Work in Progress

Three times in four nights, R.A.F. heavy bombers struck Berlin in fullscale, 700-bomber raids. On an early morning, more than 800 U.S. heavies attacked Frankfort on the Main. At the week end, 700 more attacked Brunswick's aircraft factories. Between Thursday and Sunday at least 9,000 tons of bombs fell on German targets.

The first 25 days of January had already seen the heaviest sustained air bombing in history. The Allies dropped 20,000 tons on Germany, 9,000 tons on Italy, 2,000 tons elsewhere in Europe (mainly in the Balkans). R.A.F. commentators made it clear that the two European air theaters are becoming one; before long all strategic bombing of Europe may be brought under a single command (U.S. Strategic Air Forces are already under one commander, Lieut. General Carl Spaatz).

But the Luftwaffe was still fighting hard, still had planes even in its supposedly starved Mediterranean theater (see p. 22). The R.A.F. lost 50 planes in one night's operations, 34 in another. The U.S. attack on Frankfort cost 29 bombers and 13 fighter escorts (U.S. gunners and fighter pilots claimed 102 German planes).

Berlin was measurably nearer to the write-off point. Hitler's capital had taken 22,000 tons of bombs since Nov. 18, this week was about one-third in ruins. Pilots reported that AA. defenses were groggy; fires raging 24 hours after the raids testified to the exhaustion of the fire-fighting services. Germans in Sweden testified to 1) increasing destruction, 2) bitter determination to hold fast (see p. 24).

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.