Batllefield S4/E2 - Air War Over Germany

[Music] in early 1940 the first attempts were made by the royal air force to bomb germany the first attacks were largely ineffective but these early attempts eventually grew into raids involving over a thousand aircraft and were carried out almost continuously [Music] later in the war the raf would be joined by the united states army air force the merciless air offensive saw whole cities raised to the ground and countless road and rail networks severed this terrible aspect of the second world war saw the death of hundreds of thousands of german civilians and tens of thousands of allied air crew members the air war would be crucial in the eventual defeat of nazi germany [Music] hitler's troops crossed the dutch border on the 10th of may 1940 to begin their western campaign over the next six weeks the world was introduced to the concept of blitzkrieg the armies of holland belgium france and britain were overrun and captured or pushed into the pocket at dunkirk [Music] the royal air force's presence in france during this time was limited and was no match for the luftwaffe's strength or speed of advance with the allied evacuation of dunkirk at the start of june 1940 and the formal french surrender towards the end of june all eyes turned to britain even as the battle for france was raging the luftwaffe was turning its attention to britain piecemeal attacks were launched towards the coastal areas and some allied sea hitler had ordered that the raf must be defeated before the planned invasion of britain could take place the luftwaffe chief hermann gerding had assured hitler that this would be guaranteed [Music] from the start of july until the middle of september 1940 germany's luftwaffe and britain's raf locked horns in a duel for control of the skies over england [Music] losses to both sides were heavy as the battle edged in favor of one side and then the other [Music] however the raf who were fighting over home territory and had an excellent command structure and support network eventually gained the edge and forced hitler to postpone his invasion indefinitely and rethink his strategy [Music] [Music] winston churchill was born on the 30th of november 1874. his early adult life was a mix of army service and politics he gained fame as a hero of the boa war and limited fortune as a political correspondent he became an mp for the first time in nineteen hundred ten years later he became the first lord of the admiralty where he had a checkered history churchill was responsible for modernizing the navy before the first world war but he was also accountable for the ensuing disaster at gallipoli the interwar years saw him alternate between politics and writing the writing kept him financially afloat but his political life was less successful and made him many enemies crucially churchill was one of the few people who foresaw the danger that adolf hitler represented [Music] the outbreak of war in september 1939 saw churchill back in his previous position as first lord of the admiralty despite the fact that churchill was responsible for a failed seaborn operation in norway the second failed operation removed chamberlain from power and churchill was asked to step in and head a new government churchill became prime minister on the 10th of may 1940 the same day that hitler's troops crossed the dutch border to begin their western offensive he was unprepared and powerless to prevent the lightning advances of the german army in these early decisive campaigns that culminated in the evacuation of the allies from dunkirk churchill was however instrumental in guiding the british public through the difficult times arising from dunkirk and the subsequent battle of britain he wasted no time in retaliating the opportunity was seized to send the bombers of the raf over to germany to stem the tide of hitler's campaign churchill's philosophy of hitting back in any way possible would prove to be a thorn in hitler's side and it gained valuable time for britain to strengthen its forces franklin d roosevelt was born on the 30th of january 1882 roosevelt had a very different childhood from his british ally he had a loving upbringing and a good education that ultimately led to harvard having a family member theodore roosevelt as president of the united states was influential in his decision to follow this path and in his twenties franklin was determined to become a politician his first attempt succeeded at the age of 28 in 1910 when he became a member of the state senate like churchill he became involved in naval affairs before the first world war and took up the position as assistant to the naval secretary at the start of the nineteen twenties his political life continued a pace but in a country that was becoming more and more isolationist he was stricken with the disease polio and the paralysis would confine him to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life this required him to drop out of politics for a while but when he returned he returned with an increased enthusiasm the 1932 election would finally see roosevelt elected to the position of president of the united states winning re-election in 1936 the end of the 1930s saw an increasing menace in the guise of adolf hitler this was regarded as a european problem and the american public opposed any form of involvement roosevelt however gained approval for sending aid to britain in her time of need hitler's declaration of war against america in the wake of the japanese attack on the american fleet of pearl harbor on the 7th of december 1941 dragged america into the second world war after the initial shock of this attack the american nation threw itself wholeheartedly into the war effort some of hitler's generals had visited america during the 1930s and had warned hitler of the manufacturing capabilities of this huge nation something which hitler chose to ignore over the next four years america poured vast quantities of men and materials into the allied struggle for freedom as had been agreed with churchill the defeat of germany was the first priority hitler would feel the might of america and he would have no effective way to hit back at the seemingly limitless resources that the combined allies threw against him unfortunately roosevelt died in april 1945 three weeks before the nazi surrender he could be content however in the knowledge that his actions had ensured an inevitable defeat [Music] adolf hitler was born in april 1889 he had a difficult upbringing with a father who could be brutal and alienating he had a stronger bond with his mother but she died before he was 20 years old like his adversary churchill hitler's school years were not promising his real passion was painting at which he tried in vain to make a living with the outbreak of world war one he volunteered for service and found his sense of belonging and direction during the next four years he was decorated twice for bravery and also wounded and temporarily blinded following the great war he moved into the world of politics and discovered his skills as an orator he became a member of the german workers party in 1919 a party that he was soon to lead and rename the national socialist german workers party or nazi party hitler saw himself as germany's savior and over the next 13 years he increased his political control as well as his power and popularity among the masses but after a failed attempt by the growing nazi party to overthrow the bavarian government in 1923 hitler was imprisoned for nine months he finally achieved his ambition of becoming german chancellor in 1933 and wasted no time in gaining control of all aspects of german life the years between 1936 and 1939 saw hitler trying the patience of western powers as he expanded the territories under his control the gamble finally failed on the 3rd of september 1939 when britain and france declared war on germany over the invasion of poland hitler's next objective was the speeded defeat of his enemies and between september 1939 and june 1940 the soldiers of poland holland belgium france and britain fell under the might of the vermont these overwhelming victories left hitler with the conviction that his chosen path was the right one with the escape of the bulk of the british expeditionary force at dunkirk the remaining obstacle to the completion of total victory in the west was the surrender of britain to accomplish this hitler knew that the defeat of the royal air force was essential he entrusted this to his air force chief hermann goering if the royal air force could be defeated hitler sustained the hope that the invasion of britain would not be necessary this invasion would be a very difficult task against an experienced and strong opponent guring's luftwaffe failed to defeat the royal air force and hitler had to postpone the invasion of britain indefinitely he then undertook his biggest gamble yet by invading soviet russia in june 1941 [Music] to proceed with this massive venture whilst britain remained undefeated was a huge error [Music] which would cost hitler dearly and over the next four years would contribute significantly to germany's eventual defeat in nineteen forty five [Music] the royal air force's defeat of the luftwaffe during the battle of britain was critical to the survival of britain but there was an even greater significance that would not become apparent for a few years yet the victory bought time for britain to prepare and retrain its armed forces and to manufacture munitions and equipment that had been depleted during the disaster in france while