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Bomber Command Memorial unveiled


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Heroes, each and everyone of them. In my opinion, their detractors, -particularly those who didn't live through that time, should keep a very low profile.

 

The expression "all's fair in love and war" is not new and is pretty much how the cookie crumbled.

 

Happy days

Harry I agree completely, the carpet bombing of the German cities prevented tens of thousands of the lives of our citizens being lost, the Germans attempted to do the same to England and again if it hadn't been for the RAF they would have succeeded, it also resulted in shortening the war in my opinion.

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It is nothing less than disgusting that the people of Bomber Command were not recognised after the war .Unpleasant things do happen in wartime but Britain didn't start a march through Europe.For many years we stood alone fighting the corner of Europe's free nations in the face of the Nazi aggressor.Unfortunately,it seems those days were in vain considering who now rules the roost in Europe.

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Might help Eagle if you knew what you were talking about - just finished watching the prog, narrated by Stephen Fry, on CH12. The classic example of British war crimes, as still quoted by the Germans was the Bombing of Dresden. It was bombed at the request of the Russians; Goebles added a 0 to the casualty figures and accused us of terror bombing; forgetting of course, that they were using indiscriminate V1s and V2s on London at the time. The propaganda however worked, and fed a lasting hatred for the RAF by the Germans, later reinforced during the cold war by the Russians. Churchill was acutely aware that the politics of the Cold War required reconcilliation with the Germans, so the area bombing campaign ordered by him, and Bomber Command were discreetly sidelined. However, in the words of Air Marshal "Bomber" Harris, "they sowed the wind, and now will reep the whirlwind" - which about sums it up really. :roll:

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  • 10 months later...

Aside from opening a campaign in N/Africa, the RAF bomber offensive was the only way we could hit back at Germany, until the overwhelming resources of the USA came into play.  It cost the lives of over 50,000 British and Commonwealth airmen.  It's value in terms of destroying German economic production or civilian morale is questionable (Albert Speer said that production increased until right at the end of the war). However, as Bomber Harris said " they sowed the wind, and now they are reaping the whirlwind" , which certainly demolished most of their cities; paving the way for the post-war Marshal Plan & and US funding to rebuild it all and create the so-called German economic miracle, giving rise to the Fourth Reich in the form of the EU.

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Cheers! lads, now I understand, I think your relationship is a bit like Mrs algy and mine, best thing is to agree to disagree, that should keep the owd' blood pressure down. Ah' well got things to do, I'll leave you to it.

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