Like many other towns and villages in Lower Normandy, Coutances suffered its first major bombardment in the evening of June 6^th. Shortly after 8 pm, three waves of bombers from the Eighth US Air Force wiped out part of the town, killing many civilians.

   A second and more terrible bombardment, by the aircraft of the RAF’s Bomber Command, took place in the night of June 6^th-7^th. Fortunately, most of the population had had time to flee into the countryside.