By bombing London, the Germans hoped to draw the RAF into London. They thought that all their air divisions would come to the rescue of their capital making them a single and easier target to destroy; but mainly to draw them away from the southern coast, as to make it easier for the Luftwaffe to destroy the southern cities. This doesn’t happen and no extra aircraft come to the capital’s rescue. The Londoners felt betrayed but this gave the airforce crucial time to regroup.
There was low morale amongst the German crews. They didn’t feel they were getting any closer to operation Sea Lion. They had been fighting since September 1939 and were tired. They were losing their men, their comrades, their brothers; this was their first set back. Hitler thought that bombing London might boost their morale and confidence. London was Britain’s capital and the heart of the British Empire. The German pilots would be able to see the destruction they are inflicting on the enemy’s most valuable and important cities, and feel like they were really doing something for their country.
The bombing of London would also have a huge effect on the country’s morale. The Germans hoped that aerial bombardment would lead to a breakdown in everyday life, with pressure brought to the government to make peace in order to avert anarchy. By bombing out food stores and warehouses, the Germans hoped to starve the British into submission. They also bombed the Dockland area. Britain was not a self sufficient country. All imports and exports were crucial. Huge amounts of merchant shipping passed through this area and attacking it would cause major disruption. Without the docks running properly it would be very hard to supply the country with the materials that it needed. This, coupled with the constant U-Boat menace was designed to bring about serious food shortages in Britain.
Below is a photograph of smoke rising over the Docklands area,
taken on the 7th September 1940
London was particularly valuable in that it contained many industrial buildings and many of their factory workers. An appealing target would also have been the Bank of England as well as Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament as these are seen as areas of power and authority. Hitler wanted to destroy the British economy as well as damage her technological progress.
The poorer areas of residential East London were heavily bombed as to wreak havoc and cause misery. Hitler wished to destroy morale by destroying the lives and homes of the British citizens. He hoped that they in turn would force the capitulation of their own government. In practice, these bombings sometimes had the opposite effect of uniting the people and giving them the will to fight back.
Below is a photograph of St Paul’s Cathedral remaining unharmed after a German raid.
Britain had such a powerful navy that it would be near impossible to attack before destroying as many boats and ports as possible. They city of Liverpool was first raided on the 28th of November. It was the country’s most important port on the West coast. It had very important installations stretching over 6 miles: oil yards, power stations, gas installations, docks and granaries. It was vital in shipping goods in and out of Britain. Most of these coastal cities had little to no defence mechanisms, no artillery guns, no barrage balloons, no fighter planes to fight off the Germans; these ports were sitting ducks to Nazi raids.
The Germans did not only intend to take out the coastal cities but targeted all major industries, especially those manufacturing wartime materials. Coventry suffered a surprise Blitz on the 14th of November 1940. It was the biggest single raid on a city and its effects were devastating. Coventry was the centre for skilled engineering along with Bristol, had many armaments factories and was the centre for metals trades. Its factories produced machine tools and vehicles and it also had an aircraft factory. Southampton had important oil installations and a spitfire factory. Germany also tried to destroy Britain’s second largest city Glasgow. It had shipping yards on the river Clyde, which would store many military and merchant vessels; it had iron and steel works and was a crucial naval trading point. Cities like Sheffield and Manchester were also targeted due to their steel and textile productions respectively.
In conclusion, Germany needed to get rid of Britain as soon as possible before entering into Russia. She tried to eliminate British commerce and trade by bombing the cities, and destroying its industries so that when it came to it, her land forces would face little resistance when invading and occupying the country. Hitler thought Great Britain could not fight once its major cities had been taken out.