Comments by "Ray Purchase" (@raypurchase801) on "They started it! The myth that Germany bombed this country first during the Second World War" video.

  1.  @vincekerrigan8300  No. Because it's untrue. The raids against Germany commenced as early as 4th September, but they were against German warships in Kriegsmarine ports. Carried out in daylight to avoid bombing the cities by mistake. Simon has misread a list of target ports and wrongly assumed the raids were against the cities themselves.
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  2. Actually, Simon is mistaken. The RAF did indeed bomb first, targeting German naval vessels in ports. Simon has read a list of the targets and assumes from their names that it was the actual cities being bombed. The Wellingtons attacked in daylight so as to obtain great accuracy and avoid civilian casualties. They suffered horrendous losses and had to be temporarily withdrawn from service.
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  3.  @KyleTheDalek  On this one occasion, Simon is uttering complete poo-poo. The RAF's first raid of the war was indeed on 4th September 1939. The target was German warships in naval ports. These unescorted raids were conducted in daylight to avoid civilian casualties. Simon has read a list of cities and assumed the cities themselves were the targets, whereas the targets were warships and naval facilities in the ports in those cities.
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  4.  @KyleTheDalek  BASIL: "You started it!" GUEST: "No we did not!" BASIL: "Yes you did! You invaded Poland".
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  5.  @ryanparker4996  NOT at this stage of the war. Area bombing came later.
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  6.  @stephfoxwell4620  Correct. Unescorted raids by RAF Wellingtons, Blenheims and Hampdens suffered horrific casualties because they raided in DAYLIGHT, to bomb only the warships and oil storage facilities. Wellingtons had to be withdrawn from service for a few weeks, for the fitting of extra armour and self-sealing fuel tanks. Knocking out the enemy's naval strength has always been a British priority, back to the time of King Louis of France. Many of us here have GREAT respect for Simon, but some of his subscribers are history-nerds on specific subjects. On this one issue, Simon is speaking beyond his knowledge and he's very much mistaken.
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  7. Actually, on this ONE occasion, Simon is talking absolute bull poo poo.
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  8.  @stephfoxwell4620  I have HUGE respect for Simon, but some of his subscribers are specialists in certain parts of history. Sometimes Simon gets it wrong. This is the THIRD video by Simon in which he repeats his mistaken view. I wish he'd read some of my replies, look into the matter and cease making this error.
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  9. Actually, no. I deeply respect Simon but on this subject he's mistaken. Naval vessels were bombed in daylight in Kriegsmarine docks. The actual cities weren't bombed. The RAF attacked in daylight for accuracy. The Wellingtons suffered horrific casualties and were withdrawn from service until extra armour and self-sealing tanks were fitted.
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  10. I've repeatedly explained to Simon in Replies that on this one matter, he's talking utter cobblers. The RAF targeted Kriegsmarine vessels in ports. Simon has read a list of the targets and assumed the targets were the cities themselves. The unescorted Wellingtons bombed in daylight for accuracy in order to avoid civilian casualties and received horrific losses.
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  11.  @JohnJohnson-vd2hp  One this ONE subject, our MUCH loved and HUGELY respected Simon is completely wrong and has uttered this cobblers on previous videos as well. The RAF bombed Germany within a few days of the start of the war, but it was always NAVAL targets in NAVAL ports. Reading a list of the cities gives a mistaken impression that the cities themselves were the targets. Unescorted Wellingtons attacked in daylight, so as to achieve pin-point accuracy and avoid civilian casualties. The RAF suffered horrific losses and the Wellingtons had to be temporarily withdrawn from service.
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  12.  @DavidSmith-fs5qj  No, Simon's read a list of targets (cities by name) without realising the attacks were on Kriegsmarine vessels in those ports. Often carried out in daylight to avoid hitting the cities, and suffering unsustainable casualties. Otherwise Simon could claim the Royal Navy's attack on the German vessels in Narvik was an attack on the city.
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  13.  @terrencehinz5551  I replied to you yesterday but my reply has been deleted. The stuff about 11/12 May is twaddle. The FIRST RAF raid on Germany was 4th September '39, against naval targets. The raid of 11/12 May was against a key railway junction. The blitzkrieg against France and neutral Belgium and Holland commenced on 10 May, hence the importance of bombing a key railway junction through which troops and supplies were coming.
