Why were the major cities of Britain bombed by the Germans in 1940-41?
Year Ten Coursework - November 2002
Britain in the Age of Total War 1939-45
THE BLITZ
Question One; -
Why were the major cities of Britain bombed by the Germans in 1940-41?
The major cities of Britain were in my opinion bombed for the following reasons; - A, as an attempt to lower morale with Britain, B, to cut off supplies coming both in and out of the country by bombing major ports etc, C, to weaken British defences to such an extent that an invasion could become easier and more of a reality, and of course to win control of the skies, because if the Germans did that, then winning the war outright would be very much in their favour.
*
I shall now go through a list of nearly a dozen cities of Britain in no particular order. I shall say what damage was done to any particular building of historical or industrial interest, and I shall also explain why I think that, that city was bombed.
*
London; - On the 7th September, Londoners went about there business as usual, the sun was up, but by mid morning, the clouds had begun to roll in, and by early evening, the first drops of rain began to fall, and as darkness fell, a blanket of German bombers made their way up the river Thames. The first bombs were dropped on the dockland areas, and as the smoke and fire raised, the planes made their way towards the very heart of London, by morning, the capital of Britain was as an eyewitness put it, "Gone up in smoke." This bombing continued for 57 consecutive nights. On the 13th September 1940, Buckingham Palace was hit, however both the King and Queen were unharmed, but the Queen was reported to have said, "I feel I can look the East End in the face now." The Port of London was damaged, being a big commercial port it was a vital artery for the nation as a whole for supplies etc.
Hitler in my opinion ordered bombing over London constantly, because he thought that if the capital were destroyed, then it would severely lower morale. It had quite the opposite effect in my opinion, the then Minister, Winston Churchill inspired not only Londoners but people all over the country with his rhetoric regaling of the British nation.
Liverpool; - Liverpool can boast the biggest single raid on a mainland city throughout World War Two on the 3rd May 1941. The raid involved just over 500 bombers and fires burnt out of control all over the city, because the main water systems of the city had been hit. The city lost some of it's finest buildings, A freighter, the SS Malakand, carrying some one thousand tons of explosives, received a direct hit, the explosion was heard over twenty five miles away. The docks around the ship were devastated, as were the tightly packed terrace homes of those who lived and worked in the docks. This was also the main port for supplies coming in from America, and affected supplies heavily in the city and all over the country.
Liverpool was bombed heavily, it was a major industrial, commercial city, it manufactured a lot of weapons etc and all buildings, warehouses, and factories connected with industry etc were obvious targets for bombs. As with London, heavy bombing was used as an attempt at trying to lower morale.
Birmingham; - This was and still is a large industrial city which contained a great many factories, workshops and warehouses, all very necessary from the Germans point of view to bomb, since it would put a temporary halt to the manufacture of planes and machinery. Birmingham was also a ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Liverpool was bombed heavily, it was a major industrial, commercial city, it manufactured a lot of weapons etc and all buildings, warehouses, and factories connected with industry etc were obvious targets for bombs. As with London, heavy bombing was used as an attempt at trying to lower morale.
Birmingham; - This was and still is a large industrial city which contained a great many factories, workshops and warehouses, all very necessary from the Germans point of view to bomb, since it would put a temporary halt to the manufacture of planes and machinery. Birmingham was also a large and very important railway station and this was a vital railway because a lot of supplies went to and from Birmingham by train, another obvious sight to bomb.
Birmingham was bombed for it's substantial involvement in industry, and if the cities main industrial area's were bombs, then the building of new machines, tank and planes could be stopped for a certain period of time.
Plymouth; - Plymouth is a very important naval base, an obvious sight to bomb, because if the Germans hit in the right places, it could be very damaging to the British navy. Plymouth also is a very large port, and many ships are harboured there.
It was bombed, to weaken Britain's defences, if the Germans attacked by sea, then the fleet harboured in Plymouth could intercept them, but they could not if they had already been destroyed.
Coventry; - This is one of the largest industrial cities in the country. It produced an extremely large percentage of planes, weapons and machinery and much more besides. If this city was bombed, it would not just be disastrous for those living at home, it would be just as bad for the boys out at the front. It would mean that the numbers of weapons they received could quite easily be halved, not only would be terrible for morale on the frontline and at home, it would mean that the British would be unable to defend themselves properly if the Germans invaded.
The Germans did bomb Coventry, and the damage done was worse than anyone could have ever imagined. The Germans did not invade, but if they had of done Britain would have been in a worse than average position, due not only to lack of men, but to lack of weapons and machinery.
Swansea; - This is and was a port, it was bombed severely during the Blitz, probably due to the fact that a lot of supplies came in and out of it.
The point in destroying ports in the west of Britain was because a lot of equipment, food etc arrived there from the United States of America.
*
There were few raids in Britain after May 1941, until April 1942 when German planes bombed cities of history and great culture such as, York, Exeter and Bath. These attacks were done in revenge for the Royal Air Force raids over historic German cities in March 1942. One German spokesman described these attacks on old English cities as "Baedeker Raids". Baedeker was the name of a German tourist guide to famous cities and cultural interest. The phrase was a propaganda disaster for the Germans, because it implied they really were a barbaric race, with no respect whatsoever for culture and what it stands for.
