MINOR OPERATIONS
60 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 8 to Koblenz and 4 to Meiderich (Duisburg) oil plant, 36 R.C.M. sorties, 28 Mosquito patrols. 1 R.C.M. Halifax lost.
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1 Hudson flew a Resistance operation.
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, a meeting took place at the town of Cognac between French officers and an American officer from one of the tactical air force units in France. After a meal, at which much alcohol is supposed to have been consumed, the American officer suggested that the German garrison at Royan should be 'softened up' by bombing. He was assured by the French that the only civilians remaining in the town were collaborators - which was not correct. The suggestion that the town be bombed was passed to S.H.A.E.F. (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force), which decided that the task should be given to Bomber Command: 'To destroy town strongly defended by enemy and occupied by German troops only.' It is said that S.H.A.E.F. ordered a last-minute cancellation because of doubts about the presence of French civilians but the order, if issued, was not received by Bomber Command in time.
The attack was carried out by 2 waves of bombers, in good visibility conditions, in the early hours of 5 January. 1,576 tons of high-explosive bombs - including 285 'blockbuster' (4,000-lb bombs) - were dropped. Local reports show that between 85 and 90 percent of the small town was destroyed. The number of French civilians killed is given as '500 to 700' and as '800' by different sources. Many of the casualties were suffered in the second part of the raid, which took place an hour after the first and caught many people out in the open trying to rescue the victims of the first wave of the bombing trapped in their houses. The number of Germans killed is given as 35 to 50. A local truce was arranged and, for the next 10 days, there was no fighting while the search for survivors in wrecked houses continued.
There were many recriminations. Bomber Command was immediately exonerated. The American air-force officer who passed on the original suggestion to S.H.A.E.F. was removed from his command. The bitterest disputes took place among the Free French officers and accusations and counter-accusations continued for many years after the war. A French general committed suicide. De Gaulle, in his Mmoires, blamed the Americans: 'American bombers, on their own initiative, came during the night and dropped a mass of bombs.' The German garrison did not surrender until 18 April.
Minor Operations: 66 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 7 to Neuss, 2 Halifax R.C.M. sorties. No aircraft lost.
Some of the Light Night Striking Force (8 Group) Mosquitoes which attacked Berlin on this night flew 2 sorties each. These Mosquitoes took off in the early evening, bombed Berlin, returned and changed crews, and then flew to Berlin again. This method of augmenting the Mosquito campaign against Berlin was used several times during the long nights of midwinter.
