My first reason for the blitz on the major cities of England was because of a British retaliation bombing on Berlin. The retaliation by the British was caused by an accidental bombing by the Germans, the bombs fell on the center of London, when they were supposed to drop on the outskirts only. The bombs fell on the night of August 24th, 1940. Due to the bombing many innocent civilians were killed and many houses destroyed. The retaliation consisting of around 40 heavy bombers stunned the German people because they had been told repetitively by the Luftwaffe Chief, Hermann Goring that it could not be done. The three attacks left the Germans with their nerves frayed. The Nazis party was outraged and made Hitler deliver a speech threatening that if the British did it again the Luftwaffe would raze English cities to the ground.
Throughout the war Hitler made some very intelligent and incitefull decisions and also some slapdash one’s. One of these less intelligent decisions that he made was a probable reason for the blitz on British cities. I believe one of his main reasons was to lower the morale of the British people and to pressure the Prime minister and his government into negotiation with him. The bombing resulted in the worst possible way for Hitler, instead of lowering the morale it rose as the British people pulled together to face a common enemy. Thanks to many of Winston Churchill’s speeches the people became determined to hold out indefinitely against the Nazis bombings. One speech by Churchill taken from the Daily Herald on the 16th of November 1940:
“In every heart there is not fear, only a most passionate hatred of the enemy, and a determination to carry on at all costs”
Another reason for the attack was as an attempt to destroy British industry. In London the main bombings were aimed at the docks that continuously took a heavy battering. The Luftwaffe often tried to hit railway lines, junctions, power stations and gas containers. To find their targets they followed the line of the Thames and then dropped their heavy explosives on the West End. The real impact of the drawn out bombing was felt by the working class people by the factories or in the centres of the major cities.
I believe that Hitler’s main scheme and motive for the brutal bombing was to break the morale of the British people, by destroying the countries backbone, Hitler intended to force an agreement between the UK and Germany. This unity between two of the major powers in the world was one of Hitler’s needs if he intended to win the war. Without this partnership Hitler’s plan to over take a main part of the globe was doomed before it even started.
