Historic Bath Bombed in Another Baedeker Raid
The British had suffered only intermittent air raids since the last of the major raids on London in May 1941. Some of these produced considerable casualties, particularly on the east coast which was prone to hit and run raiders. However there had been no sustained campaign of raids. Now that the the RAF was beginning to demonstrate its increased power and range with an ever increasing complement of heavy bombers, there were demands for reprisal raids.
The destructive power of the raid on Lubeck had unnerved some senior Nazis and incensed Hitler. The firestorm had destroyed large parts of the medieval city. Now Hitler demanded that historic cities in Britain be targeted. The very first major raid on a provincial town in Britain in 1940 had ripped the heart out of medieval Coventry but that was also an industrial town and a centre of aircraft production.
Now cities were hit simply because they had noted historic buildings. The first raid came on the April 23rd with a relatively modest raid on Exeter. The Baedeker tourist guide was regarded as an authority on the architectural gems of Britain. On the 25th it was the turn of the fine Georgian town Bath, in the first of three major attacks.