Humpday History Highlight
By Wyatt Earp | December 29, 2010
December 29, 1940 – Germans Bombard London
On this day, German aircraft blanket incendiary bombs over London, setting both banks of the Thames ablaze and killing almost 3,600 British civilians.
December 29 saw the widespread destruction not just of civilians, but of great portions of London’s cultural relics. Historic buildings were severely damaged or destroyed as relentless bombing set 15,000 separate fires. Among the architectural treasures that proved casualties of the German assault were the Guildhall (the administrative center of the city, dating back to 1673 but also containing a 15th-century vault) and eight Christopher Wren churches.
The bombing of London was one of the biggest mistakes of the war. The Luftwaffe was targeting and destroying most of the RAF airfields, rendering Britain powerless. After the Brits bombed Berlin, Hitler changed targets from the airfields to London – giving the RAF time to recover and regroup.
Topics: HHH | 7 Comments »
December 29th, 2010 at 9:23 pm
The Krauts pulled a dumb stunt bombing London and got their butts kicked.
December 29th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Had the liberals been in charge of the media back then, the bombing of Berlin would have been denounced immediately… by the BBC.
A pity that the U.K. has degenerated from fighting fascism to appeasing it (in the form of islamic fascism).
December 29th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
I was watching a bit about this on the Military Channel over the weekend. So much that we need to keep reminding ourselves of that we just ignore, because we want to go about business and not be bothered.
December 29th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
If only the Luftwaffe understood the significance of RADAR, they would have rendered Fighter Command blind and history may have been written quite differently.
December 30th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Rick – As they deserved to. Stupidity should not go unpunished.
Robert B. – The BBC would call for “understanding” of the Nazi cause.
RT – Radical Islam is the new Nazi, but political correctness keeps people from saying it.
Andrew – They still would have blown it because Hitler had to stop at Stalingrad. Stupid, stupid move, because it was made using ego and not intellect.
December 30th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Wyatt, very true with the reply to Andrew. Had Hitler honored his treaty with Stalin (and thank God he didn’t), German would be the second language of the U.K. instead of Arabic. Now, if the English would just evict all immigrants that have arrived since 1980, maybe they could have their country back.
December 31st, 2010 at 12:31 am
Robert B. – I’m no fan of Hitler and/or Nazi Germany, but stupidity pisses me off. Militarily, they should have run through Europe and Asia with ease. Stupid crap like this, Dunkirk, and Stalingrad cost them the war.
Thank God, but cripes, how stupid can you be? Ignore Stalingrad and head to the oil fields near the Black Sea. If they do that, it’s game over.