Hello There! I am currently researching further information on the Dams Raids, I realised that there is little consideration of the effects of the dams being breached on the civilian population and the German war effort.
The war had not affected the areas of the Mohne and Eder dams. While bombers flew over to attack the industrial Ruhr area and air raid sirens would prompt people to take cover, they did not suffer the attacks that larger population centres, factories and rail hubs had experienced.
While the Mohne Dam had a handful of anti aircraft guns the crews experienced more of a peacetime service. Although they had to remain on duty at night, during alarms and maintain the guns.
Being in the countryside it was possible to obtain healthy supplements to rationing.
The Eder Dam had no anti aircraft defences as it was considered such a difficult approach to the target that it was not required.
Both dams had a number of torpedo nets across them to prevent a more conventional attacks but neither had barrage balloons or other precautions to deter an air attack.
On hearing the sirens, people logically moved to their cellars, which most houses had at this time.
After a while it was clear that they were not the subject of the attacks and curiosity prompted many to leave their shelters and climb up the higher ground either side of the valley. This provided a vantage point to view the cause of the noise, flashes and firing.
Three kilometres down the Mohne valley, the village of Himmelpforten, woke the village priest and he realised what was happening. He had pre arranged that if he rang the bells then people were to take to higher ground. Father Berkenkopf continued to ring the bell until the deluge swept him and the churce away.
Real concern begun when a loud roaring was heard along the valley. Further people left their shelters to investigate and news of the dams being breached soon spread.
Those that had not, or could not, get to higher ground, climbed to the higher floors og their homes and eventually to the roof, to watch other houses pass by in the flood.
Further down the valley the village of Neheim held the armaments factory Wohn-und-Verpflegungslager eGmbH which manufactured mines. It held 1200 female Polish and Ukranian slave workers who perished when the ten meter high wave hit their barracks.
Similar stories can be found as the Eder Dam breached, although the damage there was more agricultural than industrial.
The loss of 90% of the capacity of both dams, when they were already swollen with Winter rains, led to a shortage of water for coal mines, smelting works, fuel plants and coking plants. Production of hydroelectricity was obviously reduced, as was the productivity of coal fired power stations, due to to the loss of coal production.
Due to the effects of the raid, coal production dropped from 813,278 tonnes to 242,870 tonnes. This was due to workers killed or dehoused, lack of water and reduced electricity supply for shaft lifts.
The knock on effects was the raw materials for ammunition and weapons production were not available. This was at a time when the Kursk offensive was close, (5th July 1943), and industrial support for that as a priority.
The physical damage, apart from the dams, included from the Mohne area alone:
96 Buildings destroyed
872 buildings damaged
12 factories destroyed
91 factories damaged
25 bridges destroyed
8 bridges severely damaged
The Dam Busters by Paul Brickhill 1951
Chastise by Max Hastings
Dam Busters The Race to Smash the Dams by James Holland
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