"The story of the attack on the M?hne and Eder dams in the Ruhr has been recounted many times before but not until now has it been told from the German side ... The waters of the Ruhr were essential for the manufacture of steel and hence for the German armament industry as a whole. This, coupled with the hydro-electric power which they generated, made the dams controlling these waters a tempting target, and British military planners at the Air Ministry in London were considering their destruction as far back as 1937 ... The night of May 16/17, 1943, saw the opening of 'the Water Front' as bouncing bombs ripped open the giant M?hne and Eder dams during spectacular low level attacks ... Dozens of road and railway bridges were swept away, hundreds of buildings destroyed, waterworks and power stations put out of action, and almost 200 square kilometres of land flooded and laid waste ... The attack on the M?hne, Eder, and Sorpe dams made world history: now over 400 rare photographs documents and compelling eyewitness accounts show the background and consequences of one of the greatest catastrophes to strike Germany in the 20th century"--Jacket.