When most of us think about the V1 flying bomb and the V2 ballistic missile in World War II, the campaigns against England are the best-known. These operations, undertaken in 1944–45, are usually what people associate with the V‑weapons.

The V1s, launched from ramps in northern France and later air‑launched from German bombers over the North Sea, killed 6,184 people in Britain and injured a further 17,900 between June 1944 and March 1945. They also destroyed or damaged an astounding one million buildings.

The V2 missile campaign against England, from September 1944 to March 1945, launched mostly from occupied Netherlands, killed 2,754 people in Britain and injured over 6,000.

The psychological effect of the V1, often dubbed the “robot bomb” because it was unmanned, was significant. But the truly terrifying weapon was the V2.

Because of its supersonic speed, the V2 could not be detected in time, and no air‑raid warning could be given. This “sudden death” missile deeply unsettled the British public and government. The damage caused by even a single V2 could be immense.

The worst incident in Britain occurred on 25 November 1944, when a V2 hit a Woolworth’s department store in New Cross, South London, killing 168 people and injuring 123.

The last British civilian killed by enemy action on British soil in World War II died in Orpington, Kent, on 27 March 1945, also due to a V2.

The V2 was not a very accurate weapon; its guidance system was not sophisticated enough to target individual buildings. However, as an area bombardment weapon, it could strike large urban centers with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

The V2 was 14 meters (over 42 feet) long and weighed about 12.5 tons, carrying a one‑ton warhead. Its range was around 200 miles (320 kilometers).

Remarkably, the V2 was also the first man‑made object to enter space.

One test rocket, V4, reached the edge of space on 3 October 1942, attaining an altitude of 85–90 km, just inside the Kármán line then used to mark the beginning of space, though below the modern 100 km definition.

On 20 June 1944, a vertically launched V2 reached 176 km above the Earth, well within today’s definition of space. This effectively ushered in the era of space flight and exploration.

All of that, however, was secondary to the V2’s intended purpose: bombarding enemy cities. To support the Ardennes offensive, the V2 units were employed to attack one target in particular—the Belgian port city of Antwerp.

Antwerp was the key objective for the German ground offensive. The German plan was to reach and capture this vital Allied supply center, thereby dividing the American and British armies and, most importantly, precipitating a serious supply crisis that would halt the Allies before they could enter Germany.

Since landing in Normandy in June 1944, the Allied advance had completely outstripped their supply capabilities. This forced the creation of various expedients, such as the Red Ball Express—huge convoys of trucks driving all the way from the Normandy beaches to Allied forces deep in northwestern Europe.

The capture of Antwerp by the British on 4 September 1944 was therefore extremely important.

Previous large ports captured by the Americans, notably Cherbourg and Le Havre, had been extensively sabotaged by the Germans. Antwerp, by contrast, was taken almost intact.

The Allies worked hard to get the port operational and supplies flowing, though the Scheldt estuary remained largely in German hands. Operations were then launched to clear this vital waterway.

British and Canadian forces invaded and captured the island of Walcheren, the main German fortress obstructing full use of Antwerp. By 8 November 1944, they had crushed the German defenses in a complex and difficult amphibious operation.

The first Allied supply ship unloaded at Antwerp on 28 November 1944.

Hitler immediately ordered air attacks against Antwerp and specifically its port facilities to slow Allied preparations while he planned his own Ardennes ground offensive to capture the city. German V‑weapons began to rain down on Antwerp and on another crucial Belgian city and Allied supply hub: Liège.

Although V1 flying bombs were used, the V2 was considered the more effective weapon. V2s could not be intercepted by Allied fighters or shot down by anti‑aircraft guns, which had been reasonably effective against the slower V1s.

While V2 launches continued against London and southeastern England from the Hague area in the Netherlands, additional V2 units were redeployed to target Antwerp and Liège.

V2s aimed at Antwerp were launched from northwestern Germany, and other batteries fired at Liège from behind the Ardennes. Antwerp soon became known as the “city of sudden death,” as V2s struck without warning and at random across the urban area.

The first V2 to hit Antwerp was actually intended for Maastricht. It struck on 7 October 1944, landing about 8 km from the city center and causing no casualties.

The first V2 specifically aimed at Antwerp hit on 13 October, causing extensive damage. More soon followed.