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  14.  @HiNickCares  You are correct. Stalin requested via his envoy at Yalta that the western allies should assist the Red Army by bombing important cities. The Nazis created "fortress cities" which held out for months , such as Breslau, resulting in 100,000 Soviet casualties. Hitting a previously untouched city was also a good way to demonstrate western air power to Stalin, in case he decided not to stop at Berlin and decided to take Paris as well. The resulting destruction was much bigger than had been expected. The failed vegetarian painter caused the destruction of Dresden, not the allies.
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  15. Simon himself is distorting on this occasion. The RAF attacked German warships in harbour in daylight, so as to avoid civilian casualties. The unescorted Wellingtons suffered horrific losses. Simon has read a list of the targets and assumed the cities were the targets, not the Kriegsmarine.
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  16.  @Chrisst1961  Correct. The FIRST raid against Germany was a mixed force of Wellingtons and Blenheims on 4th September 1939. The raid was against German Kriegsmarine vessels in a port. The raid wasn't on the city itself. The RAF suffered unsustainable casualties because they were raiding without an escort in daylight, to avoid civilian casualties in the city itself. It's clear from your knowledge that you know the Wellingtons all had to be withdrawn from service for a few weeks, to receive extra armour and self-sealing fuel tanks. I HUGELY respect Simon, but on this occasion he's read a list of targets and mistakenly assumed the targets were the cities themselves.
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  17.  @Jezza_One  BASIL: "You started it". GUEST: "No we did not". BASIL: "Yes you did. You invaded Poland".
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  18.  @a.y.t.a.s.494  Neither the French nor the British were disappointed by Germany helping Franco, because Stalin's USSR was a greater danger. The British and French also sat on their hands during German re-armament, because otherwise Stalin's forces could've moved into an unarmed Germany with ease. A similar situation to the UK, US & France rearming West Germany after WW2.
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  19.  @HistoryDebunkedsimonwebb  Simon - you've posted this mistaken info several times before. The RAF bombed Kriegsmarine port targets as early as the first week of war. These were naval vessels and their oil storage, NOT German cities. The Wellingtons and Hampdens attacked in daylight for accuracy, received dreadful casualties and ceased daylight raids. Attacking NAVAL facilities in a city's NAVAL PORT isn't the same as bombing the actual city itself. Glance at the list of targets. Verify this for yourself. You're confusing targeting vessels and facilities in a PORT with area bombing. I'm one of your most dedicated and respectful admirers but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE cease making this claim because you've misunderstood what happened.
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  20.  @vincekerrigan8300  Lots of nasty people need to invent reasons to h eight us. Jealousy is a terrible master.
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  21.  @fredflinstone6601  What part of my reply is "nonsense"? Every part of my reply is verifiable, except my subjective opinion about the one-balled former corporal.
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  22.  @bernardedwards8461  You are 100% correct. Unescorted raids in DAYLIGHT to avoid hitting the cities by mistake. Simon reads a list of targets and wrongly assumes the CITIES were the targets. Naval vessels and their storage facilities are a valid target. Wellingtons suffered dreadful casualties (often more than 50%) and had to be withdrawn from service for modifications.
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  23.  @dipanjandatta1689  The Afghans were themselves raiding and burning peaceful settlements in the valleys below. They were murdering civilians, abusing women. The British found the easiest way to deal with the raids was to attack their villages with bombs (typically 8 X 25lb bombs, tiny by the 5,000lb+ weights of WW2) and shooting up anyone who resisted. I recall an interview with one of the aircrew in a TV documentary. He said the RAF bombed their houses but didn't do much damage. The houses were made of rocks and stones and would often be rebuilt by the following week. The aircrew carried papers known as "goolie chits", printed in several languages, promising a big reward to any tribesman who safely transported any captured aircrew back to safe hands, in UNHARMED condition. The term "goolie chit" is derived from the Afghan habit of cutting off a captured person's goolies.
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  24.  @ant7936  "Wind" and "whirlwind". BASIL: "You started it!" GUEST: "No we did not!" BASIL: "Yes you did! You invaded Poland".
