Originally Posted by
ATSA1
I am still amazed at the vitriol poured on Harris..we were at war, and he had a particularly nasty job to do...
Anyone on the receiving end of the Luftwaffe in numerous British cities in 1940/41 would not have minded one jot that Bomber Command was giving Germans a taste of their own medicine!
Its easy for us sitting in our armchairs 75 years after to denigrate military leaders for their actions..but stopping Hitler was the priority, by whatever means available.
Yes, hindsight from the safety of your home 75 years on is a wonderful thing.... for one thing we are all transformed into experts! How many people have had a gun fired at them I wonder? It does give you a slightly different take on things.
People are very happy to criticise Harris, how many have been in charge of anyone, let alone whole Command, which at certain times was responsible for the major part of the countrys offensive war effort.
Sadly it's a characteristic of our present times that we feel it necessary to beat ourselves up for events in our past. But, these events are gone and are just part of history.