Agreed on the whole posting, except this:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by bradclark1
It took both and it destroyed the German industry and demorilized the nation.
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If the bombing war against european cities in WWII showed one thing, than this: that you do not brake public morale by it, but in fact even strengthen it, and raising more stubborness: "Jetzt erst recht!". That was true for the people in many countries and cities being haunted by this terrible tactic, London, Hamburg, Warsaw, etc. Maybe Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the two exceptions to mention, but they were exceptions in more than just this understanding, I think.
the assumption that bombing cities helps to shatter the enemy people's fioghting spirit has been discussed by historians and contemporary militaries since WWII. I see little evidence for this assumnption being true. Latest example was "Shock and awe" in 2003, which only had an imminent effect that did not last long, and completely failed to impress the wide public ihn general. Compared to the city war in WWII, it was a harmless effort anyway, I admit that.
The deep fall in public moral in German cities, or better: rubble-fields, came AFTER the war was over. But desperation did not last long, it seems.
My grandparents, not talking often about that time, said things on this theme that I feel would also back me here.