V1s also began bombarding Antwerp from 11 October 1944. This campaign intensified by the 21st, with more V1s also hitting Ghent and Brussels.

In just four days, 55 V1 flying bombs hit Brussels. By the end of October 1944, a further 337 V1s had landed on Antwerp. The weapons caused extensive damage and great fear among the population.

This was Germany’s trump card, and it was being played in earnest.

The number of V‑weapons hitting Antwerp steadily increased. On 19 October, a V2 impacted in the city, destroying 25 homes, killing 44 people, and injuring over 100.

More was to come. Throughout November 1944, as Hitler planned his campaign to seize Antwerp, the city was repeatedly hit by V2s.

Six of these strikes each killed more than 30 civilians. One attack on 11 November killed 51 people, including six Allied soldiers, and caused huge damage to homes, public buildings, and general infrastructure.

On 27 November, a V2 hit one of the busiest areas of Antwerp, Teniersplaats, a large city square close to the central station.

The roads through this square were heavily used by US and British supply columns moving from the docks, which were jointly shared between the two Allied nations.

The V2 struck at 10:12 in the morning, catching a British army convoy in the square. 126 people, including 26 British and American soldiers, were killed and 309 were injured.

Conditions became so dangerous in Antwerp that SHAEF, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, ordered ammunition ships to be unloaded at Cherbourg and Le Havre instead.

The risk was that a V‑weapon strike on an ammunition ship in Antwerp could cause a catastrophic explosion, potentially devastating the entire port.

This was the last thing the Allies needed just as the supply crisis at the front was finally beginning to ease.

The V2 strikes also disrupted Allied rail and barge traffic, damaging many railway lines.

On 16 December 1944, the Ardennes offensive was launched in the early hours. That same day, a V2 struck the Rex Cinema in Antwerp at 15:20 in the afternoon.

The cinema was packed with civilians and Allied soldiers watching a Hollywood film.

567 Allied soldiers and Belgian civilians were killed instantly, and 291 were injured. The missile destroyed 11 buildings, including the cinema itself.

This tragedy prompted the authorities to ban public gatherings of more than 50 people for the duration of the campaign.

The damage inflicted on Antwerp was enormous, but the V2 attacks did not shut down the port. Most missiles missed the docks and instead hit residential or commercial areas.

By the end of 1944, Antwerp had been hit by 590 direct V‑weapon impacts. These flattened 884 homes, badly damaged 6,000 more, and caused lesser damage to 23,000 additional properties.

1,736 people had been killed and about 4,000 injured.

Despite this, the German ground offensive never managed to get anywhere near the city, only briefly reaching the Meuse River before being progressively pushed back throughout January 1945.

The Germans continued to bombard Antwerp and other cities as Hitler tried to reinvigorate the ground offensive in the New Year.

On New Year’s Day 1945, a V2 hit Antwerp, killing 46 people. A V1 strike followed, and by 2 January a further 20 V1s had hit the city.

The harbor was struck by a V2 on 8 January, damaging a British freighter, and another V2 hit the docks a week later, damaging another supply ship and a quay.

In total, V‑weapons damaged 17 Allied ships during this period and also hit railway marshalling yards and fuel installations. Crucially, though, the port—though disrupted—was never closed.

By the time the V‑weapon campaign against Antwerp ended in March 1945, the city had been hit by 850 V1s and V2s, plus a further 1,300 that fell in outlying districts.

These attacks killed 3,400 Belgian civilians and 700 Allied service personnel, and destroyed or damaged about 90,000 properties. During the six‑month campaign, there were only 12 days on which no bombs fell.

The campaign certainly disrupted some of the Allied supply flow, particularly during the critical early phase of the Battle of the Bulge. It also forced the Allies to divert large numbers of anti‑aircraft guns and personnel to combat the V1 flying bombs.

However, it did not, in the end, materially affect the Allies’ ability to crush the Ardennes offensive.

The loss of life and destruction, however, were horrendous. Antwerp’s suffering, both during and after the Battle of the Bulge, is often forgotten today.

The V2 in particular was a fearsome German weapon that ushered in a completely new type of warfare, with London, Antwerp, and Liège as unwilling test sites.

These were, in 1944–45, truly cities of sudden death.

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