hammo1j
Donor
The intention of Bomber Command under "Bomber" Harris was to bomb the Germans into submission. Ironically an opportunity existed for them to do this, but Harris' own inflexible nature prevented it from happening.
As Germany's territory reduced, no natural oil was available to it within its boundaries or via import. It had to rely on synthetic fuel plants (SFPs) that converted coal to petroleum products. Allied planners quickly realised this and after D day ordered the destruction of SFPs as the number one priority.
After D day the airforces (both RAF and USAAF) were less subjugated to overall command structure. Charles Portal was Harris' Commander and instructed him to carry out the directive. Harris, fixated on the idea that city destruction was the way forward, only partially carried out his instructions through deliberate disobediance and concentrated on the cities.
After the war German economic planners asked the question why the Allied bombing against SFP's was not pressed home. It was so effective that during 1944 a great deal of the army went back to horse transport and people like Speer suggested the whole German Army would have ground to a halt if the bombing had been more intense. Certainly there would have been insufficient fuel for the Battle of the Bulge offensive. There was general consensus in the German Planners that the war could have been over by Christmas.
Certainly we have to consider that:
1. It was not always suitable to attack SFP's all the time since the enemy could be ready and waiting if it knew your target in advance.
2. Troop support was a vital requirement in addition.
3. The effectiveness of SFP attacks could not be judged effectively without fuller knowledge of the German Economy than the Allies had. They would have to keep going on trust until the Wermacht was immobilized.
4. The weather might have not permitted bombing of sufficient precision to hit the SFPs.
In the strikes that were organized, the RAF dropped a similar tonnage to the USAAF in less operations but the larger UK bombs were more effective against the SFP's. The % effort from the RAF was between 6% and 25% of sorties and so could quite easily have been ramped up. It could have been simply achieved if Portal had the guts to fire Harris, but he was reluctant because Harris was an iconic figure to the Public.
Ironically Harris' city bombing policy damned Bomber Command in the eyes of the politicians and as well as a missed opportunity to be the heroes of the day turned Bomber Command into the unacceptable face of total war which was a great shame since the incredible bravery and skill of those who flew the missions was never properly recognised.
That aside how do forum members think things would have turned out on the ground if Harris had been sacked and Portal made probably Cochrane (a more imaginative commander) double BC's effort on the SFP's. Would the Soviets have got more territory if the Wermacht ground to a halt. Would Hitler have been deposed if there was no hope earlier on?
As Germany's territory reduced, no natural oil was available to it within its boundaries or via import. It had to rely on synthetic fuel plants (SFPs) that converted coal to petroleum products. Allied planners quickly realised this and after D day ordered the destruction of SFPs as the number one priority.
After D day the airforces (both RAF and USAAF) were less subjugated to overall command structure. Charles Portal was Harris' Commander and instructed him to carry out the directive. Harris, fixated on the idea that city destruction was the way forward, only partially carried out his instructions through deliberate disobediance and concentrated on the cities.
After the war German economic planners asked the question why the Allied bombing against SFP's was not pressed home. It was so effective that during 1944 a great deal of the army went back to horse transport and people like Speer suggested the whole German Army would have ground to a halt if the bombing had been more intense. Certainly there would have been insufficient fuel for the Battle of the Bulge offensive. There was general consensus in the German Planners that the war could have been over by Christmas.
Certainly we have to consider that:
1. It was not always suitable to attack SFP's all the time since the enemy could be ready and waiting if it knew your target in advance.
2. Troop support was a vital requirement in addition.
3. The effectiveness of SFP attacks could not be judged effectively without fuller knowledge of the German Economy than the Allies had. They would have to keep going on trust until the Wermacht was immobilized.
4. The weather might have not permitted bombing of sufficient precision to hit the SFPs.
In the strikes that were organized, the RAF dropped a similar tonnage to the USAAF in less operations but the larger UK bombs were more effective against the SFP's. The % effort from the RAF was between 6% and 25% of sorties and so could quite easily have been ramped up. It could have been simply achieved if Portal had the guts to fire Harris, but he was reluctant because Harris was an iconic figure to the Public.
Ironically Harris' city bombing policy damned Bomber Command in the eyes of the politicians and as well as a missed opportunity to be the heroes of the day turned Bomber Command into the unacceptable face of total war which was a great shame since the incredible bravery and skill of those who flew the missions was never properly recognised.
That aside how do forum members think things would have turned out on the ground if Harris had been sacked and Portal made probably Cochrane (a more imaginative commander) double BC's effort on the SFP's. Would the Soviets have got more territory if the Wermacht ground to a halt. Would Hitler have been deposed if there was no hope earlier on?
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