Fatalities Of The Cologne War: A Grim Tally

The German city of Cologne was bombed in 262 separate air raids during World War II, resulting in the deaths of approximately 20,000 civilians. The first bombing took place on May 12, 1940, and the city was subjected to a devastating 1000 bombers raid in May 1942, which caused extensive destruction and loss of life. By the end of the war, Cologne was left in ruins, with most of its historical architecture destroyed and tens of thousands of people dead or injured. The psychological impact of the constant confrontation with death and dying on the population is immeasurable.

The 1942 '1,000 bomber raid'

The 1942 1,000-bomber raid, also known as Operation Millennium, was the first time the Royal Air Force (RAF) used a 1,000-bomber force during World War II. The target was Cologne, Germany, which was bombed on the night of May 30-31, 1942. This marked the first of three 1,000-bomber raids conducted by the RAF that summer.

Planning the Raid

The Commander-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command, Air Marshal Arthur 'Bomber' Harris, was a proponent of extensive and sustained area bombing, also known as carpet bombing. He believed that bombing Germany's most important cities could bring about a surrender without the need for a land attack. Prime Minister Winston Churchill supported this strategy, especially after the bombing campaigns that British cities had endured during the London Blitz in 1940 and 1941. Harris aimed to assemble 1,000 bombers for a single mission, a challenging feat given that the RAF's frontline strength at that time was around 400 aircraft.

To achieve the 'magic number' of 1,000 bombers, Harris gathered every spare aircrew member and aircraft from the operational squadrons. He also utilised bombers and men from Operational Training Units (OTUs) and Flying Training Command. Despite these efforts, the goal of 1,000 bombers seemed out of reach until Harris was able to secure additional aircraft from other commands, bringing the total to 1,086. However, just before the raid, the Royal Navy withdrew its contribution of 250 planes, citing concerns about the decreased protection from U-Boat attacks.

Execution of the Raid

In the end, 1,047 bombers took off to bomb Cologne, Germany's third or fourth-largest city at the time. The force comprised 602 Vickers Wellingtons, 131 Handley Page Halifaxes, 88 Short Stirlings, 79 Handley Page Hampdens, 73 Avro Lancasters, 46 Avro Manchesters, and 28 Armstrong-Whitworth Whitleys. The bombers employed a new tactic called the "bomber stream," where all aircraft flew in a common route and at the same speed to overwhelm enemy radar and defences.

The raid lasted about 90 minutes, during which the bombers dropped 1,455 tons of bombs on Cologne, including massive 'cookie' bombs and thousands of small incendiary bombs. The city's firefighters were overwhelmed, and over 15,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged, including 1,500 factories. The official police report stated that there were 469 people killed and around 5,000 injured. The RAF lost 41-43 aircraft, with 22 of them shot down near or over Cologne.

Impact and Aftermath

The 1942 1,000-bomber raid on Cologne was considered a success by the RAF, as it shocked the enemy, caused widespread destruction, and led to Germany investing more resources and men into air defences. The raid also served as a propaganda exercise, catching headlines and silencing critics of Bomber Command in Parliament and the Admiralty. However, the strategic value of such raids was debated, as morale and cities could recover within a few months, and there was controversy over the high number of civilian casualties.

The impact of incendiary bombs

During World War II, the German city of Cologne was bombed in 262 separate air raids by the Allies, all by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The first bombing took place on May 12, 1940, and the most notable attack was the first Allied 1,000 bomber raid on May 30-31, 1942. This raid, known as Operation Millennium, was intended to demoralize the German population and damage German morale. It was also a form of propaganda for the Allies and a way for RAF Bomber Command head Arthur Harris to demonstrate the effectiveness of strategic bombing to the War Cabinet.

The incendiary bombs used during the Cologne raid had a devastating impact on the city's buildings and infrastructure. In addition to the destruction of non-residential buildings, the raid also resulted in significant damage to residential areas, with 13,010 homes destroyed, 6,360 seriously damaged, and 22,270 lightly damaged. The raid also caused extensive damage to culturally and historically important buildings, including churches, museums, schools, hospitals, and other community buildings. The commercial sector was relatively unaffected, with only minor and temporary damage reported.

The human toll of the incendiary bomb attacks was also significant. Frau Chantrain of the Cologne Red Cross described the carnage, including the charred remains of those killed by high-explosive bombs and the devastation faced by those who lost loved ones in the fires. The official police report noted that over 45,000 people were left homeless overnight, and the total death toll from the raid was 469, with around 5,000 injured.

