Just Finished Reading: First Blitz – The Secret German Plan to Raze London to the Ground in 1918 by Neil Hanson (FP: 2008)

With most of the concentration on the bombing campaign in World War 2 it’s sometimes easy to forget that many of the techniques and effects where presaged and pre-staged in World War 1. Strategic bombing, in its primitive form at least, was certainly amongst them. For most of the war the aircraft used in both conflict and reconnaissance were barely fit for purpose. It should come as little surprise therefore that it took some time before they could be used by the German High Command to attack English cities with any kind of effectiveness. Only the Zeppelins initially became a concern although their bomb load was meagre even by WW2 standards. Their effectiveness came from the fact that, until new fighter aircraft had been developed for the RFC and RNAS few of the British fighters could climb high enough to confront the enemy airships before they had dropped their ordinance and begun their journey home. Only with the joint developments of better aero engines, better detection and early warning and incendiary bullets did the defenders get the upper hand and defeat the Zeppelin menace. But as both the war and technology progressed it was not long before Germany began building larger and larger bombers capable of reaching London whilst carrying a potentially highly damaging bomb load. This they did in greater and greater numbers in 1917 and 1918. Reluctantly forced to bring back fighter squadrons from France an increasingly sophisticated defensive strategy developed to meet this new threat and in many ways laid the foundation for the successful Battle of Britain a generation later.

But the story of the German bombing campaign outlined in this frankly fascinating tale is not just about the men who risked their lives in fighting machines high above the English countryside and the dangerous English Channel. It is also the tale of the civilian population who suffered under sporadic and random bombing throughout those final years of the war. For the first time populations many miles away from any front line could become casualties of war and neither the civilians themselves nor their political masters knew exactly how to handle things or even if they could be handled. There was a real fear that the common people would crack under the pressure of air-raids that, despite their general ineffectiveness, had the potential of causing mass panic. Those who could left London and moved, at least temporarily, to somewhat safer locations. Those who could not leave suffered and waited for the drone of bombers and the roar of anti-aircraft fire. A number of tragedies, especially when a school was hit in a working class area, added to the calls of revenge and retaliation as well as verbal attacks on the government who were failing to protect them. Little did the population know what the Germans had in store – the largest attack yet was being planned using the latest technical advances in incendiary weapons. The aim was to start a fire so intense that it fed upon itself forming a firestorm that would destroy large parts of the capital.

The German raids against England at the close of WW1 were very much a forerunner of the more familiar attacks in WW2 and became a training ground for both the attackers and defenders as well as the poor bloody civilians who had to live and work beneath the action. Told with access to dairies, letters, official documentation and newspaper reports of the time, the author weaves together a very human story of bravery, fortitude, danger, death and blind luck. It is hard to imagine, even with our much deeper appreciation of the WW2 Blitz just what the people involved went through. No one had any clear idea of the effectiveness of the raids or their responses to them. The civilians could not draw on previous experience to help them through and politicians were often at a loss as to what to do. Everyone was learning and everyone had to cope as best they could. This is a much under-reported aspect of WW1 that the author brings brilliantly to life. It is very much a story with a human face, as the best history should be, and one that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. Recommended.