Bombing of Foggia

The Bombing of Foggia in World War II took place on several occasions in 1943, by Allied aircraft. The bombing caused 20,298 civil victims over nine air raids.^{[citation needed]}

The aim of the Allied Forces was to prevent any support from the railway station of Foggia - the most important one in Southern Italy - directed to the Italian Army in Sicily, where the anglo-american troops deployed in July (Operation Husky). There is an unresolved controversy regarding that the raid were higlhy oversized and dramatically hit the civil people killing 1/3 of the population,^{[citation needed]} and that the last two of the nine raids were launched after the declaration of the armistice between Italy and the Anglo-Americans.^{[citation needed]}

The city of Foggia has been insigned of the Italian gold medal to civil value on November 22, 1959 for having suffered 20,298 victims, and of the italian gold medal to military value on April 25, 2007.

The bombing

Foggia was attacked on nine occassions. Thousands of homes, the airport, the railway station, squares, streets and residential quarters were totally devastated. After the raid of August 19, 1943 which made over 9,000 victims, the english prime minister Winston Churchill stated "Foggia has been Coventrated",^{[citation needed]} in reference of the destruction suffered by the city of Coventry in the Coventry Blitz of November 14, 1940.

The chronicle of the bombing of Foggia was written by Luca Cicolella in a book called "...e la morte venne dal cielo" ("...and death came from sky"), published in 1973 and 1983, which contained also the Report made by the Monsignor Fortunato Maria Farina and sent to the Pope Pius XII.

For a short period Foggia became been a ghost town in which looters sought after valuables worn by the casualties and burgled abandoned buildings.^{[citation needed]}

In spite of the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces declared in September 8, the allied forces continued the bombing until September 15 to prevent German troop movements.^{[citation needed]}

Chronology of events

May 15, 1943: Anglo-American forces occupied Tunisia.
May 28–30-31: destruction of the airport and railway station of Foggia. (462 civil victims)
June 21: second air raid. (91 civil victims)
July 10: Anglo-American forces deploy in Sicily.
July 15: air raid on the railway station. (1.293 civil victims)
July 22: another air raid on the railway station, with
July 25: fall of fascism.
August 16: air raid on the surroundings of Foggia.
August 19: air bombing over all the city. (9.581 civil victims)
August 24–25: thousands of bombs launched over the city, also during night, until the morning of 25. (971 civil victims)
September 8: declartion of the armistice between Italy and Anglo-Americans.
September 9: futher air raid, in spite of the armistice declared the day before. (21 civil victims)
September 17–18: last air raid on the city of Foggia. (179 victims)