On the night of March 28, a strong force of heavy bombers gave the Baltic port of Luebeck, thirty-five miles north of Hamburg, one of the heaviest bombings experienced by any German city so far. The port handles nearly all the traffic between Germany and Sweden, and large imports of iron ore and other raw materials pass through it on their way to feed Germany's war industries. In addition it was being used for the dispatch of military stores to Finland and to the German armies on the northern front, as well as to the army of occupation in Norway. The fact that it was also an important centre of U-boat construction and a training depot for submarine crews made it an extremely desirable target for the RAF's attention. The attack was pressed home with great determination, and soon after it began, fires could be seen dotted all over the city. These rapidly spread until it looked as if there was only one huge fire. Very heavy damage was done, and it was estimated that about 1,500 houses were destroyed, mostly by fire.