all of this was taking place churchill decided to hit back in the only way possible at this stage of the war the need for a strike force capable of carrying war overseas was essential introducing royal air force bombers ensured that britain could extend its reach over mainland europe with ease most nations involved in world war one had made various attempts at using planes to deliver bombs there were varying degrees of success as the planes of the time were flimsy and slow but britain had developed her bombing techniques in the interwar years they were convinced of the importance of the bomber and held the belief that the bomber would always get through this not only enabled them to shape their offensive strategy but also helped deal with the threat from an enemy force churchill's decision to hit back saw the use of the early two engine bombers of the royal air force such as whitley's and blenheims these planes ran into difficulties against the seasoned fighters of the luftwaffe it was only later when the larger four engine lancasters and sterlings were introduced that things improved in britain's favor hitler's declaration of war on america gave fresh weight to the bombing attacks over germany america had the use of advanced aircraft such as the b-17 flying fortress a high-altitude bomber that gave the luftwaffe some real grounds for concern britain's refusal to surrender to the germans in 1940 was fundamental to the allied victory if defeated all british air bases would have been out of bounds to american aircraft the combined efforts and tactical superiority of britain and america would ultimately force germany to accept defeat germany's geographical position is not favorable for defensive purposes the political situation that was prevalent during the early part of the 20th century meant that potential enemies surrounded germany and some controlled large armies when hitler began to rearm in the mid-1930s he was going against the restrictions imposed by the treaty of versailles by limiting the size of her army and navy and forbidding her to have an air force the aim of the treaty of versailles was to disable germany's offensive capabilities the reality was that these restrictions actually favored germany as it allowed her to select the best available candidates to serve in her small armed services hitler had an offensive strategy he was however acutely aware of the dangers of having so many potential enemies close by so a defensive plan on home soil was not neglected a game of see-saw developed of attack and counter-attack between the two sides as they both fought for the decisive edge the early british bombing raids were made in daylight with disastrous results they quickly moved to knight bombing which was in turn met by the german development of specialized night fighting units these squadrons had a good success rate against the british bombers and even forced the british to scale down their operations [Music] with the entry of america into the war they began the tactic of day and night bombing the germans were developing their own radar systems to improve detection methods and increasingly powerful radar systems were introduced the sheer numbers of the allied bombers however pushed things firmly in favor of the allies before the defeat of germany was achieved allied men and machines had suffered terrible losses many due to the german defenses which were specifically designed to counter each attacking move the allies made an allied pilot could expect many hazards on a typical bombing run over germany flagships were in position around the dutch coast to give the attackers their first unpleasant experience based in holland belgium and germany were night fighter squadrons who developed their skills to a high degree and claimed many kills before the wars end the closer the allied bombers got to germany the heavier the defenses got these consisted of flat guns backed up with powerful searchlights flat guns were used in great numbers around key cities and industrial regions places like the roar essen and berlin were particularly unpleasant for the bomber crews as the war progressed so the defenses increased more and more raids were flying deeper into german territory berlin had probably the best defensive measures of all two massive heavily armed flag towers had been built and there were hundreds of flak batteries that guarded the capital eventually even these defenses could not cope with the sheer numerical superiority of britain and america [Music] the royal air force can trace its roots back to march 1912 when the formation of the royal flying corps was approved the force entered the first world war with the prime function of providing aerial observation for the ground forces but soon progressed to air-to-air fighting a further development saw aircraft designed to carry small bombs the royal flying corps embraced this progress along with the other nations involved in the conflict the early years of pioneering aerial combat were fought in flimsy aircraft that had none of the comforts of later years the pilots were daring and resilient individuals who quickly earned respect for their bravery they were seen as gentlemen as well as pilots and an air of chivalry existed even at this treacherous time by the end of hostilities in 1918 britain would have the largest air force in the world with a total number of 3 300 aircraft one significant change had taken place earlier in the last year of the first war when the royal flying corps was renamed the royal air force the royal air force would continue to develop and expand during the 1920s and 1930s despite opposition from the longer established navy and army entry into this new service was strict and only the best applicants were chosen this would become a trademark of the royal air force theories on the future of aerial warfare based on the experiences of pilots during the first world war were developed during this period the royal air force felt that the bomber would be the biggest menace to an enemy during any future conflict it was felt that the bomber could breach any defenses and deliver death and destruction on its enemy as the development of the aeroplane gathered pace however it was realized that enemy bombers too would be capable of delivering a knockout blow against britain and the only countermeasure was its ability to carry out significant offensive operations over enemy homeland [Music] the royal air force developed its aircraft and training during the latter part of the 1930s and in 1936 the expansion of this arm of service began in earnest in july 1936 the royal air force established separate commands that would be responsible for different areas of the air war strategy the separate commands were fighter command bomber command coastal command and training command [Music] as developments on the continent unfolded priority was given to the manufacturer of fighter planes this move brought opposition from bomber command but it was a decision that would actually help prepare and equip britain with the tools that would prevent her defeat during the battle of britain in 1940 once this victory was assured the development of the bomber progressed at a fast pace what lay ahead for britain was unclear at this stage of the war and this period is remembered as one of the darkest in britain's history the royal air force however remained professional and focused at this uncertain time the aim was clear the defeat of germany with this determination and the window of opportunity to develop their aircraft following their recent victory the raf would soon become established as the world's leading air force one that other nations would try to emulate but never match [Music] [Music] america's use of aircraft for military purposes can also be traced back to the years before the first world war indeed they were the first nation to purchase and evaluate aircraft for military use the americans were pioneers in some important fields in 1910 they were the first to attempt dropping bombs from aircraft in 1912 they were the first to install bomb sites on military planes despite this america was unenthusiastic about the bomber and little progress was made following its conception america did set up the us army air arm but would only have 20 planes available for use when the first world war started the americans entered the first world war in 1917 and although aircraft would not see action over the battlefields of europe until the spring of 1918 they would have 740 aircraft on hand by the end of the war the americans would try to follow the lead set by britain they would also run into similar opposition from the army and navy when expanding their air force [Music] the period immediately following world war one would see a dramatic scaling down of the american armed services but this did not prevent further developments being made to their military aircraft [Music] america would lead the way in developing newer monoplanes with enclosed cockpits and radio equipment they also manufactured twin engine planes that were considered safer [Music] by the outbreak of the second world war in europe america was coming of age [Music] her aircraft design had moved on significantly and she had developed some excellent aircraft particularly the b-17 although america had remained neutral in the early stages of the conflict she was aware of the increasing threat from japan and helped britain her ally with financial aid furthermore agreements were made between the two countries detailing their possible joint involvement in the war the us army air