Reprisals by British aviators have been frequent and drastic. The
British Air Ministry, in one of the detailed statements which it issues
from time to time, presented the following list of raids into Germany
from Dec. 1, 1917, and Feb. 19, 1918, a period of eleven weeks:
Date. Wt. of
1917. b'mbs
Dec. Objective. Locality. Population. in lbs.
5 Rly. sidings. Zweibrucken. 14,700 1,344
5 Works [B]Burbach 1,096
6 Works [B]Burbach 2,216
11 Boot factory Pirmasens 34,000 1,594
24 Factories Mannheim 290,000 2,252
1918.
Jan.
3-4 Railways Nr. Metz 100,000 760
4-5 Railways Nr. Metz 100,000 2,940
5-6 Town [A]Courcelles 1,344
5-6 Town & rlys. [A]Conflans 2,180
14 Munition factory
& rlys. Karlsruhe 140,000 2,800
14-15 Steelworks Thionville 13,000 2,105
14-15 Railways Metz 100,000 524
14-15 Railways [A]Eringen 280
16-17 Railways Benadorf 280
16-17 Town Ormy 255
16-17 Searchlight Vigny 26
21-22 Steelworks Thionville 13,000 1,220
21-22 Rly. sidings Bensdorf 2,210
" Rly. junction Arnaville 1,344
24-25 Steelworks, rlys. and barracks.
Thionville 13,000 1,120
" Treves 48,000 809
24-25 Railway Oberbilig 280
24-25 Factory Mannheim 290,000 672
24-25 Railway Saarburg 9,800 280
24-25 Steelworks Thionville 13,000 1,344
25 Barracks and
station Treves 48,000 1,350
27 Barracks and
station Treves 48,000 230
Feb.
9-10 Railway [A]Courcelles 1,844
12 Town Offenburg 15,400 2,838
16-17 Rly. station [A]Conflans 1,488
17-18 Rly. sidings [A]Conflans 2,240
18 Steelworks Thionville 13,000 936
18 Barracks and
station Treves 48,000 1,250
18-19 Barracks and
station Treves 48,000 2,206
18-19 Rly. and gas
works Thionville 13,000 650
19 Station Treves 48,000 2,400
A See Metz.
B See Saarbrucken.
James I. Macpherson, Parliamentary Secretary of the War Office, stated
in the House of Commons on March 19 that British airmen had made 255
flights into German territory since October, 1917. The 255 flights
constituted 38 raids, and only 10 machines were lost. The aviators
dropped 48 tons of bombs.
According to a dispatch from The Hague dated April 3, the damage caused
by raids in the Rhenish cities was much more extensive than had been
admitted. Places where bombs actually fell were described as
"unrecognizable." Of the bombs dropped at Coblenz in the most recent
raid, eight did considerable damage. One fell upon a station, one fell
amid a company of soldiers going to get food, and others practically
destroyed half of the barracks where French prisoners were confined in
1870. In Cologne a branch factory of the Baden Aniline Works was partly
destroyed and a number of people were killed and wounded. Great damage
also was done at Mainz. It was also reported that much damage was done
at Düsseldorf. After the raids the authorities made every effort to
clear up the wreckage as rapidly as possible, and the town was made to
resume normal life immediately.
In connection with military operations on the western front, official
reports showed that the Allies had gained great successes in destroying
enemy airplanes. The enemy losses in January, 1918, were 292; in
February, 273, and in the first seventeen days of March 278. For the
week ended March 17 the British Royal Flying Corps alone destroyed 99
German airplanes and drove down 42, losing 23 of its own machines.
One of the most surprising air raids was that of March 11 on Naples, in
Southern Italy, far from enemy lines, when a dirigible dropped bombs on
the city. Private houses, asylums, and churches were damaged or
destroyed and 16 persons killed and 40 injured.
Among the most savage attacks on Paris by aircraft was that in the night
of April 12, when two hostile machines got through the anti-aircraft
barrage and succeeded in killing 26 persons and injuring 72. One of the
torpedoes burst a gas main in the street where it fell, but firemen
promptly extinguished the fire that ensued. The American Red Cross was
first on the scene of the explosion, and in a very short time had the
victims safely removed to a hospital.