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[Strategy
I I f i l l
know met
AI R
RAID
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ALEXANDER KLU GE
the kitchen, where the little hanging salt, pepper, sugar, herbs boxes
had fallen down and scattered their contents across the floor tiles
the stove had fallen apart, rem ains of the tire on the tiles, leave it,
she thought, shoved her brood down the six steps to the tool corner,
which was the closest this little building had to som ething like a cellar.
It was 5 feet below street level. She felt herself to be lightly armed
in her unequipped little house. She did not believe there was a dan
ger of being buried. W hen the bombs fell she always held her breath
for a long time, held her breath till it was over, because she had heard
that the pressure wave of the bombs tore the air sacs of the lungs,
i.e. produced a build-up of pressure in the lungs. Now she whispered
to her youngest child: Dont breathe, please dont breathe. T he whis
pering made the child nervous. T he oldest puffed out her cheeks,
breathed nevertheless.
There was no time. Principles of a strategy from below which
Gerda tried to assemble in her mind during these seconds, could not
be conveyed from here, far below, to the planners, invisible to Gerda
at 10,000 feet above the town, never mind much further, to the air
bases from which the bombers had started, where the senior planning
staffs were to be found. I "he attics of the buildings on Breiter Weg
burnt immediately. After a pause of about 10 minutes, during which
Gerda heard a constant trickling sound, which had som ething to do
either with the burning itself or with the root tiles com ing down,
sht looki d once through the hole, in which there were still a few brokrn shards of glass, saw the flames in the front house, lum ps of rubble
in the vard, the view of the neighbouring courtyard was blocked by
.i high v, all (it could mean shelter). Now the sound of the big aircraft
swelling again. She began to curse the bombers. But if success meant
I them plunging to the ground and killing her together with the
- .1
AIR RAID
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ALEXANDER KLUGE
Johannes Brahmses6'*
AI R R A I D
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* ALEXANDER KLU GE
air raid
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* ALEXANDER KLUGE
Ships sailed up through the high mountains over the passes and peaks to Italy and
back. From the North Sea to the Adriatic.
AIR RAI D
35
going down to 6,000 feet, raked over the M iddle Town, fairly self
confident, as no hostile fighter defence or anti-aircraft fire could be
discerned. T hey could neither make out any details of the town, nor
did they sense the cautiously m uted wishes at that m om ent of G erda
Baethe. T hey could suspect nothing, you sweet angels, you.7
T he group of bom bers, about 200 aircraft, was flying towards
Halberstadt from the south-west at a height o f about 22,000 feet. It
was followed at a distance o f about 10 minutes flying time, i.e. they
were now over N ordhausen, by a further 115 aircraft. T he formation
in attack ord er, m ade a traditional cavalry-like impression, but it
was calculated, not a parade, the aircraft taking up positions, in which,
if they were attacked by fighter planes, they could close up to give
covering fire, and if they were shot at by anti-aircraft guns, could be
spread out.
T he pioneering phase of such attacks with four-engine long
distance B-17 bom bers, each one a workshop, but the com pact
formation constituting a factory, lies 3-4 years back. T he completion
of the process has excluded as irrat'onal factors which were taken
account of in (he pioneer phase, such as trust in God, military world
of forms, strategy, internal recruitment am ong the air crews to ensure
they are willing to attack, remarks on the special features of the
target, m eaning of the attack, etc.