The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun MONDAY, JUNE 1, 1942. GREAT BOMBING OFFENSIVE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 127, 1 June 1942, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, The Echo and The Sun MONDAY, JUNE 1, 1942. GREAT BOMBING OFFENSIVE

the Luftwaffe's attack on British cities was at its height millions of people, while showing that they could "take it," longed for the day when the Royal Air force would "give it back." It seems that that, day has arrived. No raid approaching the magnitude of that made on Saturday night on the Cologne area has been reported before. Its significance lias been emphasised by Mr. Churchill in the message sent to the Bomber Command, a message in which he points to the vast and intricate organisation needed to enable "over 1000" bombers to drop their loads over one area in an hour and a half, and remarks: "This is also a herald of what Germany will receive, city by city, from now on. It. is no secret that a large part of the aircraft industry has been devoted to the building up of ; great bomber fleet, and the scale of the Cologne raid is proof that, the policy is producing results. It follows other raids since the beginning of April—on Lubeck, Rostock, Cologne, Kiel, Stuttgart and Warnemunde—which were themselves heavy by all earlier standards but can he seen now to have been only preliminary.

i rT Mow ctlectual are these raids? On this crucial question there is a difference of opinion which may not be finally resolved until after the war. The Germans' "blitz'' on Britain failed—that is, while it caused enormous damage and heavy casualties, it failed to disorganise production or to demoralise the people. It reduced production temporarily, but it so stiffened the spirit of resistance that the losses were made good more quickly than could have been expected. The effect of the present bombing offensive on Germany may not he different, although the heavier scale of the more recent raids may make the strain insupportable in the Treas affected. No one can foretell the consequences of the offensive if it is possible to sustain it at maximum intensity. So far that has not. been possible. Kither the weather has changed or the losses have mounted, and there has been a pause. Forty-four aircraft were lost on Saturday night. In proportion to the number engaged that is not high, but whether it could be sustained over weeks or months is another matter. However that may be, it is certain that the heavier offensive timed to coincide with the battles in Russia and in Libya, confronts the Germans with problems worse than they have ever known in this war Their own air force is very strong, but not as strong as it needs to be on every front. Meanwhile it is suffering losses on every front, and Gorman industry, which must make those losses good, is being battered with unprecedented violence. It is hard to believe that Hitler, when he created the Russian war, foresaw such a situation.