On September 20, the German attack on London began. The German 1st Army Corps and 2nd Army Corps launched their offensive on London from the south. Meanwhile, the 3rd Army Corps and 8th Army Corps had to detour and attack from London's west and north, striving to annihilate the main British force in London and end this war once and for all.
Although there were still more than 900,000 British troops in London, and the British had painstakingly fortified the city for a long time, constructing solid defensive works, their successive disastrous defeats on the battlefield had left their morale at rock bottom. The soldiers were even more plagued by constant dread. If the officers had not kept a close watch on them, the units might well have collapsed already.
The German assault on London continued the previous method of warfare: powerful preparatory fire, followed by troops advancing to attack.
German artillerymen launched a fierce bombardment of southern London that lasted an entire day. Vast numbers of buildings were destroyed under the German shelling, including many cultural landmarks, such as Greenwich Observatory, Big Ben, and various museums.
In the eyes of cultural figures, the Germans' actions were no different from those of beasts. They believed these barbaric troops were brutally destroying civilization. Yet the German military did not care in the slightest. This was war; the most important thing was naturally ensuring the soldiers' safety. Everything else could be set aside for the time being. Those so-called cultural relics and historic sites were certainly important, but soldiers' lives mattered most.
The fierce German bombardment, combined with bombing by the Air Corps, turned southern London directly into ruins. Not only were the buildings destroyed, but many of the defensive works the British had constructed in the city were also wiped out.