| Royal Air Force (RAF) reconnaissance photo showed the extensive damage to the town after Bomber Command’s attacks. 1 of the bastions of the Siegfried Line, Goch was finally cleared by British troops on February 21, 1945. In July 1944, Germany reached its highest level of war production. But this was the turning point. That same month British and American bombers returned to the assault of the Reich – an assault which was to be developed on a massive and previously unheard of scale during the last autumn and winter of the war. Within the space of 9 months well over half a 1,000,000 tons of bombs were hurled down upon German cities, industrial centers, oil plants, and communications in a terrific onslaught that was to defeat the most energetic attempts at repair, dispersal and reorganization, and bring ruin to the enemy’s war economy. Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command returned to the Battle of Germany with a force of 1,500 heavy bombers, 2/3 of them Avro Lancasters and the rest Handley Page Halifaxes. There was also a small force of some 200 de Havilland Mosquito light bombers, some of which were employed as pathfinders, others on special missions to deceive and disrupt the enemy defences. The main weight of Bomber Command’s attack during the latter part of 1944 fell upon German cities. Beginning with a raid by 600 Lancasters and Halifaxes against Kiel on July 23, British bombers attacked 18 German towns during the next 5 weeks, dropping 30,000 tons of bombs. At almost every target the bomb concentration was greater than ever before. There was a period in mid-September when columns of smoke rose from half a dozen German cities at the same time. Speaking in Essen that month, Reichsminister für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda (“Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda”) and Gauleiter of Berlin Joseph Goebbels (October 29, 1897 – May 1, 1945) declared “that our worst headache is the air war. The test to which the enemy is putting our people, particularly in the west, is severe and grievous.” The Montreal Star reported on February 8, 1945, “The daylight air fleet followed 1,300 bombers which attacked western and central Germany late yesterday and last night. They struck their heaviest blows at Kieve and Goch, anchors of the north end of the Siegfried line. The bombings of Kleve and Goch, between the Rhine and Maas rivers, were highly concentrated and carried out below 5,000 feet. The Air Ministry said “enemy troops and equipment” were objectives at Kieve and Goch, the key bases of 1 of the most important sectors the western front which leads to the Ruhr and the plains of northwest Germany.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii2235.jpg |
| Image Size | 441.83 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1955 x 1441 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Royal Air Force Official Photographer |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | February 21, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Goch |
| State or Province | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | Royal Air Force Museum |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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