REPLY TO NAZIS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 February 1941, Page 6

REPLY TO NAZIS

R.A.F'S. DEADLY METHOD I BOMBING TO PLAN. — INO PLACE FOR INDISCRIMINATE > ATTACKS. Laymen who demand as a reprisal ; tor the Nazi Luftwaffe's indiscriminI ate attacks on civilians that German i cities should be similarly treated will ' be interested by an aviation expert's ■ delineation of the mere deadly method i employed by the R.A.F.. and of its | greater influence as a factor in achiev- ' ing the real purpose of the war —the smashing of the Nazis. By the defeat of the Luftwaffe and the Nazi war machine, attacks on civilians will be brought to an end. Any diversion from. This prime purpose plays into the German's hands. This aviation expert declares: "There is no place in the R.A.F. plan for "reprisals" which, in any event, are far less effective a means to the end that the uninterrupted conduct of the plan itself. "Any such diversions serve only to delay the execution of a plan which is slowly but surely crippling the re-; sources of the enemy and, in its en-’ tirety, must inevitable bring him to! defeat." He says this plan was adopted in; outline long before a bomb was drop-; ped. Its execution represents the col- ; laborative work of strategists of air, warfare, of industrial exports in many I spheres, of technologists and scientists. I "0:1 is the lifeblood of modern mili-i ‘ary power." he says. "It is by persis-• tent hammering at the refineries in j which the oil is processed, the great ■ reservoirs in which it is stored, and the, lines of transport by which fresh sup-i plies can be brought in and distribut- j ed that the Royal Air Force aims at draining the lifeblood from the enemy's militaary and industrial systems and so immobilising the war machines of the dictators.

"Attacks on other objectives which figure in the R.A.F's, plan of bombing, such as aircraft factories, armament works and power stations, are ordered from time to time as expediency dictates or striking power permits. But. valuable though their short-term effect may be in disorganising production and hampering immediate plans, they do not in the long run have the decisive and far-reaching result which can be attained by depriving the enemy of the vital resources, such as oil. fuel and raw material, upon the regular supply of which the continued working of his armament factories and power-stations wholly depends.”

BLOCKADE BY BOMBS. The offensive plan of the Bomber Command may thus be described as largely a plan of blockade. It does not depend solely upon the arrest: of vital supplies before they reach the enemy but is capable of reaching right into the heart of the enemy’s territory and snatching vital resources away from him. "This plan of aerial blockade has already proved itself one of the greatest weapons in our offensive armoury. "Vast quantities of oil. stored in Germany against the outbreak of war or since captured in invaded countries, have been systematically wiped out by bomber forces whicch have ranged the length and breadth of Germany and even scoured the occupied territories to seek out and destroy each major oil store in the enemy's hands. "Fresh oil supplies can. it is true, be brought into Germany. But it will profit the enemy nothing if Rumanian oil, safely delivered, is then attacked by the R .A.F. and blown up with the wreckage of a Hamburg storage tank. "There is in Germany, too. a vast synthetic fuel industry and air power enables our bombers to reach those plants and set them ablaze. EXPERTS AIM THE BOMBERS. "Though the principles of the airoffensive plan are fixed, and the nature of the objectives which are to have priority of attack has long since been decided, the exact choice of targets, and less important, the frequency with which they are attacked, are matters upon which the advice of experts, versed in every detail of the changing needs and conditions of German industry. is essential. "The specialist staff of the Ministry of Economic ’Warfare supply this needy and objectives recommended by them are systematically attacked until such time as reliable information indicates: that the destruction has been complete: or that tlie damage inflicted lias been sufficient to bring production to a: standstill. "If and when the plant concerned is ■ rebuilt and production resumed, it is; again included in the bombing plan ■ and duly dealt with. TOWARDS THE FINAL PHASE. I "By the time the winter has passed; and the mghts grow shorter the rapid-; ly increasing strength of the Royal Airj Force will be readv for action. -Then the first phase <>f it, offensive: plan <-■ ■mph-ted. the activities of the Bomber Command may bo expected toassume a new direction and the aerial blockade to be m part replaced <-.r augmvnted by a ‘fighting <>fT<-nsiv<-’ dir-; octcd at throw ng < lernum Italpr»*paring the way for daylight opera-i lions, ami lite lin.'il plKrc" The real n-pri-al for th.- Luftwaffe'-: bombing of Bri’i-h civilian- w-.1l be . . Victory-