Operation Bowler
The Audacious Allied Bombing of Venice during World War II
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
A story of incredible military daring—set against the splendor of Venice—that tells how an unlikely squad of pilots executed the most meticulous air raid of World War II.
March 21st, 1945. Bursting through a hazy sky, dozens of Allied fighters and bombers sweep over German-occupied Venice.
Their mission: destroy Germany’s strategic outposts nestled along the port, while leaving the floating city unscathed.
As bombs rained down upon Europe, flattening city after city, Venice—La Serenissima; home of Titian and Veronese; immortalized in the serene landscapes of Canaletto—remained sacrosanct. Its artistic and architectural treasure too considerable, too precious to risk destruction.
But as the push up through Italy reached its final, grueling months, the Allies were confronted with a terrible dilemma. The ancient city of Venice was now closer and closer to the line of fire. As casualties mounted, the value of art—of history—seemed diminished; just a month earlier Allied bombers had reduced the ancient hilltop abbey of Monte Cassino to a stony husk.
In this vivid narrative, bestselling author Jonathan Glancey reveals the thrilling story of Operation Bowler. Following the exploits of audacious Wing Commander George Westlake and his elite team, Operation Bowler explores how an unlikely squad of pilots executed perhaps the most meticulous and complex air raid of World War II, sparing not only Venice but also its people.
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In this propulsive account from architecture critic Glancey (Concorde), Allied military leaders come up with a bold plan that risks endangering the legendary buildings and art of Venice if not perfectly executed. In spring 1945, the Allies were stuck below the Gothic Line in northern Italy, an impenetrable German defensive wall. Allied leaders decided the only solution was to bomb the docks of Venice to cut off German supplies. An Allied strike force was tasked with finding a way to target ships, wharves, and warehouses, but without the heedless destruction of historically and culturally important buildings that had already characterized much of the Italian front and that Allied leaders had publicly vowed not to allow to happen in Venice. The mission was given to the Desert Air Force, which drew on skills honed defeating the Germans in North Africa to develop an elaborate, synchronized aerial attack. Amazingly, all went according to plan: no historic structures were destroyed, and German supplies were cut off, allowing the Allies to push north and help end the war. With harrowing descriptions of the bloody cost paid by both Allied troops at the Gothic Line and Italian civilians caught in Allied bombings, Glancey brings new significance to a relatively obscure event (even Venetians remember it as only "a little bomb" and not a war-ending maneuver). It amounts to a gripping look at WWII's "Forgotten Front."
