates these events.

In her film Jacquot de Nantes, Agnès Varda evokes the effects of the bombings through the recollections of Jacques Demy, who was twelve years old at the time and was profoundly impacted by this traumatic event.{{Cite web |title=Jacques Demy ou une enfance nantaise |url=https://archives.nantes.fr/PAGES/EDUCATIF_NEW2/dossierspeda_pdf/visites_DPARC/jacques_demy_livretenseignantprimaire.pdf |archive-url=https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.archives.nantes.fr%2FPAGES%2FEDUCATIF_NEW2%2Fdossierspeda_pdf%2Fvisites_DPARC%2Fjacques_demy_livretenseignantprimaire.pdf%2Findex.html#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url |archive-date=September 19, 2022 |website=Archives de Nantes |language=fr}}

• Strategic bombing during World War II

• {{Cite book |last=Jame |first=Bernard |title=Nantes souffrance 1943 |date=2005 |publisher=Éditions Hérault |isbn=978-2-740-70218-5 |location=Maulévrier |language=fr}}
• {{Cite book |last=Ville de Nantes - Lycée professionnel Michelet |title=Témoignages sur les bombardements des 16 et 23 septembre 1943 à Nantes |date=2005 |publisher=Ville de Nantes |language=fr}}
• {{Cite book |last=Scheid |first=Michel |title=Nantes, 1940-1944 : la guerre, l'occupation, la libération |date=1994 |publisher=Ouest-France ; Mémorial de Caen |isbn=978-2-737-31561-9 |series=Une ville pendant la guerre |location=Rennes Caen |language=fr}}
• {{Cite book |last=Gille |first=Jocelyn |title=Nantes dans la tourmente : 1939-1944 |date=1993 |publisher=J. Gille |isbn=978-2-950-65071-9 |location=Pontchâteau |language=fr}}
• {{Cite book |last=Thomas |first=Patrick |title=Nantes : les bombardements |date=1996 |publisher=Editions C.M.D |isbn=978-2-909-82641-7 |volume=3 |location=Montreuil-Bellay |language=fr}}
• {{Cite book |last=Caillaud |first=Paul |title=Nantes sous les bombardements 1941-1945 |date=1978 |publisher=Éditions Nantes |language=fr}}

• {{Cite web |title=Page consacrée aux bombardements de 1943 sur le site de la ville de Nantes |url=https://archives.nantes.fr/pages/DOSSIERS_DOCS/bombardements_1943/page1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228220551/http://www.archives.nantes.fr/pages/DOSSIERS_DOCS/bombardements_1943/page1.htm#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |language=fr |access-date=August 14, 2024 |url-status=bot: unknown }}
• {{Cite web |title=Galerie d'images publiée par la Société Académique de Nantes et de Loire-Atlantique |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/95066977@N07/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208183619/https://www.flickr.com/photos/95066977@N07/#& |archive-date=December 8, 2015 |language=fr |access-date=August 14, 2024 |url-status=bot: unknown }}

Category:World War II strategic bombing

Category:1943 in France

Category:September 1943 in Europe

Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving Germany