BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 1378, 25 March 1915, Page 4

BOMBARDMENT OF LONDON.

“London may be considered an important object of war against which any and all annihilating and destructive methods of warfare may be employed, especially shelling by aircraft.” This is the conclusion to which the semi-official Fremdenblatt, of Vienna, a favourite organ of the German Foreign Office, comes after reviewing the question. This is the Fremdenblatt’s justification ot an aerial bombardment of London : “While London is not a fortress, it possesses for England’s warfare, both by land and water, extraordinarily great military importance. Under certain circumstances London can be of decisive influence upon tbe issue of the war, especially because of the mass of national wealth and economic values contained within its limited area, and also because of the assemblage at one spot of all the auxiliary means of conducting warfare. If these are destroyed the preparation of England’s military and naval forces would be delayed to a very extraordinary degree, it not, indeed, made impossible in many directions. We refer, among other things, to the Royal dockyard and also numerous private yards, the extensive equipment of depots, and the numerous warships and merchantmen always lying in the Thames. In the immediate neighbourhood of Loudon, Msc, arc the large arsenals in vv’V'-h the entire artillery and oilier equipment ot tus. army and navy are manulactured and vvareh_a;ed. London also aas many barracks. Moreover, it is clear ter t the destruction of the Thames bridges, if this can be accomplished on an extensive scale, would have au altogether demoralising effect on traffic. The same thing applies to railway stations and lines. It is, therefore, from a military standpoint, entirely legitimate to attempt the destruction of such points, whereby various objects can simultaneously be achieved. In the bombardment of London this would be the case to quite an extensive degree, because as has beer pointed out, all the important sinews of war are concentrated within a narrow area. There is, therefore, the greater prospects of real success in throwing bombs, besides which w ■ must not forget the moral effect such an attack would produce.”