THE BOMBERS’ TASK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25239, 31 May 1943, Page 2

THE BOMBERS’ TASK

Happily beyond the imagination of the people of New Zealand—but not of those of Great Britain, who have endured assault to the limit of Nazi strength and ingenuity—the air offensive of the R.A.F. and the American Eighth Air Force over Europe continues night and day. The day-to-day recital of areas visited and weight of explosives dropped almost loses its power to impress those who have had no actual experience of mass air attack, but the occasional reports of neutral observers and the" photographic observations made by British and United States reconnaissance machines leave no doubt as to the destruction that is being wrought. Present objectives are, as in the past, industrial, and include attacks on U-boat bases, which are now announced as definitely having their effect on one of the most dangerous of the enemy’s remaining weapons of offence. Only incidentally are the raids directed at the breaking of the morale of the Axis people, but. ■their effect in pressing home the dreary tale of stalemate in Russia and defeat in Africa must be cumulatively so severe as to threaten the battered war effort of the Nazis from an interior position. But apart from tne constant interference with the industries of war caused by the systematic bombing, and, apart from its, to say the least, depressing influence on the German and Italian people, the policy to which the Allies are committed has another considerable consequence, in detaching from Axis war activities of a productive nature hundreds of thousands of persons. Indeed, the Air Minister, Sir Archibald Sinclair, in a recent speech, gave the actual figure for Germany’s western front alone as 1,500,000 persons—7so,ooo soldiers and sailors and 750,000 men and women in fire-fighting—in fulltime work of defence against the bombers. This figure is conservative, since it takes no account of the thousands temporarily out of work owing to the disruption of industry—an army .of unemployed which must be a permanent feature now of Hitler’s Europe, changing only in location and number. In Italy, which is now fully within range of the Allied .bombers from England and Africa both, the confusion may be expected to be greater than in the Reich, with a greater consequent loss to war production. The reflection that this devastating campaign is only a preliminary to the assault to come, the harbinger 'of even more extensive and deadly visitation, can provide the enemy with no comfort. Whatever other plans the Allies may have in mind, Sir Archibald Sinclair and Mr Churchill have made it clear that the activities qf Bomber Command and the sister United States service will be continued and extended, blasting a road that leads to Berlin.