corps disagreed with the allies on how to tackle the enemy they had been observing british operations and felt that daylight raids would achieve greater accuracy than at night and they were sure that their heavily armed bombers could protect themselves during these daylight operations the americans changed the name of their air force to the u s army air force in 1942 they would have a hard task ahead of them during the second world war but like their british counterparts they were well led by very capable commanders they also had the distinct advantage of immense industrial resources that would churn out vast quantities of war materials at the end of the conflict america would find herself in the position of having one of the strongest air forces in the world [Music] one man will always be associated with bomber command and the bombing campaign over germany sir arthur harris assuming command in 1942 he had three predecessors air chief marshal sir edgar ludlow hewitt who was in command at the start of 1940 his replacement marshal of the royal air force sir charles portal who remained in his post until the 5th of october 1940 and air marshal sir richard pierce as soon as pierce took over he was given new directives for the continuation of the bombing campaign these included the destruction of germany's oil production facilities and other targets of opportunity this was amended in january 1941 when oil producing targets were given priority march saw yet another change when the target became the german u-boat pens and ship building facilities these changes showed not only the lack of resources available to the raf at this stage of the war but also the scope of the threat that britain faced on all fronts it was around this time that the attacks on civilian targets were tentatively introduced [Music] owing to the inaccuracy of the bombing raids this was deemed a more effective use of bomber firepower in november 41 pierce oversaw the biggest raid on berlin to date when 392 planes bombed the german capital at the end of 1941 the bombing campaign was scaled back when the butt report confirmed what high command had feared that bombers were not as effective as first thought and the cost to the raf was unsustainably high top level talks soon took place which would determine the future of the allied bombing campaign and in january 1942 pierce was removed and given command in the indiana nation theatre of operations air chief marshal sir arthur harris took command of the bombing force in mid-february 1942 and held the post until the end of the war in europe just before he assumed command a new strategy had been decided area bombing as it was named would see direct attacks upon densely populated areas rather than specific military targets the aim was the collapse of the enemy home front and morale this controversial decision was the brainchild of sir charles portal and the air ministry but arthur harris set about enforcing the new policy with enthusiasm he had worked in the higher echelons of the air ministry in the early part of the war and his move to the command of the bomber force seemed a natural progression he introduced the concept of repeated heavy bombing of specific targets as opposed to the scattered bombing that had taken place previously the targets he chose were also older towns that were known to consist mainly of wooden buildings that would easily catch fire he set about destroying these with incendiary bombs harris became known as butcher harris among his air crews a title that was appropriate for the man who would play a large part in the deaths of over half a million german civilians but before he reached his objective there were some hard months ahead in the period after he assumed command the results from the bombing campaign actually worsened it would take some time for the odds to shift in the allies favor since december 7th 1941 the world has decreased in size and its shape has been considerably ordered this phenomena which has brought disaster to our enemies will remain as a lasting tribute to the skill of american aviation its workers and the personnel of the army air forces general harry h arnold was born on the 25th of june 1886 and he became an officer in the american army in 1907 he joined the signal corps in 1911 and soon after qualified as an army pilot the signal corps had an aviation school and arnold became one of the instructors he remained in administrative posts during world war one but during the 1920s and 30s gained steady promotion until in 1938 he was appointed chief of the air corps towards the end of 1940 he was the chief of staff for air and later rose to overall command of the army's air arm in 1941. early in this year americans began to arrive in britain in the role of observers with america's entry into the second world war this changed to an all-out effort to establish air bases in britain for which arnold was responsible he also saw the establishment of the eighth air force and chose its commanders the army air forces played an important part in winning the war it is equally important to ensure our winning the peace that america remain what is today the leading air power in the world general arnold would remain a prominent figure throughout the war and would finish with the rank of five star general you and every american can play your part in maintaining the freedom and security for which we have all fought by buying and holding bonds general karl a spartz was born on the 28th of june 1891 his first commission was as an infantry officer in 1914 he held various posts throughout the first world war and by 1918 he was a pilot with the second pursuit group where he shot down three enemy aircraft spartz continued his military career during the next two decades and by the mid 1930s he was training as a general staff officer by early 1939 he was the executive officer to the chief of the air corps posted to britain as an observer in 1940 by 1941 he was general arnold's assistant and held the rank of brigadier general spartz returned to britain in 1942 as first commander of the eighth air force and later the same year moved to the mediterranean theatre [Music] 1944 saw him return to britain as the commander of the united states strategic air force [Music] he achieved promotion to the rank of general before the end of the war and was present at all the enemy surrenders lieutenant general ira c eco was born on the 13th of april 1896 and was commissioned late in 1917 as an infantry officer as the war progressed he trained as a pilot and after the war held various staff appointments connected to the air arm his real forte was the technical and experimental aspect of flying towards the end of the 1930s ike was working with general arnold in writing new theories on air warfare by 1940 he was the executive officer to the chief of the air corps he was then sent to britain as an observer in the autumn of 1941 and returned in early 1942 as the commander of the us eighth bombardment group which took part in the heavy bombing mission of august 1942. [Music] lieutenant general james doolittle was born on the 14th of december 1896 and saw flying service during world war one he placed himself in the reserves during the interwar years but was recalled in 1940 doolittle's first command during the second world war was in the pacific theater in the early part of 1942 he followed this by taking command of the 12th air force in november 1942 and then the eighth air force by november 1943 a post he held until the end of the war [Music] general nathan twining born on the 11th of october 1897 became an infantry officer in 1918 and did not take up flying training until 1923. he would serve in various posts during the interwar years twining spent much of the war in the pacific theatre and by 1943 he was a brigadier general and the commander of the 13th air force this capable commander was given the control of the 15th air force at the end of 1943 and he held this post until the end of the war in europe [Music] the armstrong whitworth whitley mark 5 was a twin-engine bomber that first saw service in 1937. it was powered by two rolls-royce merlin 10 engines and crewed by five men the engines could take the plane to a top speed of 230 miles per hour which was over a hundred miles per hour slower than its main adversary the messerschmitt 109. it could fly up to a height of 26 000 feet and had a range of 1650 miles the protective armament was provided by six 0.303 inch machine guns two were positioned in the nose of the aircraft and the remaining four were positioned in a purpose-built gun turret at the back of the plane the first plane to have such a feature the offensive armament was a bomb load of up to seven thousand pounds a total of one thousand four hundred and sixty six mark fives were made during the war the whitley was one of britain's main stay bombers at the outbreak of the second world war it was designed as a knight bomber and although various versions were made throughout its history the mark v was the most widely used version this was a slow aircraft in comparison to the later four engine bombers of the royal air force and it was easy prey for the much faster german fighters of the luftwaffe in the early raids over germany many of these planes were simply blasted out of the sky in the first two or three years of the second world war however the mark v and its stable mates helped to buy time for britain allowing her to develop larger faster and more effective bombers the vickers wellington came into service in 1938 and was another of the early