The Valour and the Horror

Lieutenant Bock:

Lieutenant Bock goes on to describe the opening of the attack as viewed from his battery position.

Hamburg's night sky became in minutes, even seconds, a sky so absolutely hellish that it is impossible even to try to describe it in words. There were aeroplanes, held in the probing arms of the searchlights, fires breaking out, billowing smoke everywhere, loud, roaring waves of explosions, all broken up by great cathedrals of light as the blast bombs exploded, cascades of marker bombs slowly drifting down, stick incendiary bombs coming down with a rushing noise. No noise made by humans &endash; no outcry &endash; could be heard. It was like the end of the world. One could think, feel, see and speak of nothing more.

The guns of this Flak battery fired for twenty minutes but then bombs bursting in the battery position cut every electrical cable providing power to the guns.

(The Flak battery was near the railway yards.)