Terror

The Guardian called Wednesday's transit explosions England's "worst-ever terror attack," "causing the biggest loss of life..."

But was it? If the definition is restricted to postwar violence by parties other than a sovereign state, then it fits. But from the point of view of the targeted population, it was not.

Because around sixty years ago, there was something called The Blitz.

For a full description with pictures:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blitz

The people of London and people in other areas of England endured German bombing as early as 1939 to as late as 1945. But they experienced the concentrated bombing campaign known as the Blitz from the fall of 1940 until the following May of 1941.

Look at these numbers with recent acts of terrorism in mind.

At first the targets were military and supply. On September 7, some 300 German bombers escorted by 600 fighters came in the first wave, followed by another 180 bombers that night. The target was the port, but most of the bombs hit residential areas-"collateral damage" we'd say today---killing 430 and injuring 1600.

This kind of bombing continued for 60 consecutive nights. An average of 200 bombers each night dropped a total of over one million incendiary bombs and 13,000 tons of high explosives.

Then the Luftwaffe expanded the targets to other cities, but there were still attacks on London. A third phase began in February 1941. According to the wikipedia entry, "By this time, the effort was aimed as much against civilians as against industrial targets and the raids were intended to provoke terror among the civilian population."

Some 43,000 people were killed in the bombings, and over one million homes were destroyed. Such national landmarks as Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral were damaged. The devastation was so extensive that piles of rubble survived into the 1980s.

Then came the V-1 Buzz Bombs and the V-2 rocket bombs: nearly 1400 V-2s fell on London alone.

The terror was supposed to break the will of the British people. Hitler predicted workers would revolt against the government. It didn't work. The British held together and fought back. The article describes their "stoicism," the same word used in a report about London after the terror attacks Wednesday.

This Friday the subways and buses are expected to operating at near normal levels. London would go about its business.

When the Allies achieved air superiority in Europe and then in Japan, they eventually also used bombing for the chief purpose of terrorizing the populations of German and Japanese cities. In most cases, it had the same effect as the Blitz bombing: it stiffened the resolve of the people being terrorized.