two engine bombers it was powered by rolls-royce merlin engines and could achieve speeds of up to 270 miles per hour it had a six-man crew the operational height of the wellington was up to 23 500 feet with a range of 2200 miles it was protected by four 0.303 inch machine guns two positioned in the front and two in the rear the aircraft's maximum bomb load was 4500 pounds affectionately nicknamed the wimpy by its crew the wellington was probably the best two engine bomber that the royal air force possessed at the start of world war ii it was used extensively in all of the early bombing raids over germany including the first thousand bomber raid it was known for its ability to sustain huge damage yet remain in the air the wellington underwent various design modifications during the war and a total of nearly 11 500 had been built by 1945. the sterling was the first four engine bomber to enter combat service with the royal air force it made its debut in august 1940 but was never used with much effect until the start of 1942 four bristol hercules 16s provided the power which gave a top speed of 270 miles per hour and its operational range was 2 300 miles the sterling's eight-man crew could fly the plane to a height of seventeen thousand feet protection was provided by a total of eight 0.303 inch machine guns two positioned in the nose turret four in the rear turret and two in a small turret in the roof of the plane near the rear the bomb carrying capacity was fourteen thousand pounds the sterling plane was a purpose-built heavy bomber that had few floors although the relatively low operational height of the plane left it susceptible to flat batteries and roving night fighters in addition the bombay had a design fault and was restricted to carrying smaller bombs there were a total of one thousand six hundred and thirty bomber versions of the sterling made before the war's end the avro lancaster was the main stay heavy bomber of the royal air force during the second world war it first saw service at the start of 1942 four rolls-royce merlin 20 engines could propel the aircraft to a top speed of 285 miles per hour the ceiling height was 19 thousand feet with a range of one thousand seven hundred and thirty miles and it was under the control of a seven man crew the armament was provided by eight 0.303 inch machine guns the gun layout was the same as the sterling with two guns in the nose four in the tail and the remaining two in the roof to the rear the bomb load was up to eighteen thousand pounds the lancaster is without doubt one of the most famous aircraft that has ever flown its design had its roots in the earlier two engine bombers but these needed modifications to allow a heavier bomb load and longer operational range it was loved by its crews for its sturdiness good handling excellent gun layout and large bomb load there were over 7 300 examples of lancasters built during the war from its introduction in 1942 until the end of the war the plane would be responsible for dropping over half of the total raf bombs that fell on germany [Music] the boeing b-17 g flying fortress was first used during the mid-1930s in a coastal defense role the power came from four right cyclone r-1820 engines that could give a speed of between 287 and 323 miles per hour it was operated by a nine or ten man crew could fly at thirty seven thousand feet with a range of between two to three thousand miles the armament specification began with eight machine guns of either the naught point three inch or 0.5 inch type but this increased to 11 machine guns on later versions the bomb load was up to 17 600 pounds the flying fortress was the main american bomber used during the second world war the early versions were used in daylight raids and quickly ran into difficulties against the fighters of the luftwaffe but later models increased the amount of weaponry on board to give good all-round protection the b-17g is the most well-known version and a total of 8 680 b-17s were made by the war's end [Music] the consolidated b-24 liberator was a widely used american bomber that first entered service in 1939 it was powered by four pratt whitney r 1830 engines which produced a top speed of 300 miles per hour it could fly up to 32 000 feet with a range of 2850 miles it required a 10-man crew the armament was provided by 10 0.5 inch machine guns and the bomb load was up to 12 800 pounds the liberator saw extensive service in a number of roles including coastal defense bomber and trainer there were almost 18 500 models made more than any other bomber in history [Music] early bombing campaigns were haphazard and highly inaccurate when bomber harris took control of bomber command at the start of 1942 he inherited and continued the policy of area bombing that would cause controversy and excite debate long after the war ended to maximize the use of the growing bomber force it was decided that the deliberate targeting of german civilians would seriously damage morale and inflict death and carnage on the industrial workers who were key to the german war effort harris strongly believed in this new concept and set about enforcing it with all his power this type of bombing had not been carried out before on such a scale and the moral implications were high the plan was known only to key high-ranking personnel with the air crews being told that the targets were of military importance area bombing would spell death for more than 600 000 german civilians with the entry of america into the second world war the odds against germany began to stack up a policy of round-the-clock bombing was agreed whereby the british would continue with night-time attacks while the americans would bomb during the day initially the british had pushed for combined night attacks but the americans remained convinced that night bombings were not the way forward they believed that better accuracy could be achieved with daylight raids and that their heavily armed planes could cope with the german fighters they would soon learn that their trust was misplaced one of the main operational changes introduced by bomber harris was the continuous bombing of a set number of key targets this was in place of the previous wide dispersal of bombing raids that had proved so ineffective once the targets were agreed combined allied forces would bomb cities in rotation often over a period of a few days the phenomenon of firestorms would add a new and terrifying aspect to the horrors of modern warfare although cities would not be completely destroyed the amount of death and destruction caused by the raging fires would be unprecedented the first phase in this new tactic involved the dropping of larger high explosive four thousand and eight thousand pound bombs which were designed to create large craters these would hamper the efforts of the emergency services when fighting the fires these bombs would be followed up with smaller blast bombs that were designed to smash the windows of the buildings and punch holes in the roofs the final phase was the dropping of the deadly incendiary bombs these would start fires that would be assisted by the flow of air through the broken windows and damaged roofs the spread of the fires would be rapid as the targets chosen for this new tactic were the older cities with high numbers of wooden buildings the result was a fire storm which would spread rapidly and gain in intensity many people were killed by asphyxiation as a final misery time delay mines would then explode as the firefighting crews tried to contain the fires this new terror would claim the lives of at least a third of all civilians killed in bombing raids over germany [Music] at the start of the second world war it was britain who stood alone against germany britain's course of action was determined by necessity and an element of fate would bring about america's involvement the situation facing the allies was a grim one indeed the forces of hitler's germany had encompassed vast areas of europe and by the time america entered the war the germans had advanced to the outskirts of moscow the allies would face an uphill struggle in their attempts to gain the upper hand and they entered the aerial war with no idea of how things would progress the only common goal was their firm conviction to remain in the war and to fight the enemy in every way possible they had very little idea of what the enemy possessed or what the enemy was capable of but they would not have to wait long to discover the true potential of hitler's forces forces that would exact a terrible price from allied airmen [Music] the bombing campaign over germany would introduce a grim new dimension to the fighting during world war ii it was now total war a new and savage era in which technology would lead the way as each side struggled for supremacy [Music] [Music] the allies had developed new weapons and devise new tactics as the war was taken to the very heart of the reich now the germans were forced to respond in a desperate attempt to protect their vulnerable towns and cities [Music] [Music] [Music] like the rest of the major nations germany had experimented with various uses of aircraft prior to the first world war when war finally broke out germany used the aeroplane principally in the role of observer and artillery spotter they had not yet developed their own military planes but they did have the use of huge airships that would soon be put to good use the airships were under the control of the military aviation service and would be used to bomb enemy territory [Music] owing to the fact that most early