Here is a challenge for revisionist historians.
On May 11h, 1940 (the day after Churchill became Prime Minister), Britain started to bomb German cities. Cities full of people. Like, Hamburg on May 16th. But with amazing restraint, the Luftwaffe did not reply in kind until September 16th. Over that nearly four-month period, Hitler kept putting out peace-offers hoping that the war could be avoided.
I believe that David Irving is the only historian to put forward this view. Is that so? My hunch is, that he is correct on this matter. See eg his talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qAdJTHQysI
August 24th, first bombing of London
For a different view, see eg www.battleofbritain1940.net/0029.html which has a range of targets in London hit on 24th, and is not sure whether it was intended.
I live in Walthamstow, East London, which is on the above list. I checked out its war-records and it has bombs fall on 23rd and 25th of August with no-one killed.
Let's quote the Battle of Britain website:
This raid resulted in the largest amount of casualties so far in a single raid during the Battle of Britain. Over 100 people in the city were killed on that afternoon, and 300 sustained serious injuries. Houses, shops, factories, the Naval barracks and the dockyards were all seriously damaged. Bombs landed on East Ham, West Ham, Stepney, Bethnal Green, Hackney, Leyton, Walthamstow, Edmonton, Islington and Bloomsbury. All these areas received bomb damage between 2300hrs on August 24th 1940 and 0130hrs on August 25th 1940.
(Compare account in Irving, Churchill's War p.406 'nobody was killed')
On Irving's version, one German plane aiming for oil refineries at Rotherhithe, had by mistake flown too far and bombed East London, on 24th August 1940 - giving Churchill the excuse he needed to order a massive bombing raid on Berlin on 26th August.
Whereas a new book on WW2 says:
On the night of 24th August, a force of more than hundred German bombers overflew their targets and bombed Eastern & central london by mistake p165.
The 2nd World War, Anthony Beevor 2012 p.165.
Newspaper Reports
The Times wrote that in London on Saturday 24th 'the damage was very small indeed' with no 'devastation' and 'about four deaths', but it also said: 'For the first time, bombs fell on central London … Screaming bombs were heard in the London area during the raid early this morning. A screaming bomb 'Fell from the sky.' Ramsgate was also bombed but had 'comparatively few casualties'
The Evening Standard Mon 26th had: St Giles church Cripplegate was hit in the City and then 'single German raiders returned to drop bombs on many London suburbs' with 'a long raid on N-E London early today'. Saturday 24th had 'bombs dropped on many residential quarters.' Ramsgate had three attacks with some 200 incendiary bombs dropped.
The newspapers generally gave the impression that the immediately-following bombing of Berlin was a 'justified' reprisal.
So, i don't know what to believe.
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