Student notes
The context of WW2
By 1940, Germany had occupied the whole of North West Europe by force. The Nazis were a huge threat to Britain. Over the summer of 1940 the Germans attempted to set in motion their invasion of England, foiled only by the fighters and bombers of the RAF. They resorted to the heavy bombing of British cities during the ‘Blitz’. It was only after four long years of war that the Allied armies were able to attack Germany itself after landing in France on D-day (6th June 1944). Until then, Britain’s only way of hitting back at the Germans was by long-range aerial bombing.
Was bombing justified?
The British faced the most serious threat to their freedom since the Norman conquest. The Germans under Nazi leadership had shown themselves to be ruthless invaders and occupiers. They called their method of attack ‘Blitzkreig’ (literally ‘Lightning War’). They bombed neighbouring countries (Belgium, Holland, France etc.) without warning, and overwhelmed them with tanks and troops, dealing brutally with any resistance. The British knew they had to fight back or suffer the same fate. Aerial bombing offered the only chance to bring the war to Germany itself and Britain was the only country left in Europe with the military strength to do it.
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About
Bomber Command |
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Was bombing effective?
1)
Area bombing:
Until
1942, the RAF’s bombing was mostly inaccurate and therefore fairly
ineffective. This was because the bombers were equipped with inadequate
navigation aids and were forced to fly at night to try to avoid enemy
fighter attack and anti-aircraft fire. From 1942 Bomber Command was ordered
by the Air Ministry to carry out area-bombing of German cities, which
required less accurate bombing. This meant cities rather than specific
factories were targeted. The Government justified the policy by the argument
that cities were the basis of the German war effort and economy and that
bombing cities would wear down the German people’s morale.
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Overview
of Bomber Command |
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2)
Effect on German war effort:
There
has been much debate as to how much damage British bombing actually did
to German war industry. Critics point to statistics that show that German
industrial production actually rose during the war. But the key point
is that German industry had significant spare capacity and would have
increased its output many times over as the war progressed had it not
been for sustained bombing over a long period.
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Bomber
Command Remembered / |
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Did
bombing help the Allies win?
Although bombing restricted rather than wiped out German war production,
it also forced the Germans on to the defensive. They had to divert nearly
one million men and 55,000 artillery guns to defend the German homeland
against Allied bombing. Also, German aircraft factories, which were specifically
targeted by Bomber Command and the USAAF, had to concentrate on producing
fighters for defence against the bombing onslaught, instead of producing
more bombers for attack. Without bombing, those valuable resources could
have been used elsewhere to great effect (e.g. to support the German army
on the Russian front, or to launch a second invasion attempt on Britain).
Albert Speer, Hitler’s Armaments Minister, said that the bombing
of Germany was ‘the greatest lost battle on the German side’.
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Bomber
Command Remembered / |
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Role of ‘Bomber’ Harris
For many years Sir Arthur Harris, Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command has been criticised for the area bombing campaign and the bombing of Dresden towards the end of the war. In fact the decision to area bomb was taken by the Air Ministry (in 1941), supported by Churchill himself and it was Churchill who ordered that Dresden should be bombed in February 1945. Harris is a much maligned character who was highly respected by his men and they are fiercely loyal to his memory even today.
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'Bomber'
Harris |
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