planes were slow airships could outpace some enemy planes and operate at greater heights and ranges as the war progressed however and the planes became faster and started to carry guns airships became more vulnerable and by 1917 they were virtually obsolete as the allies were shooting more and more of them down it was the germans who developed their first true bomber aircraft and these joined the already expanding number of fighter planes the german army air service of world war one as it became known will always be remembered for one man baron von richthofen the infamous red baron this most celebrated of air aces had 80 kills to his credit when ground fire claimed his life on april 21st 1918 the period after the first world war would see severe restrictions placed upon germany by the victorious allies [Music] as part of the treaty of versailles germany was forbidden to have an air force although this did not stop development of german aircraft as manufacturers continued to make new types of planes some of which were designed with military capabilities in mind after adolf hitler came to power in 1933 the re-arming of germany began in earnest at first this was carried out in secret but in 1935 the rearmament was made public 1936 would see the fledgling luftwaffe make its entry into the spanish civil war which gave the germans an excellent testing bed for their new aircraft and new ideas on the future conduct of warfare by the end of the spanish civil war in 1939 the luftwaffe would have a core element of experienced battle-trained pilots the luftwaffe was expanded rapidly in the years immediately before the outbreak of the second world war and by september 1939 it could boast a total of almost three thousand planes [Music] the luftwaffe had developed some excellent tactics by the start of the war and these would be put to expert use during the blitz christ operations in poland and the west the spanish civil war had also highlighted weaknesses which were urgently corrected although the higher echelons of the luftwaffe command structure were far from ideal there were a large number of very capable and competent people within its ranks who would ensure that the luftwaffe achieved stunning victories in the early years of the war the weaknesses in the overall german air strategy only became evident as the war progressed but by then it was too late although germany made great attempts to counter the allied aerial threat the die was cast and the allies would finally overwhelm the luftwaffe in a battle of numbers although the luftwaffe was eventually defeated their early victories remain a symbol of what can be achieved with complete cooperation between ground and air forces they faced ever-increasing odds both in the west and the east and like their allied counterparts the pilots remained professional and steadfast right to the end [Music] field marshal hermann goering was a bavarian who became a highly successful fighter pilot after arthritis made him unfit for infantry duties during world war one the holder of the pauli merit germany's highest imperial battle decoration goring was the last commander of first fighter wing the famous richtofen squadron [Music] after the war goring became a leading light in the new nazi party forming a close friendship with adolf hitler shot and wounded during the abortive beer hall putch in munich in november 1923 goring nevertheless continued his prominence within the party and was made prussian minister of the interior in hitler's first cabinet of 1933 when hitler announced the formation of the luftwaffe in 1935 goering was made its commander in chief guerring was a big man with an even bigger ego and his vanity would certainly contribute to his eventual downfall none of this was evident however during the heady days of the spanish civil war and the invasion of poland which saw the luftwaffe sweep all before it it was only when faced with the determination and skill of the raf during the battle of britain that the first cracks appeared in the luftwaffe seemingly invincible facade thereafter the previously close relationship between hitler and goring became tense and strained confronted by the prospect of diminishing influence over the fuhrer goring began to make a series of unsustainable promises no bombs he vowed would fall on berlin and the army at stalingrad would be supplied from the air by the luftwaffe his behavior became increasingly erratic and he became increasingly dependent on drugs gradually guring neglected his duties and the luftwaffe paid the price after a telephone call to hitler in april 1945 during which he indicated his willingness to act as the furious successor goring was arrested for treason stripped of all his ranks and expelled from the party he surrendered to the americans on the 8th of may and gave a spirited defense at the subsequent nuremberg trials in october 1946 convicted of war crimes and sentenced to hang guring committed suicide by cyanide poisoning on the 15th of october 1946 lieutenant colonel joseph kamhubar served for the duration of world war one ending the war with the rank of second lieutenant during the interwar years he served as a member of the reichs here where he trained in secret for the forbidden general staff after training as a pilot he was one of a number of army officers that were transferred to the then still secret luftwaffe in 1933. from then until the outbreak of the second world war he trained as a night fighter pilot and by 1937 he was chief of the organization's branch he was on active duty during the campaign in the west in 1940 when he was shot down and captured by the french fortunately he was released after the french surrender after his return to germany colonel camhuber was placed in command of the knight fighter arm of the luftwaffe the first knight fighter division was formed on the 20th of july 1940 the plane that was first used in this role was the me109 which was soon replaced by the me110 this plane remained the backbone of the knight fighter units for the duration of the war kamhubar was responsible for a number of innovative measures during his command which included the defensive system known as himmel belt under his command the knight fighters would take a heavy toll on the allied bombing formations however disagreements with goring saw him move to a command in norway in 1943 his period of command coincided with some of germany's most difficult times and although camhuber did not bring about the defeat of the allied bombing campaign he did on many occasions forced the allied commanders to rethink and reassess their tactics colonel hans joseph hayeo hermann was a bomber pilot during the early part of the war and was responsible for sinking a dozen allied ships achievements which won him the knight's cross he then transferred to the knight fighting wing of the luftwaffe and led an experimental unit the jg 300 he constantly put forward new tactical ideas chief among which was the wild boar strategy hermann later controlled the ninth air division and finished the war in command of the ram commando elba he was by this stage of the war the holder of the knights cross with oak leaves and swords [Music] the messerschmitt bf-110 had been designed as a heavy fighter in the mid 1930s the early versions were slow and proved vulnerable when pitted against the faster fighters of the raf but the plane would see a new lease of life when it was adapted for use as a knight fighter the bf-110 was powered by various daimler-benz 600 series 12-cylinder engines with the last versions using the db 605b type this engine could take the bf-110 to a speed of around 340 miles per hour and allow it to operate to a height between 30 and 35 000 feet its range was up to 800 miles and it was crewed by two men the armaments varied between two twenty millimeter cannon and four seven point nine two millimeter machine guns facing forward with one additional seven point nine two millimeter machine gun facing to the rear later versions were fitted with two thirty millimeter cannon and two twenty millimeter cannon facing forward the bf-110 would be the mainstay german knight fighter during the war with just over six thousand being manufactured the junckers ju-88 was designed as a high-speed bomber and like its stablemate the bf-110 was designed during the mid-1930s underwent various design changes during its lifespan with the ju-88g being the type most used in the night fighting role it was powered by two junkers yumo 200 series engines which would take the final versions up to speeds of almost 390 miles per hour the ceiling height was over thirty two thousand feet and it had a range of almost fourteen hundred miles the four-man crew had the use of six forward-facing twenty millimeter cannon and one rear-facing seven point nine two millimeter machine gun the junckers ju-88 was a highly successful aircraft that could be used in a variety of roles as a consequence more than fifteen thousand would be manufactured before the end of the war the crop 8.8 centimeter flak 18 was better known as the 88 a weapon which would be heavily employed as the main defensive anti-aircraft weapon by the germans it was also highly successful when employed as an anti-tank gun for air defense the flak 18 could fire a 20-pound shell up to a height of 26 000 feet but it was not greatly accurate and the crew had to be very experienced to score a direct hit on an aircraft traveling at that height its main function therefore was to damage aircraft and demoralize enemy aircrews hundreds of these weapons would be employed in the