Editing Chartres Cathedral (section)

===World War II===
The Second World War, in France, was fought between the Allies and Axis powers of Germany and Italy. In July 1944, the British and Canadians found themselves restrained just south of Caen. The Americans and their five divisions planned an alternative route to the Germans. While some Americans headed west and south, others found themselves in a sweep east of Caen that led them behind the frontline of the German forces. Hitler ordered the German commissioner, Kluge, to head west to cut off the Americans. This ultimately led the Allies to Chartres in mid-August 1944.<ref>Footitt, Hilary. (1988). France : 1943–1945. Homes & Meier. {{ISBN|0841911754}}. {{OCLC|230958953}}</ref>

On 16 August 1944, the cathedral was saved from destruction thanks to the American colonel [[Welborn Griffith|Welborn Barton Griffith Jr.]] (1901–1944), who questioned the order he was given to target the cathedral. The Americans believed that the steeples and towers were being used as an observation post for German artillery.<ref>"A Short History of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, France". francetravelplanner.com. Retrieved 6 November 2019</ref>

Griffith, accompanied by a volunteer soldier, instead decided to go and verify whether or not the Germans were using the cathedral. Griffith could see that the cathedral was empty, so he had the cathedral bells ring as a signal for the Americans not to shoot. Upon hearing the bells, the American command rescinded the order to fire. Colonel Griffith died in combat action that same day, in the town of [[Lèves]], near Chartres. He was posthumously decorated with the ''Croix de Guerre avec Palme'' ([[Croix de Guerre 1939–1945|War Cross 1939–1945]]), the ''Légion d'Honneur'' ([[Legion of Honour]]) and the ''Ordre National du Mérite'' ([[Ordre national du Mérite|National Order of Merit]]) of the French government and the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]] of the American government.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Colonel Welborn Griffith |url=http://www.friendsofchartres.org/aboutchartres/colonelwelborngriffin/ |website=American Friends of Chartres |access-date=4 May 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229010438/https://www.friendsofchartres.org/aboutchartres/colonelwelborngriffin/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Welborn Barton Griffith |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/6100%7Ctitle=Militarytimes |website=militarytimes/the Hall of Valor. |access-date=4 May 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027203938/https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/6100%7Ctitle=Militarytimes |url-status=dead }}</ref>