Bomber Command failure at Urft Dam.

[tcolvin]

Can anyone provide factual insight, or a source for factual insight, into the failure of Bomber Command (BC) to destroy the Urft and Roer River dams in December 1944.

Eisenhower ordered these earthwork dams destroyed with absolute priority.
Destruction of earthwork dams was surely within BC capabilities using Tallboys delivered at night or in any weather with H2S.
As everyone knows, BC had successfully destroyed the concrete Ruhr dams.

The Diary of General Courtney Hodges, GOC 1 USArmy, has these entries;
Nov 30; After consistently refusing, the RAF finally consented to blow the Roer dams, scheduled for the morrow, weather permitting
Dec 1; Attack postponed until tomorrow
Dec 2; Attack again postponed
Dec 3; Bombing of Urft dam a 'dud'
Dec 5; Hodges told RAF had bombed for third time but without results
Dec 7; Tomorrow RAF to make fourth attack
Dec 8; RAF bombed but made impressions the size of a dollar. Unknown if RAF would try again
Dec 11; RAF attacked with 230 Lancs. Aerial recce showed one hit in center with water spilling over it but dam not destroyed. Road access across it destroyed in two places
Dec 12; RAF mission postponed until tomorrow due bad weather
Dec 13; RAF mission scrubbed due bad weather
Dec 14; RAF's fifth attack again postponed

Terraine in 'The Right of the Line' doesn't mention the matter as far as I can see.

Saunders wrote; "In (December) BC went out on nineteen occasions by day, thrice against the dam at Urft. These three attacks were made at the request of the US9Army, which by then had reached the River Roer. If they crossed it, the enemy, who controlled the dam and another at Schwammenauel, might destroy these and thus release the floodwaters and cut off the Americans. The dams had therefore to be broken beforehand. The attacks were carried out on the 4th, 8th and 11th, but without appreciable results".

The Bomber Command War Diary has these entries;
3 Dec; 183 Lancs + 4 Mosquitoes to Heimbach. No bombs dropped.
4 Dec; 27 Lancs + 4 Mosquitoes bombed out of 200 sent to Urft dam.
5 Dec; 56 Lancs, but only 2 bombed.
8 Dec; 205 Lancs to Urft, Schwammenauel and Paulushof dams.
11 Dec; 233 Lancs + 5 Mosquitoes to Urft dam.

One source, which I have not recorded, states that after the Dec 4 raid the RAF protested to Ike who told them to keep trying.

The result of not destroying the dam was as predicted. When Operation Veritable started on February 8, 1945 it was without the other half of the pincer movement, Operation Grenade, which was held up for ten days by the Germans blowing the Urft and other dams and making the Cologne plain impassable. The result was a bloodbath in the Reichswald and Hochwald as 2 Canadian Army (with almost the entire British army under command) had to face the entire German defences without assistance from 9USArmy held up behind the flooded River Roer.

So why was BC at the height of its powers ineffectual?
Was it sabotage by Harris in his feud with Portal?
Was BC really only interested in area bombing the few unburnt cities left like Dresden?

Tony