Enemy Objectives Unit - Finding Targets

Finding Targets

“Your primary object will be the progressive destruction and dislocation of the German military, industrial and economic system, and the undermining of the morale of the German people to a part where their capacity for armed resistance is fatally weakened” – Directive given to British and American air forces from the Casablanca conference. Recommendations were based on a system created by EOU officers such as depth, target system, and cushion. The EOU had a well organized system that allowed them to find the most vital targets. Before they would actually attack, they asked themselves three questions related to depth, target system, and cushion. For depth they asked themselves if the attack would go “deep” enough and how many different things would it effect. Another point that they considered was the target system. The target system decided if the attack would create a chain reaction that would knock out many things at once. For the cushion system the EOU had to ask themselves if the target they selected would be able to recover quickly from the attack. Conventional target factories, such those that produced weapons, tank, and aircraft had developed methods of rapid recovery after being bombed and were considered to be less cost-effective for this reason. These three points helped the EOU to scout vital targets which led to the Allies victory in World War II.