defense of the reich they were used in conjunction with powerful searchlights that help to illuminate enemy bombers the himmelbet radar system was a network of radar first employed in 1941 to detect and locate incoming enemy bombers the first phase was the long-range freyja radar that had a range of around 150 miles this was backed up with the shorter range wurzburg riza that had a range of around 20 miles the shorter range radar could give height speed direction and also the size of the incoming enemy formation a second wurzburg then directed knight fighters to intercept these enemy formations operated from a central station the control system was a seaberg table that used light points to represent each plane a red light to indicate an enemy aircraft and a blue light to indicate a night fighter the 160 separate radar stations were spread out over the entire area of france belgium holland germany denmark and northern italy the himalabet system was designed for defense in breadth and not in depth and if the allies managed to break through they had almost free reign to deliver their deadly payload upon the cities and towns of germany a shortage of knight fighters also hindered the himmelbet system preventing its better use the skraga music or jazz music consisted of a set of two cannon positioned in the roof of the knight fighter in between the cockpit and the tail these were angled at 45 degrees and faced forward the weapon was not received well at first but capable pilots used it to excellent effect and its usage was increased taking advantage of the lack of armaments beneath an enemy aircraft the knight fighter would fly underneath an enemy bomber and fire a burst from the twin cannon which would usually be aimed at its wings and fuel tanks there were great dangers however many night fighter aircraft were taken down with the enemy plane as it burst into flames [Music] the helen nachtyachter or night fighting by searchlight system was introduced in 1940 as a measure against the increasing number of allied air raids being conducted over germany it would prove to be the biggest threat to allied bomber crews during the entire war and more than two 000 allied planes were lost the tactic was deadly the radar system would detect the incoming enemy bombing formations the belt of searchlights would illuminate the attacking bomber formations from below and the night fighters would close in and begin to stalk their prey they would pick an individual target and close in behind it before attacking it with their powerful cannon the searchlight belts were positioned along the coast from flensburg in northern germany across to holland and the belgian border covering the rue and arkhan region the belt continued through luxembourg and onto the eastern part of france near norse and dijon another belt was situated further inland covering the approaches to berlin [Music] it was major wolfgang falk's successful experiment in the use of planes for night time fighting that saw the formation of the first knight fighter unit knight fighter group 1 came into being on july the 20th 1940 shortly before oberst cam huber's new knight fighter division which operated under kessel ring's luftflotter2 by the end of 1940 three separate night fighter groups had been established all with a nominal strength of 200 aircraft although the number available for operations was nearer 100 the majority was situated around major cities and the rural industrial area others were cited to cover the eastern front and areas such as the ploisty oil fields [Music] the vilde sao or wild boar tactic was the idea of major hans joachim hermann he suggested the use of ordinary day fighters such as the me109 and fw190 in the night fighter role and after trials this was introduced under the newly created jg 300 commanded by hermann the tactic was simple and would become a main feature of germany's defensive battles in the latter stages of the war the principle was similar to the himmelbet system in that use would be made of the searchlights in illuminating the enemy bomber formations the planes under hermann's control would then fly high above the bombers and attack at will using visual identification methods only this unit's success would see the formation of new wild boar units and also an entire new fighter division that would have hyo hermann at its head this tactic was not always popular however pilots were not trained for this type of operation and single engine fighters were not ideally suited to night fighting or long-range night fighting was designed to take the fight to the enemy when they were at their most vulnerable aiming to catch them when they were taking off at the start of their operations or to intercept them during their outward journey sometimes they would try to ambush them on the return journey to their home bases the strategy had varying success and was never mounted on the scale of the night fighter attacks over the continent it was difficult for the officials to confirm kills by the night fighters and operations were officially suspended towards the end of 1941 the pilots however did continue to stage this type of operation and inflicted losses upon the allied bomber crews [Music] mitch fement or swimming with the flow was a tactic used in response to the allied bombers increased numbers and condensed formations the luftwaffe fighters would fly into the stream of allied bombers and travel with the formation they would then pick off targets at will until they had expended their ammunition in a role reversal of an unexpected kind night fighters were used in conventional daylight raids or daylight sorties like the wild boar pilots the night fighter pilots were being asked to fight in alien conditions and the twin engine planes were too slow to be fully effective during the day tactics that were deadly during the nighttime hours were almost suicidal when employed during the day for lone fighters were easy targets for the heavily armed bombers daylight sorties were yet another attempt to counter the threat from allied bomber formations which would result in further losses for the luftwaffe losses that they could ill afford [Music] the opening phases of the bombing offensive of world war ii can be described as a policy of wait and see for their grave moral implications placed upon a country that decides to attack non-military targets belonging to the enemy britain and america had been developing their bomber forces in the years leading up to world war ii and were both of the firm conviction that if war broke out the enemy would be capable of delivering a knockout blow from the air that will prevent any further prosecution of the war the belief in the knockout blow theory meant that great efforts were made to produce an effective countermeasure in the years leading up to 1939 britain made huge advances in the development of early warning radar and a force of fast interceptor fighter planes priority was given to the development of fighters over bombers and although this policy was unpopular in some circles the benefits would soon become apparent hitler had stated that the royal air force must be defeated before an invasion of england could begin and during the summer months of 1940 the royal air force and the luftwaffe battled for control of the skies over southern england luftwaffe bombers attacked military targets such as airfields and radar stations but difficulties were becoming apparent even at this early stage of the war the fact was that accurate bombing of a target even in daylight was extremely hard what was more targets were not attacked often enough to render them permanently unusable as the total defeat of the raf became an unrealistic aim for the luftwaffe they switched tactics to concentrate on the bombing of london and other non-military targets even here shortcomings were apparent for the two engine bombers lacked the range and load carrying capabilities to deliver the decisive victory needed [Music] germany's inability to develop a long-range four-engine bomber was proving extremely costly while the bombs dropped on britain's citizen ports the allies were making their own plans to take the air war to germany [Music] the bombing offensive over the reich was begun by britain's royal air force and in particular bomber command this force was built up slowly from 1936 and by the outbreak of the war in september 1939 bomber command had 53 squadrons available although like germany not all were operational this would increase to 58 squadrons by 1941 and by march 1943 the total had grown to 62 squadrons the number of aircraft available at the start of the war was a mere 300 this was clearly not enough for bomber command to prosecute an effective bombing campaign although the numbers available did increase it was not until the advent of the heavy four engine bombers that the effective campaigns could begin by the spring of 1943 bomber command had more than 3 000 planes at its disposal and the number would increase to nearly 7000 by the end of the war it would have the use of over a hundred separate airfields positioned mainly on the east coast of england and in the midlands bomber command saw several changes in leadership during its long campaign over hitler's reich men such as edgar ludlow hewitt and richard pierce would be at its head during some very difficult periods for britain charles portal would also be in command for a brief time before moving into the higher echelons of strategic planning it was arthur harris who commanded for the longest and probably most crucial period during