Gotha Terror: The Forgotten Blitz, 1917–1918

By Ian Castle

Frontline Books, 2024

Reviewed by Ron Drees

Loading a Gotha's Bomb Rack

Ian Castle, a prolific English WWI historian, has written his third book on Germany’s WWI blitz of England. Gotha Terror is a bomb-by-bomb description of how German bombs dropped on 32 raids by 86 sorties killed 893 while injuring another 2,125 from March 1917 to May 1918. This blitz has been overshadowed by the 1940 blitz, but there were lessons learned that were later of considerable usefulness.

Early in the book, the purpose of the bombing raids is stated: to unsettle Britain and to distract the military from the actual conflict. As a result of the raids, over 17,000 men in uniform were not deployed to the Western Front or elsewhere but stayed in England. There is no corresponding discussion as to the German forces and resources diverted from combat areas and whether these military resources would have been of greater benefit if employed directly in combat instead of bombing England.

The text is a string of detailed descriptions of the various sorties: the route, flying officers, bombs dropped, and destruction and names of individuals killed in individual raids, opposition by British aircraft and anti-aircraft guns, and the difficulties of the raiders’ return flights. The details of each attack are much the same, becoming somewhat repetitive.  

While the German officers were aggressive in their attacks, the British were slow to respond, finally realizing that they had to do more to protect the home island. Yet in pre-radar days, it was difficult to spot black-painted zeppelins at night and planes overhead, especially when zeppelins could climb higher and faster than the second-rate pursuit planes Britain originally deployed. When England finally realized the seriousness of the Gotha terror there was a significant response with additional searchlights, antiaircraft guns, and more up-to-date fighters.  However, even these weapons were insufficient to significantly stem the Gotha tide.

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The most successful military attack was on the Drill Hall of the Royal Naval Barracks in Chatham, on a bay south of the Thames.  The roof was glazed, so when the bombs fell through, the glass roof became shrapnel, killing 130 sailors and injuring 86. Rescue parties had to deal with numerous body parts.

The raiders had to cope with engine failures, winds blowing the bombers off course, navigational difficulties—including a frequent inability to pinpoint locations—dud bombs, weather, antiaircraft fire, and defending RFC/RAF fighters.  Perhaps this explains why the primary targets were usually population centers instead of military installations, the former being easier to find.

The book is well illustrated with maps showing the routes of the raiders and photographs of the various aircraft, personnel, bombs, and damage.  While the wingspan of the Gothas and Giants were larger than that of the B-29 of WWII, it would have made the size of the WWI airplanes more comprehensible if dimensioned drawings of all three planes and zeppelins had been included. Also, there were references to numerous British planes with which few readers would be familiar. Photos of those planes would have been useful.

The German air assault did sidetrack resources from various fronts of the war while also reducing war production during air raids, but they were not that meaningful. No panic was caused by these raids. Air raids do not greatly impact civilian morale, as was learned during the 1940 London blitz, American raids of Vietnam, and the Gulf Wars. However, the minor destruction of the 1917-18 air raids was a harbinger of things to come in future wars.  Perhaps the significant result of the WWI blitz was the realization of the need for an efficient warning system which was re-instituted during the blitz of 1940, albeit enhanced by radar.

Caption: German Heavy Bomber with Bombs,
Ready for Take-Off

While the author enumerates the houses destroyed or damaged, he does not describe the social impact, how these houses were repaired or replaced or what the damage and disruption meant to communities. This was part of the Gotha Terror and needs elaboration. An unusual aspect of this book is Appendix III, “Individuals Killed in Air Raids 1917–1918,” with a list that includes Date of Death, Name, Age, and Place. The deaths are in two groups depending upon the airship that delivered the lethal ordinance: Zeppelin or Airplane: Gotha or Giant. The author seems on a mission to determine the names of all the fatalities and did identify 797 of those killed.

For readers who are very familiar with the events of WWI and yet wish to discover little-known aspects of the conflict, this book is quite useful.  Gotha Terror documents events of a relatively small impact since they did not influence the outcome of battles, impact political situations or otherwise materially change matters, except, of course, for the victims.

Ron Drees