*
My conclusion will portray my opening paragraph again. The main reasons for the Germans bombing the major cities of our country were, to cut off our supplies from other countries, to weaken our defences and to lower morale. However, had they succeeded in gaining control of the skies, then the German vision of an invasion, would have eventually become a very dangerous reality from the British point of view.
Question Two; -
Describe the effects of the Blitz on everyday life in Britain?
Everybody knows that the impact of the Blitz on the population of Britain must have been emotionally, and physically scarring for anyone who had even the smallest experience of what it did to effect everyday life Britain as a whole.
Gas Masks; - It was made a law during the Second World War that every, man woman and child had to carry a gas mask with them at all times. Gas however was not used during World War Two, but in my opinion the government were absolutely right to enforce this law, in case gas was used.
The Black Out; - All street and shop lights were turned out at night, and in people's homes it was a made law that all windows were blacked out with thick black curtains or blinds. The blackout was supposed to make it more complicated German bombers to find their targets at night. However, more often than not the blackout proved to be no use at all, because if it was a clear night and the moon was out then it would guide the bombers, however if it were a cloudy night, then it would have quite the opposite effect.
Evacuation; - This scheme involved moving pregnant women, the disabled, mothers with children under five, teachers and obviously children. Evacuation was not compulsory and not all parents would let their children stay with people they did not know. This reluctance was understandable. But parents also knew the large cities like London and Liverpool were very likely targets for German bombing.
Air Raids and the Underground; - I have already mentioned gas, but the real danger came not from gas but from bombs! The government prepared for air raids by issuing Anderson Shelters, as early as February 1939. They were not popular, because they were damp, and when it rained they tended to flood. The other option for Londoners in particular was to use the Underground. The most popular stations, were the deeper ones such as Hampstead, and queues for these began as early as ten in the morning, the reasons the deeper stations were the most popular other than for safety reasons, was that the noise from the bombs would not be so loud and sleep would be easier.
Loss of Homes and Accommodation; - Even though people during the Blitz were protected by the uses of the underground or Anderson shelters their homes were not. Obviously houses could not be protected from bombs, so even though the owners were free, they could guarantee that the following morning they would have homes to go back to. People who lost their homes were offered temporary accommodation, most people would be grateful for it, it was not luxurious, mostly they were glorified campsites, but the general attitude was that it was better than nothing.
Rationing; - during the Second World War, there were a lot of shortages of essential foodstuffs, not just luxuries. Supplies started to become impossible to obtain, especially imported goods such as tea, banana and oranges, and even grapes. It was to be six or seven years before any of these things and many others besides were seen again. Then butter, lard, sweets, cakes, flour and sugar became hard to come by, and then meat and fish followed them, these were then followed by bread. Everyone was issued with a ration book, containing tokens, which could be saved up and used at the owner's discretion. Then shopkeepers would remove tokens before they issued goods.
All these things and many others besides affected the everyday lives of the population of Britain of lot of them were depressing and caused great difficulty throughout the period of not just the Blitz but of the whole of the Second World War.
Question Three; -
In what ways did the British government attempt to hide the effects of the Blitz from the people of Britain?
Everyone knows that at the effect of the Blitz on Britain as a nation were horrendous, the bombing that went on night after night would not have left anyone unscathed, whether it be emotionally or physically. The government had to attempt to cover up some of the more horrific incidents during the Blitz. The reasons for which they did this have never to my mind been absolutely clear.
The three main reasons for the Germans bombing Britain so heavily, particularly at the beginning of the war were, to lower morale, to weaken the defences of the country to make a possible invasion easier, and to stop the manufacture of machinery, planes etc.
The Government had to hide (as well as they could) the effects of the bombing so that the German aim of lowering morale could not become a reality. They did their best not to let other countries know the exact details of the bombs, and where they hit. They issued them with information that led the rest of the civilised world to believe that everything in the English country garden was rosy, despite the fact that every night bombs flew down from above on some of the most famous and distinguished cities in Europe. There were even reports that the Americans were showing newsreels saying how high British morale was even though they had to endure the destruction of there own beloved country.
Even though the Germans had three main aims to achieve in the Blitz, they really only had to achieve one. If the Germans had succeeded successfully in the latter two, morale would have eventually become low in any case.
The government censored information that went out everyday in the newspapers, and on the radio. They had control of them both countrywide, and both newspapers and the radio had to print morale boosting articles, one newspaper was banned outright for not abiding by that rule.
As attempt to keep morale high, the government involved the rich, famous and the royal into the war effort, by making sure that they all inspected bomb damage, and talked to people who had lost their homes.
The government made sure that if there was any serious news, which might of lowered morale was kept out of the public eye. Of course the government could not hide everything, and information was obviously leaked, but not publicly or to the general masses.
Whether the government were right or wrong in hiding certain pieces of information from the general public cannot be proved, because it would depend on what type of person you are and what kind of personality you have, because everyone should have their own opinion on everything, and no one should force their own opinion onto another human being. But in my opinion they s