the war these men would help to shape the operational effectiveness of bomber command transforming it from a small ineffective group into a highly organized and focused killing machine there is no doubt that bomber command along with its american allies played a significant part in the eventual downfall of nazi germany america's contribution to the allied bombing offensive started with the formation of the eighth air force in england during 1942. the seeds of the mighty eighth as it became known were actually sown in the year before america was already assisting britain in her war efforts from mid-1941 with military advisers stationed in the uk the first american commanders arrived at rafhq in britain at the start of 1942 by the middle of the year the establishment of the new eighth air force was complete with general karl spartz at its head the eighth was originally formed with the intention of supporting the operations in north africa but this plan was scrapped and the eighth was moved to mainland european operations where their b-17s and b-24s were seen as central to the attempt to take the war to the enemy to achieve this fully however the eighth air force had to bring itself up to strength an essential part of the plan was the construction of airfields in england the location chosen for these bases was mainly in east anglia north east of london existing raf bases near cambridge were used until new ones could be built but by the end of the war a total of 55 bases would be built for use by the eighth air force the first units to arrive were the 97th 301st and 92nd bombardment groups over the next three years no fewer than 44 separate bomber groups would serve with the eighth air force in their operations over europe at its peak a total of 41 bomber groups would serve at the same time the amounts of aircraft available to the eighth increased slowly at first as the invasion of north africa drew away reserves but after this aircraft became available at a much faster rate by the early part of 1944 the eighth had two thousand aircraft on hand by late 1944 there were more than three thousand it would eventually reach a number of three and a half thousand and their effective range from the bases in england could take them to berlin and beyond if needed as the air war escalated it became clear that assaults would need to be mounted from places other than britain in order to attack the southern reaches of the reich north africa was considered but abandoned once the allies had gained a foothold in italy the perfect base for the newly formed us 15th air force which was born on november the 1st 1943 a total of 23 italian bases were used during the war the majority been constructed around the towns of foggia and cherinola the 15th u.s air force was put under the command of lieutenant james doolittle who was succeeded by general nathan twining consisting of more than sixteen hundred aircraft at its peak the fifteenth attacked targets in romania hungary and southern areas of the reich raids which further stretched germany's resources despite the unfriendly climate and the additional hazard of the alps in northern italy the pilots of the 15th played their full part in the eventual allied victory [Music] it was in the early part of may 1940 that britain delivered its first bombing attacks on germany these attacks were small but significant they demonstrated britain's willingness to forego any moral constraints and accept that civilians would be killed at that stage of the war no other country had taken such a step germany was quick to condemn the attacks and set out to deliver a response the target chosen was the dutch port of rotterdam the attack was ferocious and demonstrated the extent of germany's bombing capabilities against a poorly defended target [Music] the luftwaffe continued its bombing campaign during the battle of britain until finally britain achieved victory over hitler's air force however britain's victory over the luftwaffe in the summer of 1940 merely allowed her to stay in the fight against nazi germany the real difficulty lay in deciding what form that fight would take for the loss of so much equipment during the disaster at dunkirk and the losses suffered during the battle of britain severely limited britain's offensive options churchill was keen to show that britain still had fight left in her and with the help of the air ministry the fight back began even as britain was fighting for her life in august 1940 bomber command sent a raid all the way to berlin the heart of nazi germany throughout 1940 there were tit-for-tat bombing raids by britain and germany on each other's home soil while the royal air force attacked areas other than berlin with the main target being germany's oil supply these attacks were widespread but they were inaccurate and sporadic initially bomber command had conducted the raids during daylight hours but the losses were too high to allow this to continue in some cases the bomber formations lost up to half their number the switch was made to night time attacks in an attempt to reduce the losses but the luftwaffe introduced its use of knight fighters who continued to inflict terrible losses upon the bomber formations during 1940 there were no less than three changes in leadership at bomber command ludlow hewitt was replaced by portal in the early part of 1940 portal was then promoted and replaced by peers these changes in command along with the enforced change of targets were a certain indication that things were not going too well for britain in her attempts to bomb the enemy 1941 saw further attempts by the british to improve their fortunes in the bombing campaign in march the target priority was switched once again with more emphasis being placed on attacking german shipping installations and u-boat pens this was an effort to try and curb the production of the u-boats and ships that were inflicting such terrible losses on the merchant ships bringing vital supplies to england by the middle of 1941 german night fighters were becoming fully effective and were making their presence felt even more upon the bomber crews the raf was slowly beginning to select civilian targets more and more as they failed to improve the accuracy of their raids at the end of 1941 piers would oversee the biggest raid of the war so far when 392 planes attacked berlin but owing to the poor overall results and with no hope of improvement the raids were scaled back around the same time a report into the effectiveness of the raids so far was published the butt report concluded that the raids were too inaccurate and the cost to bomber command both in crew and machines was too high to justify their continuation britain was indeed entering her darkest period [Music] at the end of 1941 and into 1942 the whole future of bomber command was under high-level discussion the problem was that the british war effort with its limited resources was being stretched on all fronts the one glimmer of hope was the entry of america into the war in december 1941 in the middle of february 1942 bomber command issued its highly controversial directive for the area bombing of the enemy homeland it was decided that attacks would be made on selected densely populated cities in an attempt to undermine the morale of the german home population as the bombers still did not have the technology to deliver their bombs with greater accuracy it was decided that this new tactic area bombing would be the most effective use of the bomber force other crucial decisions were made during 1942 one was the appointment in february of our chief marshal to arthur harris to replace peers encouraged by the introduction of new four engine bombers with greater range and bomb carrying capacity harris ruthlessly carried out portals area bombing directive there was also the first use of combined anglo-american raids on germany although there were some disagreements over the merits of night time and daytime raids despite the setbacks and enormous losses harris was determined to demonstrate the growing might of the raf to the germans in may 1942 one thousand bombers a mixture of lancasters wellingtons sterlings and manchesters took off with cologne as their target the two thousand tons of explosives delivered that day caused widespread destruction and loss of life harris's message had been delivered with deadly clarity further raids were also carried out over essen and bremen despite these huge blows to the enemy the cooperation with the americans the introduction of pathfinder aircraft and the improvement of aircraft bomb sites allied losses continued to mount during 1942 in all 1400 aircraft were lost furthermore the bomber offensive was placing a huge strain on the country's oil supplies and although german high command appeared to have been badly shaken by the bombing civilian morale had not collapsed and war production seemed unaffected at the start of 1943 the allied leaders held a conference in casablanca where they agreed a number of decisive measures regarding the future conduct of the war one was the decision to mount an intensive combined bomber offensive on germany using the air forces of britain and america the region of the roar received particular attention from the allied bombers and for a period of four months this area was repeatedly attacked these raids included the famous dam buster raids by guy gibson and 617 squadron as the attacks on the roar were drawing to a close a new intensified attack was about to be launched the destruction of a whole city was now on the top of the allied target list