There certainly have been a variety of different accounts, even supposedly by eyewitnesses, that contradict each other as to how much Winston Churchill had learned from the Boniface (later Ultra) decoders as to the main target for the German “Moonlight Sonata” air raid on the Midlands in November 1940, and when did he ascertain it. Whether he mistook it for a feint, with London the actual target, of whether he knew of Coventry and left it to its fate rather than compromise Britain’s ability to crack the German Enigma codes seems to depend on one’s feelings toward Churchill.…

Not quite robust enough. Churchill neither “mistook” Coventry for a feint, nor left Coventry to its fate. To believe he “let Coventry burn” does not depend on your “feelings toward Churchill.” It depends on whether you know the facts.

The facts are that Churchill, leaving for the country that night, read a despatch in his car. It predicted a heavy raid upon London, not Coventry. The PM determined not to spend the night in safety while the capital was under attack. He turned around and went back to Downing Street. Also, when the truth was known, RAF fighters were mustered to defend Coventry. Unfortunately, it was too little and too late.

More WW2 Myths

The largest section of Winston Churchill, Myth and Reality examines World War II: the leading source of Churchill myths. Did an actor deliver his broadcasts? Was Coventry bombed to protect his sources of intelligence? Was Churchill against the Second Front in France? Did he exacerbate the Bengal famine, destroy Monte Cassino abbey, refuse to bomb Auschwitz or feed the oppressed in occupied Europe? No. But no World War II canard is more persistent than the story that Churchill firebombed Dresden in hatred and revenge for Germany’s bombing of Coventry. That one has been around for over fifty years.

See also “Nashville (6) The Myth of Dresden and ‘Revenge Firebombing.'”