Operation Bowler The audacious Allied bombing of Venice during World War II

In March 1945, Operation Bowler defied the norms of wartime-bombing campaigns. Allied forces, led by Wing Commander George Westlake, executed a surgical air strike over Venice, targeting German outposts while leaving the city untouched. Glancey's riveting account explores how precision overcame destruction, contrasting the strategic necessity of war with the preservation of history. While other bombings leveled cities indiscriminately, Operation Bowler demonstrated meticulous execution--an airborne raid designed to cripple the enemy without collateral damage. Glancey highlights one of the the ethical dilemma faced in modern warfare: As casualties rise, does the preservation of art and heritage hold significance? The mission's invisibility is its legacy--Venice remains unscarred, and the Desert Air Force pilots who ensured this remain largely unsung. For history and military-strategy enthusiasts, Operation Bowler offers a compelling study in balancing combat effectiveness with cultural preservation. This gripping narrative is a testament to the skill, precision, and restraint that defined one of WWII's most extraordinary air operations.

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." (July)

A little-known attack on Venice. Journalist and broadcaster Glancey, author ofConcorde: The Rise and Fall of the Supersonic Airliner, describes a campaign nastier than portrayed in the usual TV documentary. Masses of innocent civilians suffered and died unnecessarily; Germans committed their traditional atrocities, but the Allies were not innocent. More than most writers, Glancey emphasizes the heartbreaking, often unnecessary destruction of Italy's priceless art, architecture, and history, mostly by the Allies with their overwhelming air superiority. Readers will flinch at Glancey's account of the 1943 destruction of Monte Cassino. The ancient abbey stood exposed at Germany's defensive line. Its commander ordered that the abbey not be occupied, and, at great effort, his soldiers carried the abbey's enormous collection of manuscripts, books, and paintings to safety. This was public knowledge, but the Allies bombed it anyway, killing hundreds of Italians sheltering inside. This was a blunder because the rubble provided superior defense, and Germans fended off attacks for another four months. By 1945 the Allies in Italy had largely given up high-altitude carpet bombing in favor of more accurate low-level attacks. Firmly established in the Gustav line across northern Italy, Germans increasingly depended on supplies arriving in Venice harbor because air attacks had destroyed roads and railways. Aware of this and anxious to avoid collateral damage, the Allies designed a raid by fighters and fighter-bombers that inflicted serious damage on the harbor but killed only a handful of civilians and none of the attacking airmen. The March 21, 1945, attack was so successful that few Venetians know of it today. A modest World War II city bombing receives well-deserved attention. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.