In the Great War of 1914-1918, Southampton played a vital role in the
war effort. Designated as Port Number One it saw hundreds of thousands
of men and many tons of equipment sail for the fields of Belgium and
France.
The Second World War was a completely different type of war. Hitler's
blitzkrieg tactics led to a more mobile war and, arguably for the first
time, airpower played a crucial role. Whoever had superiority in the air
had a massive advantage in any particular theater, or battle. This does
not, however, mean that Southampton's role was relegated to a minor one.
Southampton's men still enlisted in their hundreds. Her women took over
roles in factories, on buses and trams, and many of them also served in
the armed forces. Her citizens formed defense groups and helped to watch
for the enemy invasion and those same citizens suffered greatly when the
bombs fell. The Southampton Blitz claimed many lives and this, perhaps,
was the greatest difference the town saw in this second global
conflagration. It is true that her citizens had also served in the Great
War but now, through the efforts of the Luftwaffe, these men, women and
children were now also in the front line.
Hitler once described Germany's plans as "total war". The phrase is
certainly apt when one considered how the towns and cities of Britain
suffered during the Nazi supremacy. One of those towns was Southampton,
a town that once again, just 20 short years after she had given so much,
had to brace herself for long years of war in which every single person
had their role to play.
And once again, Southampton and her citizens were not found wanting.
