Gotha Terror

The Forgotten Blitz, 1917-1918

Ian Castle

• Publisher: Pen and Sword
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9781399049375
• Edition: 0
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: German History
• Index: History

By the autumn of 1916, advances in Britain's air defense capability had all but ended the Zeppelin menace, which had haunted the nation for almost two years. However, an emerging complacency regarding the aerial threat was immediately shattered by the introduction in 1917 of the Grosskampfflugzeug, better known as the Gotha bomber. Whereas Zeppelin airships had attacked individually and stealthily under the cover of darkness, the German Army now had a squadron of bomber aeroplanes capable of brazenly attacking London and south-east England in broad daylight, thereby unleashing a new wave of terror on the British population. Britain, having downgraded its aerial defenses after the apparent defeat of the Zeppelins, was forced to rethink. The improvements instigated compelled the German raiders to change their tactics too, as each side strived to gain the upper hand. And all the time the German Navy Zeppelins, whose campaign had not been abandoned entirely, continued to strike when opportunity allowed. The story of these dramatic air raids is told by incorporating numerous, never-before published, eye-witness accounts, revealing a personal view of the experiences shared by those who lived through the conflict, both on the ground and in the air. The German air campaign against the United Kingdom in the First World War was the first sustained, strategic aerial bombing campaign in history. Yet it has become dwarfed by the enormity of the Blitz of the Second World War, but for those caught up in the tragedy of these raids the impact was every bit as devastating. In Gotha Terror Ian Castle tells the full story of the 1917 - 1918 raids in unprecedented detail in what is the final book in a trilogy, completing the story of Britain's Forgotten Blitz.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1 1917 – They Think It’s All Over
• Chapter 2 ‘The scene was too awful’
• Chapter 3 Gothas Over London
• Chapter 4 ‘The lights of death’
• Chapter 5 ‘The damned impudence’
• Chapter 6 ‘A senior officer of first-rate ability’
• Chapter 7 ‘I shall never forget that night’
• Chapter 8 ‘Am I dead or alive?’
• Chapter 9 ‘If only we had had a warning’
• Chapter 10 ‘A growing confidence’
• Chapter 11 The Silent Raid
• Chapter 12 ‘Got it!’
• Chapter 13 ‘I’ll shoot the first man to light a match’
• Chapter 14 ‘A desperate struggle for life’
• Chapter 15 Giants in the Sky
• Chapter 16 The Zeppelins Return
• Chapter 17 ‘Dawn of a fine spring morning’
• Chapter 18 ‘This giant flame of sacrifice’
• Appendix I: Air Raids 1917–1918
• Appendix II: Summary of Air Raid Statistics 1914–1918
• Appendix III: Individuals Killed in Air Raids 1917–1918
• Bibliography
• Notes
• Plates