Retaliatory weapon
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In the time of National Socialism in Germany, the Fieseler Fi 103 (V1) cruise missile , the unit 4 rocket (V2) and the V3 cannon were designated as retaliatory weapons , or V weapons for short . A large part of these weapon systems were used not only against military but also against civilian targets, especially in the London area and in southern England.
description
With the weapons of retaliation one wanted, from the German point of view, retaliation for the destruction of German cities by British and American bomber squadrons. As with these Allied air strikes, casualties among the civilian population were consciously accepted when using V weapons. In the final phase of the war, V weapons were primarily used for attacks on Antwerp and Liège in order to disrupt the supplies of the Allied troops on the western front.
Other V weapons included:
- V4 - Reichenberg device (manned version of V1)
- "America rocket" (V2 variant, combination of unit 9 and unit 10 (not built))
The V-weapons were supposed to force a decisive turning point in the Second World War as “ wonder weapons ” , but their military-strategic effect was very small, as they lacked accuracy, among other things. The V1 (first cruise missile) and the V2 (first large rocket) in particular contained pioneering ideas, but their development was still at the very beginning and therefore they were unsuitable for military use. In addition, there were the allied countermeasures of Operation Crossbow , which were directed against all areas of V-weapon manufacture, transport and use.
The psychological effects - supported by Nazi propaganda - were enormous: In Germany, the belief in a possible final victory was strengthened among many civilians and soldiers . In England and Belgium - the main targets of the V weapons - the population was encouraged to believe in the need for a victory over the Nazi regime .
The operation Overcast (targeted Capture German engineering and technical documents as well as the targeted capture of German technicians and engineers) was directed in part to the V-weapons. The secrecy of the operation and the documents found, as well as the nimbus that the V-weapons acquired during the war, led to long-term speculation about the state of the art.
The intelligence service protection of the launching devices in northern France, i.e. counter-espionage with regard to Allied agents, was taken over by the Arras Abwehrstelle in 1943 .
literature
- Horst Boog : Strategic Air War in Europe and Reich Air Defense 1943-1945; in: The German Reich on the defensive. Strategic Air War in Europe. War in the West and East Asia 1943-1944 / 45 (The German Reich and the Second World War 7), Stuttgart / Munich 2001, pp. 3–418.
- Franz Josef Burghardt : Spies of Retribution. The German defense in northern France and the secret service securing of the launching areas for V weapons in World War II. A socio-biographical study . Schönau 2018. ISBN 978-3947009022 .
- Heinz Dieter Hölsken: The V weapons. Origin, propaganda, war mission , Stuttgart (Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt) 1984 (series studies on contemporary history published by the Institute for Contemporary History Munich). ISBN 3-421-06197-1 .