Arthur Harris, Bomber Offensive,
London 1947, S. 252f.
[…] From October, 1944, until the
surrender of Germany our main committment was the destruction
of German industrial cities, attacks on individual factories,
and the bombing of the enemy’s communications, but we had
to be always ready to support the armies in the field. As soon
as the port of Antwerp was freed, the Allied armies began a
limited advance to the Rhine, in preparation for the crossing
of the river and deep penetration into Germany. Bomber Command
was required to prepare for the advance in the Aachen Sector
– Aachen surrendered on October 21st and gave the Allied
armies their first sight of a German town destroyed by fire
bombs – and we were called upon to destroy three
fortified towns in the River Roer, Düren, Jülich, and
Heinsberg, ahich covered the approach to the Cologne plain. On
the 16th November, in daylight, we dropped 5689 tons of bombs
on these towns, and though we had expected to make a second
attack, for the army wanted complete destruction, we were told
that nothing more was needed. […]