This year the 13/14 March marks the 70 anniversary of the Clydebank blitz. This massive air raid on Clydebank during those two days was one of the worst in Britain during the second world. The following information is taken from Tom McKendrick's Blitz story.
" In total only 7 houses out of a stock of 12,000 remained undamaged. Approximately 4,000 destroyed, 4,500 severely damaged and 3,500 in the serious to minor damage category. In total 400+ high explosive bombs and mines fell in an area of less than two square miles, not including the 96 high explosive bombs that fell on the primary target...the oil tanks at Dalnottar to the north west of the town, or the 190 bombs that fell in the boundaries of the nearby villages of Duntocher, Hardgate, Bowling and Old Kilpatrick. 132 bombs fell in the Kilpatrick hills, aimed at decoy fires west of Cochno.
The greatest damage was caused by incendiaries. On the first night of the raid 1,630 containers of incendiary bombs (weighing between 70kg and 250kg) were dropped by the Luftwaffe, a total of 105,300 1kg bombs. On the second night 782 containers were dropped. According to German sources a total of 503 metric tons of high explosive bombs and 2,412 containers of incendiaries were dropped on Clydeside on the 13th and 14th March 1941. A total of 439 aircraft took part in the raids."
When official figures were given as 500 dead, one commentator remark, “What street are they talking about”.
The horror of those two days and its aftermath will be remembered in ceremonies in Clydebank and elsewhere, but the perpetrators will not be mentioned. It is not the done thing, as Germany is now our ally, and after all its less than we done to Dresden, Berlin and other cities in Germany. It's what states do to each other, It's what America done to Vietnam, what we in the “Coalition of the Willing” did to Iraq, and it's what we are doing in Afghanistan at the moment. Though the state may bomb a city, or a country, into oblivion it doesn't mean that we are enemies, no, it is a very temporary affair. They will soon be our ally and though somebody is our ally, it doesn't mean that the state will not turn round and bomb their cities. In the world of states and capitalism, friend and foe are very transient positions. The states find the reasons to start a war and the ordinary people are the ones that end up being killed in vast numbers and invariably, killed by ordinary people from another country, who probably have more in common with them than they have differences. What causes the transition from friend to foe and back again is the states hunger for power, resources and markets, it is all part and parcel of the profit driven capitalist system. Remember, war is good for business, there's bucks in bombs.
Until we get rid of the state system and capitalism we will have wars and with modern day weaponry, what Clydebank suffered in two days can be delivered in minutes. Remember “Shock and Awe”.
A POINTLESS CIRCLE.
War it seems, never has an end
even when he who was our foe is now our friend,
once again, we to war a marching go,
for he who was our friend, is now our foe.
