Prime Minister Churchill called a meeting at which key decisions were made. The head of government made no secret that he was ready to use chemical weapons if the bombing of London became a serious inconvenience and German missiles fell on government and working areas. "I am ready to do anything to deal Germany a fatal blow. I ask you to support my suggestion to use poisonous gases. We could offer them to the cities of the Ruhr and other cities in Germany, so that most residents would need constant medical care. We could have stopped all work on the V-1 launchers."As he himself added, it will take several weeks or even months before I ask you to attack the Germans with poison gas. Meanwhile, I want the case to be investigated calmly. As he himself stated, the blind, impersonal nature of flying rockets made people feel powerless. There were ideas to attack small German cities in response instead of large urban centers - recognizing that the complete destruction of a small settlement would have a much greater psychological effect. Dwight Eisenhower, contrary to the suggestions of some of his generals, such as the still skeptical Spaatz or Doolittle, recalled 40 percent of all RAF and USAAF aircraft from bombing German factories and facilities, sending them to carry out the Crossbow mission. On June 17, a flying bomb flew into Kensington Hospital, killing 18 people, most of whom were children. By June 18, the Germans had already released 500 flying bombs. One of them crashed directly into the chapel of Wellington Palace, less than 300 meters from Buckingham Palace. The explosion killed 58 civilians and 63 soldiers. On the same day, the V-1 damaged 11 factories, and Churchill ordered the evacuation of parliament. By June 27, 1944, 1,769 people had died from the bombers, and by July 5, this number had increased to 2,500 people. Bunkers became popular again, with more people looking for respite and safety than during the memorable Blitz in the summer of 1940. Staff meetings with Churchill's participation were moved to underground bunkers. Despite further air raids, by mid-July 1944, 4,000 rockets had been fired at London. It was a powerful blow to British morale. Soon after the start of the largest amphibious operation in history, an early victory was expected, rather than a return to the horror and uncertainty of tomorrow in 1940. Instead of the long-awaited success at the front, the British people had to hide. Sensations and rumors multiplied - it was incredulously whispered that V-1 bombs possessed extraordinary, supernatural abilities capable of choosing a target and chasing their victim through the streets. Some saw the ghosts of the victims wandering through the ruins of dilapidated houses at night. Others spoke of German spies sneaking through the streets in the evenings to select targets for attack. Over time, even the Spanish regime of Francisco Franco was accused of building fragments of the V-1 in Pamplona and Madrid. Казино с сезонными акциями Топ казино с праздничными предложениями - бонусы к Новому году, Рождеству и другим праздникам Связь с автором материалов и сайта: E-mail: newfiz@yandex.ru
Гришаев А.А.