Cologne's civilian death toll

The German city of Cologne suffered heavy civilian casualties during World War II. The city was bombed in 262 separate air raids by the Allies, all carried out by the Royal Air Force (RAF). Cologne was a significant military target due to its heavily industrialized nature and extensive railway network. The first bombing took place on May 12, 1940, and the city endured the first 1,000-bomber raid on May 30-31, 1942, which was also the first-ever such raid by the RAF.

The devastating impact of these air raids on Cologne's civilian population cannot be overstated. Approximately 20,000 civilians lost their lives during the war due to aerial bombardments. The raids left tens of thousands dead or injured, and the psychological trauma inflicted on the surviving populace is immeasurable. The air attacks reduced the city to rubble, with the historical architecture of Cologne, dating back almost a millennium in some cases, being almost entirely obliterated. The once-vibrant city was transformed into a ghost town, with mountains of rubble lining the streets and vast expanses of derelict buildings.

The "1000 bombers raid" in mid-1942 marked a turning point, after which life in Cologne was increasingly defined by the air raids and their devastating consequences. The initial euphoria and optimism of the "blitzkrieg" phase gave way to terror as the city became a primary target for aerial assaults. The sheer number of bombers overwhelmed Cologne's defences, and the majority of the damage was caused by the fires that the incendiaries started. The fires caused by the bombing were so extensive that they overwhelmed the city's fire brigades, leading to conflagrations similar to those experienced by London during the Blitz.

The impact of the bombings extended beyond physical destruction. The NS regime's food rationing system, which was already in place at the start of the war, became increasingly complicated due to the disruption caused by the raids. The distribution of ration cards and the availability of goods became more challenging, and the NS regime continued its racially discriminatory practices even in the midst of the crisis. Jewish citizens, for instance, had to collect their ration cards from a single district branch, making the task more arduous due to travel restrictions and the deteriorating traffic situation.

By the end of World War II, Cologne had endured immense suffering. The death toll among its civilian population was staggering, and those who survived faced homelessness, trauma, and a city reduced to ruins. The war had irrevocably altered the fabric of the city and the lives of its people.

The final air raid

The first bombing of Cologne had taken place on 12 May 1940, and the city was to become the target of the first Allied 1,000 bomber raid on 30/31 May 1942. Codenamed Operation Millennium, this massive raid was intended to knock Germany out of the war or at least severely damage German morale. The RAF's Bomber Command, under the leadership of Arthur Harris, sought to overwhelm German night fighter and flak defences by concentrating a huge strike in a small window of time—just 90 minutes.

The RAF lost 43 aircraft (44 according to German sources), with 22 shot down in the vicinity of Cologne itself. The raid caused devastating fires, with the Cologne fire brigade authority reporting over 5,000 non-residential buildings damaged, 3,300 of them destroyed, and 1,700 fires classified as "large". The damage to civilian homes was also considerable, with 13,010 destroyed and 6,360 seriously damaged.

By the time of the final raid in March 1945, the city was all but destroyed, with only around 20,000 people remaining. The last air raid was followed by an Allied ground advance, which led to the capture of Cologne on 7 March 1945.

The capture of Cologne

During the night of 3 March, Allied aircraft dropped propaganda leaflets over the city, telling its citizens to disobey the directives of the Nazi leadership and not to evacuate the city. The Allied columns approached Cologne from three directions: the 3rd Armored Division striking from the northwest, 104th Infantry Division coming from the west, and 9th Armored Division clearing sections south of the city in conjunction with the 9th Infantry Division.

On 5 March, the 3rd Armored Division launched a final advance on Cologne. On 6 March, the American columns moved out of their positions toward the heart of the city. Near the city centre, there was an engagement with a German Panther tank. This skirmish was captured on film by US cameramen from the 165th Photo Signal Company. The German Panther was lying in ambush near the train station; two advancing Sherman tanks were slowed down by a pile of rubble. The Shermans got stuck in a narrow street, which made them an easy target for the German tank. A nearby Pershing tank, informally known as Eagle 7, was sent to take out the Panther. The two tanks were in each other's sights, but the German tank commander believed it to be a German tank and told his gunner to hold fire, as he had never seen a Pershing. Finally, the Panther tank was taken out by the advancing Pershing.

As the Americans moved towards the Rhine, the Wehrmacht (Panzer-Brigade 106th Feldherrnhalle) demolished the Hohenzollern Bridge, the last link between the east and west of the city. Although the Allies had failed to capture a bridge over the Rhine near Cologne, further south, the 9th Armored Division of the U.S. First Army had advanced unexpectedly quickly towards the Rhine. They were surprised to see that the Ludendorff bridge, one of the last bridges across the Rhine, was still standing, and they captured and defended this crucial asset during the Battle of Remagen. By 7 March, all of Cologne west of the Rhine was captured by the Allies, and the boroughs on the right bank remained under German control until mid-April 1945.

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