[Marius]

Ruy and others,
I will come back to the topic of the discussion and continue with next German document (I also published it in my book Kampfflieger, page VI).
This document is very interesting so far, because it is totally contradictionary to what our Polish friends are presenting here.
Here it is:



Fernschreiben

Vom 1.9.1939:
um 16,47 Uhr

An

Lfl.1
Lfl.4
Gen.Qu.
Chef N.V.W.
I c

Unter Anänderung der Weisung fuer den 2.9. entfaellt der Kampf gegen die Eisenbahnstoerziele. Statt dessen ist der Kampf auch gegen rueckwaertige fdl. Ansammlungen und Kolonnen zu fuehren. Bei dem fuer den Nachmittag vorgesehenen Angriff "Wasserkante" sind Ziele in dicht besiedelten Stadtteilen auszusparen. Damit entfaellt der Angriff auf alle im Stadtgebiet Praga liegenden Ziele.
Göring

Weisungen des Ob.d.L. Fuehrungsstabes Ia fuer den Feldzug in Polen an Luftflotte 1 und 4 mit Ergaenzungen und Vorbefehlen.
BA/MA Freiburg, ZA 3/418, page 2.


I marked the decisive words and will translate them with my own English; ...all targets in compact settled districts are to withdraw.
What does it mean? In my opinion this document shows not only the general lack of intention to bomb civilian targets, but on the other hand it shows the tendency not to bomb targets with high risk to hit too many civilians lives.

So I would say the escalation of the "Bombenkrieg" happened much later. But surely not 1939 in Poland, although Warsaw was in the end bad hit on the 25th. - please note this date! Nothing happenend between 17th and 24th September, a whole week then.
And there is one more point; Would there be the intention to hit in Poland so many civilian targets as possible, German Luftwaffe high command would use every possibility to do this. So they never would fly missions with leaflets (for example so done on the 16th by I./KG 4 over Warsaw), but with explossive materials.

Now we again return to the first question of this thread. When the intended bombing war against purely civilian targets started or when it escalated. And who started it first?

Marius