Via Nancy
And everybody praised the Duke
Who this great fight did win.
‘But what good came of it at last?’
Quoth little Peterkin.
‘Why, that I cannot tell,’ said he,
‘But ’twas a famous victory.’
Southey, after Blenheim
A CITY MUST DIE
Woven into the tapestry of the Second World War, the air blitz is a stark reminder that this war, perhaps more so than any other affecting the European continent, provided for the deliberate destruction of civilians as an instrument of policy. Most of us are familiar with the major events of World War Two and of these, the blitz on such major cities as London and Liverpool stand out as beacons of devastation. The blitz on Coventry was equally tragic and the horror is increased as we subsequently learn that civilian losses could have been reduced enormously but for the fact that Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of the time, refused to warn Coventry’s inhabitants that their city was to be raided lest the enemy realise their code had been broken.
Sir Basil Liddell Hart, Britain’s foremost historian, described the policy of bombing civilian targets as being: “The most uncivilized method of warfare the world has known since the Mongol invasions.” It is a sad reflection on Britain that it was a British Government which initiated this war crime which by its nature would needlessly destroy so many European lives, not to speak of British lives lost in raids of retaliation.
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The bombing of Dresden comes to mind. That was just plain murder. But it's forgiven in the history written by the victors because it was merely White People murdering White People.
ReplyDeleteThe inventors of the atomic bomb were disappointed that the Germans surrendered before the bomb could be used on them. Think about that for a moment.
The inventors of the atomic bomb were disappointed that the Germans surrendered before the bomb could be used on them.
DeleteThanks and hadn't heard that.
If memory serves, the Germans were first -- in the 20th Century, at least -- to bomb civilians: on August 6, 1914 a German Zeppelin bombed a town in Belgium and killed 9 civilians.
ReplyDeleteSomewhat later, the Germans commissioned the construction of an artillery piece with a 75 mile range. They planned to station it on the Belgian coast and shell Britain from across the Channel. I don't know if it was ever emplaced as planned.
And again, if memory serves, the Germans' bombing of Britain commenced in 1940, well before the British were able to bomb central Europe.
Perhaps "two wrongs don't make a right," but it wasn't the British who started it. Remember that.
May well be correct, Sir as research on the Internet leads to nothing conclusive. :) Thanks.
DeleteUnforgivable. Awaiting for the barbarians just dessert
ReplyDeletewith cyanide.
The ending is simply horrific, but it seems the most humane action.
ReplyDeleteHitler's refusal to finish off the Allies at Dunkirk was catastrophic. Fatal mistake for Germany. Too bad.
ReplyDelete& we still don't know really why. What an enigma.
DeleteHitler was an idealist, first and foremost. He didn't wipe out the BEF at Dunkirk because he thought that the British would join Germany in the fight against Communist Russia. Plus Hitler saw the British as natural genetic brothers.
ReplyDeleteFrancis Porretto...I am a big fan of your work. As you noted, the Germans were the first to bomb civilians. But I thought that "we" were supposed to be the good guys. Carpet bombing German cities to just kill as many people as possible is a war crime, in my opinion.
Hitler saw the British as natural genetic brothers.
DeleteMake sense.