On this day 62 years ago...

[Colonâ„¢]

... A V-2 missile impacted in what was at the time a village near Antwerp, fortunately claiming no casualties. Several days later, on the 13th of October, the city itself received its first hit near the musuem of fine arts, destroying 10 houses and claiming 32 lives. (see pictures)
During the course of the next half year, over 1600 V-2's would be launched at Antwerp, as well as over 4000 V-1's, putting the city in an effective state of siege. This way Hitler hoped to hamper port operations and thereby also the allied campaign, at which he to some extent succeeded.
One notable incident was a hit at the Teniersplaats, a busy intersection in the heart of the city, right when an allied convoy was passing the square, resulting in 126 dead and 309 injured. (see pictures)
However, this was overshadowed by the impact on the Rex Cinema, right when the hall was packed. 567 would never come to see another movie. (see pictures)
All in all, the V-missiles campaign would exact a toll of 3700 dead in the city and surrounding areas, destroy or damage thousands of buildings, and permantly scar the city.

The grand irony in this is that Antwerp is actually a sister city of Haifa.

Near the museum of fine arts:



Teniersplaats:





Aftermath at Cinema Rex:



Other impact pictures:







Further read: http://www.v2rocket.com/start/chapters/antwerp.html

[SlowwHand]

Terrible.

[Az]

The grand irony in this is that Antwerp is actually a sister city of Haifi.

[Az]

I read somewhere, that more people were killed building the V1s and V2s than people killed by their impact.

[SlowwHand]

That was a bad investment then.

[Proteus_MST]

That was it definitely,
especially if you consider that because of its low accuracy could only be used against large areas, like population centers and therefore was only of limited use against military targets.

Perhaps the money for researching and producing the V1 and V2 would have been better invested into researching the first german jetfighter (which, employed earlier and in the role it was best at [i.e. intercepting other planes] could have made a difference)

[Colonâ„¢]

Actually, the V-missiles appear to have been quite effective in hampering port-operations. From the link in my post:

The V-weapon campaign against Antwerp is often overlooked by military historians. The indiscriminant bombardment was certainly a terror for the civilian population of Antwerp, but it was also a monumental hindrance to Allied war planners. It is short sighted to say the V-weapons were ineffective simply because the port of Antwerp remained open throughout the campaign. Not even the Germans believed the rockets would completely destroy the port, but it was hoped, by amassing their fire on this strategic target, they could severely inhibit the Allies’ progress toward Germany.

In the weeks leading up to the Ardennes offensive, the V-weapons made it very difficult for supplies to reach the overstretched Allied lines. Hitler hoped to cut the American and British forces in half, with the capture of Antwerp being his ultimate goal. In the face of Allied air superiority, the V-bombs were Hitler’s only available means to stem to flow of supplies prior to and during the German offensive. Even though Hitler lost the Battle of the Bulge, the V-bombs continued to fall on Antwerp. Throughout the later portion of 1944 and well into 1945, the V-weapons severely curtailed the amount of supplies brought into Antwerp. The port never did reach its expected goals, and the Allies were forced to divert ammunition and manpower to Ghent.

[alva]

And did we ever get a piece on CNN? Nope...nothing.

Great pics Colon, never really saw them before.

[Proteus_MST]

Originally posted by Colonâ„¢
Actually, the V-missiles appear to have been quite effective in hampering port-operations. From the link in my post:

The V-weapon campaign against Antwerp is often overlooked by military historians. The indiscriminant bombardment was certainly a terror for the civilian population of Antwerp, but it was also a monumental hindrance to Allied war planners. It is short sighted to say the V-weapons were ineffective simply because the port of Antwerp remained open throughout the campaign. Not even the Germans believed the rockets would completely destroy the port, but it was hoped, by amassing their fire on this strategic target, they could severely inhibit the Allies’ progress toward Germany.

In the weeks leading up to the Ardennes offensive, the V-weapons made it very difficult for supplies to reach the overstretched Allied lines. Hitler hoped to cut the American and British forces in half, with the capture of Antwerp being his ultimate goal. In the face of Allied air superiority, the V-bombs were Hitler’s only available means to stem to flow of supplies prior to and during the German offensive. Even though Hitler lost the Battle of the Bulge, the V-bombs continued to fall on Antwerp. Throughout the later portion of 1944 and well into 1945, the V-weapons severely curtailed the amount of supplies brought into Antwerp. The port never did reach its expected goals, and the Allies were forced to divert ammunition and manpower to Ghent.

Yes,
because of the Situation, i.e. allied Air superiority, the V-Weapon was probably really the only weapon that could accomplish this at this stage of war (which was a stage at which, despite tactical successes, the war probably could already be called lost for germany).
(With germany Air superiority on the other hand, the same job could have been done better with strategical bombers)

With switching research priorities early on (for example from the V-Weapons to jetfighters) perhaps another situation could have been evolved.

[Tattila the Hun]

Originally posted by alva
And did we ever get a piece on CNN? Nope...nothing.

Great pics Colon, never really saw them before.

I, too, have allways enjoyed pictures of death and mutilation.

[joncha]

Don't we have a history forum now?

[Dinner]

My HOi2 games always end before people get V2 rockets.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Az
I read somewhere, that more people were killed building the V1s and V2s than people killed by their impact.

I think that's because they used death camp slaves to build them.

[Dr Strangelove]

Early jets were humongous gas guzzlers. If Germany had gotten jets earlier they would have simply had to choose between defending themselves from western air power or Russian armor. Had they chosen to field enough jet missions to make a difference in the air war even the French would today be speaking Russian.

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by joncha
Don't we have a history forum now?

Congratulations. Working in tandem with your avatar, you're the winner of the coveted ACS Suckup Award.