to achieve this would mean the full weight of all allied aircraft being used and some new innovative tactics would be needed to counter the threat of the german defenses on the night of the 24th of july 1943 the raf set off for the city of hamburg a town chosen for its high population old unstable buildings and easily found location to counter the defenses the allies had devised window a series of metal strips capable of blinding the defensive radar of the germans this was dropped ahead of the main force which left the way open to engage the target at will the use of incendiaries was widespread and the result was the creation of a new phenomenon that became known as a firestorm these firestorms would claim the lives of as many people as conventional bombing during the raid the americans then attacked hamburg during daylight hours on the 25th and 26th of july and added to the carnage below them the raf returned on the night of the 25th and then once more on the night of the 27th of july a final attack came on the 29th of july each time the fires were intensified and civilians suffered further horrendous losses [Music] by the time the last allied planes left the skies above hamburg over 50 000 german civilians were dead a huge part of the city was left in ruins four hundred thousand homes had been destroyed transport systems left paralyzed and over 700 factories obliterated around seventy percent of this once beautiful city was consigned to ashes the nazi capital of berlin was targeted next with the allies sending sorties from august to the end of 1943. harris was keen to continue his area bombing tactics and with confidence boosted by the attacks on hamburg deeper penetration of germany was made the americans were also selecting their own targets in 1943 with the town of schweinfurt being chosen here factories were located that produced ball bearings an item vital in the use of most modern moving machinery it was hoped to destroy the factories and bring the german war machine to a halt these raids were carried out in the usual daylight fashion with the inevitable attacks from the german fighters allied escort fighters were to accompany the bombers but all did not go to plan during the raids the americans lost 15 percent of the force sent to the target once again the mounting losses to the allies were causing grave concerns and questions were being asked as to the benefits of the area bombing policy although the resources were increasing for the allies the countermeasures employed by the germans were becoming more sophisticated and effective [Music] 1944 did not begin well for the allied bombing campaign they were suffering continuous losses against the expert fighter pilots of the luftwaffe and high command were once again voicing their concerns [Music] an attempt to destroy the german aircraft industry was made during the final week of february 1944 in what was called big week and although the results were good the cost was high with over 220 planes being lost during the week-long attacks the german fighters were becoming more numerous and the flag defenses were intensifying the attacks on berlin were recommenced late in 1943 but these operations over the german capital cost a further 500 bombers [Music] in march 1944 the attention of bomber command was diverted away from the towns and cities of germany and directed against the targets identified for the forthcoming operation overlord the long-awaited invasion of france harris was bitterly opposed to this change of direction but he was personally overruled by winston churchill although prospects did not seem bright for the allied bombing attempts in early 1944 things were starting to shift slowly in their favor the leaders responsible for the conduct of the bombing operations were determined to defeat the enemy by sheer weight of numbers and they were convinced that the time was near when they would be able to overwhelm the germans and finally defeat them the number of planes available for the bombing offensive was on the increase radio direction finding was now available to aid the accuracy of raids more importantly the use of long-range american escort fighters was becoming more frequent with their drop tanks that allowed them to carry more fuel in order to remain over enemy territory for longer now it was germany that was being stretched in all directions they were losing the fight in the expanses of russia and the allied campaign in italy was making noticeable progress with the landings in the west almost inevitable it was time to tighten the noose the one thing vital to the conduct of a modern war is oil the allies identified that above all other things lack of oil would bring the enemy war effort to a halt and so a systematic campaign to destroy oil producing plants supply systems and stockpiles began [Music] the raids over the reich were becoming heavier and heavier and it was felt that the time was right to deliver another fire raid upon a german city darmstadt was to receive its death blow between the 11th and 19th of september 1944 the raf went in first using the tried and tested methods employed in hamburg in the first hour alone conventional bombs killed over ten thousand civilians the incendiary bombs came next and the recorded temperature of the attack in the city exceeded that suffered by the residents of hamburg the result however was the same over 50 percent of the city was destroyed and tens of thousands of civilians lost their lives the attacks upon the infrastructure of the reich were finally delivering the sort of results envisaged in the early stages of the war all essential supplies oil water road and rail network were under severe pressure and the combat capabilities of hitler's germany were being fatally undermined the final year of the war saw no let up in the allied bombing campaign [Music] the luftwaffe employed increasingly desperate measures but they were too little too late the jet fighters of the luftwaffe did strike fear into the heart of the allied bomber crews but there were simply not enough of them to turn the tide of the war the allies decided to inflict another hell on earth upon the german civilians and in february 1945 with germany collapsing the city of dresden would see one of the most destructive and controversial raids of the war [Applause] from the 13th to the 15th of february 1945 more than 2 000 allied bombers flew over dresden and dropped their deadly cargo again the firestorms were whipped up and the city's civilians were consumed in a blazing inferno which burned for weeks dresden is situated in the eastern part of germany and the city was full of refugees fleeing the advance of the red army the exact figure of those who lost their lives in this short but intensive raid will never be known however most estimates agree that at least 135 000 people perished in the sea of flames at the center of the controversy surrounding the dresden raid is the fact that the city was of no strategic military importance by this late stage of the war other german towns and cities were also bombed right until the end of the war places like leipzig and berlin were attacked and in a token attack hitler's residence at bacter's garden was destroyed in a stark contrast to the first raids these final attacks were made with little or no enemy resistance [Music] the belief before the start of the war was that the bomber alone could bring an enemy country to its knees some people even believe that the advent of the bomber aircraft would render the conventional types of land and sea warfare obsolete as the war progressed it was soon discovered that this belief was ill-founded as the problems of mounting bombing missions over enemy territory became clear the tactics and tools were adapted and redesigned to meet the needs of the planners [Music] consideration had to be given to the threat from the enemy defenses which were strong and well coordinated [Music] it would only be during the last 12 months of world war ii that the allied bomber offensive became fully coordinated and focused on specific targets by then the german war effort was near breaking point and intense aerial bombardment helped to push the germans to eventual defeat the allies did not bring about the defeat of nazi germany using this aerial warfare alone but the part played by strategic bombing in the destruction of the enemy's ability to wage war was significant the losses to the german civilian population were put at over one million casualties of these six hundred thousand were fatal with two hundred thousand meeting their death during the firestorm attacks on the cities of hamburg cologne darmstadt and dresden [Music] it is estimated that around one million germans were involved in manning the defenses of the reich during the war a sizable portion of their available manpower of course the cost to the allies was also appalling between them the bomber crews of britain and america suffered deaths amounting to 115 000 personnel the total number of bomber aircraft lost was almost seventeen thousand the air war over germany firmly established the role of the strategic bomber in future wars a role that was confirmed during the final weeks of the second world war when a single us bomber delivered the first atomic bomb upon the helpless japanese civilians of hiroshima the advent of the atomic age was upon us [Music] you

Channel: Vasile Iuga

Views: 1,634,836

Keywords: War, documentary, Battlefield, Air, Over, Germany, WW2

Id: HHbGbfOaaRc

Length: 104min 37sec (6277 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 10 2012