Restrained Policy and Careless Execution: Allied Strategic Bombing on the Netherlands in the Second World War
AbstractThis article examines the nature of Allied strategic bombing on the Netherlands in the Second World War. It discusses the endless controversy on strategic bombing, and adds the policy of bombing occupied countries, especially the Dutch involvement in bombing policy development, a quantitative analysis of bombing on the Netherlands, and three case studies to the existing narrative. The paper concludes that Allied bombing policy towards the Netherlands sought to maintain a balance between the usefulness of bombing and the risk of collateral damage. Further, it reveals the absolute magnitude of the bombing campaign in the Netherlands, which contrasts with existing history. This article concludes that the nature of strategic bombing on the Netherlands, notwithstanding the fact of sincere intentions and restrained policies, was that the execution of the bombardments regu- larly failed to attain the defined bombing goals. These failures caused extensive collateral damage, as illustrated by three case st...
‘How many Frenchmen did you kill?’ British bombing policy towards France (1940–1945)
The Allied bombing of France between 1940 and 1945 has received comparatively little attention from historians, although the civilian death toll, at about 60,000, was comparable to that of German raids on the UK. This article considers how Allied, and particularly British, bombing policy towards France was developed, what its objectives were and how French concerns about attacks on their territory were (or were not) addressed. It argues that while British policymakers were sensitive to the delicate political implications of attacking France, perceived military necessities tended to trump political misgivings; that Vichy, before November 1942, was a stronger constraint on Allied bombing than the Free French at any time and that the bombing programme largely escaped political control from May 1944.
The Contemporary British History Play
Introduction Biographical History Plays Social History Plays Oppositional History Plays Marxist and Socialist History Plays Feminist History Plays Deconstructionist and Postmodern History Plays and Satire The Search for a Theatrical Form Appendix A: Performance Dates of Contemporary British History Plays Appendix B: Performance Locales of Contemporary British History Plays Bibliography Index