Spaatz was correct in his speculation that the
Luftwaffe
would rise to meet strikes against oil plants, although at this point
the
enemy could not have known the bombers' ultimate destination.

Isn't this sentence self-contradicting?

It was a strike on an oil plant. The Germans did rise to meet it.

I'd say that once the bombers reached a certain point, the Germans knew an
important raid was in the offing. They had to respond. Don't forget that the
Germans also increased the number of flak guns around the oil facilities in
this time frame. There was no doubt that the Germans would fight for the oil
plants. They had by this time pretty much stopped opposing strikes against
France.

Walt