Bomber Command had come a long way since the desperate days of 1940 when they were flying twin engined bombers and sustaining terrible losses. The strategic decision to concentrate a substantial proportion of Allied resources on the bombing of Germany had been made long before. There were few other options available, hitting back at Germany meant bombing Germany. It was just a year since the Lancasters had first become operational, now they formed the backbone of the bomber fleet.
Getting troops on the ground in occupied Europe for a true ‘Second Front’ required an enormous logistical build up that was going to take time, and the Battle of the Atlantic needed to be won first. Bombing was the best that could be offered to Soviet Russia, which naturally wanted a ‘Second Front’ opened up as soon as possible.
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