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  25.  @HistoryDebunkedsimonwebb  Many of us here HUGELY respect you, Sir, but on THIS occasion you're mistaken. The first RAF raid against Germany was on 4th September 1939 against German warships in port. You are reading a list of German cities and assuming the raids were against the cities themselves. In reality, they were against naval targets. The unescorted raids were in daylight to avoid attacking the cities themselves. RAF casualties were appalling and had to be suspended. Reading "The RAF attacked this city" is misleading when it was a raid against naval targets. It's like claiming claiming the Royal Navy attacked the Norwegian city of Narvik, instead of attacking German warships off Narvik.
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  26. On this one occasion, our much-beloved Simon is talking out of his posterior. He's read a list of targets and assumed the cities were bombed. In reality this is poo-poo. The RAF targeted WARSHIPS in harbour in daylight, to avoid hitting the city by mistake. The unescorted Wellingtons suffered serious losses as a result. Bombing WAR ships in a NAVAL port isn't the same as bombing the actual city.
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  27.  @simonwoods8809  Britain didn't deliberately bomb civilians until area bombing was adopted. This was years after the bombing of Coventry. Regarding the relevance of bombing in the BoB - the book is 100% correct.
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  28.  @l525n  You know your comment is nonsense, right?
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  29.  @seraphimk3132  Simon doesn't delete comments. That's done by the automatic algorithms and trolls.
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  30.  @seraphimk3132  True.
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  31. Actually, Simon is way-off and I've left replies here which I hope Simon will read.
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  32.  @dipanjandatta1689  Single-engined biplanes were indeed used against hostile Afghans, as it was easier than sending land convoys.
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  33. No. The raid on Coventry was directed by "X Gerat", a device using radio beams which intersected over Coventry. The bombers flew down one beam until a second beam was intersected, automatically causing the bombs to release. The planners definitely targeted Coventry because that's where they put the cross-hairs.
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  34. Simon seems not to have read any of my replies which point out he's misunderstood. The RAF bombed German warships in their naval ports in daylight, so as to avoid hitting civilian areas if possible. Simon has read a list of targets and assumed the cities themselves were the targets. This is equivalent to blaming the Royal Navy for attacking the Norwegian city of Narvik in 1940, as opposed to the Royal Navy attacking German destroyers which were using the port of Narvik.
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  35. Actually, Simon's account on this rare occasion is completely false. German vessels were targeted in naval ports. Unescorted Wellingtons attacked in daylight to avoid hitting the cities by mistake. The Wellingtons suffered horrific losses. Simon has read a list of the ports and falsely assumed the cities were the targets.
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  36.  @Man_fay_the_Bru  Agreed 100%, but not deliberately. The RAF was under strict orders NOT to bomb German cities. In '39 - early '40, it was hoped that there might still be a diplomatic solution. Both Britain and France dreaded the prospect of an all-out war. The only raids on German cities were for LEAFLETTING.
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  37.  @Dilbert-o5k  True.
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  38.  @michaspringphul  10 May: The blitzkrieg commenced against Holland, Belgium and France. The RAF's light bombers (Blenheims, Battles) attacked tactical targets and suffered heavy casualties. The RAF's strategic bombers (Wellingtons etc.) were sent against Munchengladbach two nights later because it was a vital rail junction. Hitting this junction would strangle resupply. If the raid had been successful, the Wehrmacht offensive would've run out of vital supplies including fuel within days. Panzers in the Ardennes might've run out of fuel a week later, exactly as they did in December 1944.
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  39.  @drstrangelove4998  I've left a reply to Chrisst1961 (see above) which explains Simon's error. On this specific subject, Simon is definitely mistaken. I do indeed know my history on this specific subject.
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  40.  @David-g1p-v8k  No, "area bombing" only commenced with the Thousand Raid on Cologne, years later.
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  41.  @KrokLP  Dresden was open because it'd been bombed to hell. Not much to defend after that. The Soviets requested a raid on it.
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  42.  @a.y.t.a.s.494  No. Britain and France would not want another war, defending Germany.
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  43.  @bernardedwards8461  All true.
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  44.  @kayef5724  Lots of places you can read about this for yourself. The quickest way is to find the Vickers Wellington's Wiki page. I've just looked myself, to help you. The Operational History section starts with 4th September, a raid by Wellingtons and Blenheims on German shipping. Every text book about this era of the RAF will tell you the same. In both world wars, the UK's main priority was always to knock out the German navy.
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