bombing campaigns, World War II

Air raids conducted against civilian and industrial targets by both the Allied and Axis powers from 1940 to 1945. Their aim was to destroy the morale of civilian populations and undermine the military capability of the enemy, although their long-term effect on the war is disputed. Small-scale bombing raids had occurred during World War I using German airships, but World War II saw the advent of city or area bombing on an unprecedented scale. The bombing of civilians was considered as important as the bombing of military and industrial production facilities. Thousands were injured, killed, or made homeless during the Blitz on Britain 1940–41, and the area bombing of German cities, such as the thousand-bomber raid over Cologne in 1942.

The Blitz 1940–41 City bombing began in the summer of 1940 with attacks by the German Luftwaffe on British targets. Hitler's failure to achieve his initial plan for the invasion of Britain, Operation Sealion, meant that the Nazis had to try other tactics to bring Britain to defeat. From September 1940 to the spring of 1941 Britain was subjected to the Blitz, during which German bombers flew regular raids over British cities. Hitler hoped to destroy the morale of the British people and make it impossible for the British government to continue the war. Initially the bombing runs were made by day, but after Germany failed to establish its superiority in the air in the Battle of Britain, the raids switched to the night. London was bombed on all but ten nights from 7 September to 12 November 1940, killing an estimated 13,000 Londoners (see London: history). Thereafter, although London continued to remain a major target, other cities such as Coventry were also bombed. On 14 November 1940 a particularly heavy raid on Coventry levelled the centre of the city and killed more than 550 people; the destruction of its ancient cathedral provided the British people with an effective symbol of the sacrifice of the war.

However, despite limited success in denting morale and damaging industrial production, German attacks on British cities were of no long-term benefit to the German war effort. The highly-organized propaganda campaigns of the Ministry of Information and the genuine sense of national unity that existed on the home front enabled Britain to sustain its resolve (see home front, World War II). The raids began to cease in the spring of 1941 as air defences began to improve, and the German Luftwaffe were redeployed to the Eastern Front. Later in the war, when the Germans were on the defensive, the experience of the Blitz meant that Britain retaliated with city bombing on an even greater scale.

Allied bombing campaigns 1942–43 By 1942 the British Royal Air Force (RAF), working with the larger US Air Force (USAF), was able to launch raids into the heart of Germany. The main targets of these raids were industrial cities such as Essen and Cologne, and the regions of the Rhineland and the Ruhr. Air raids also targeted the submarine bases at Lorient and St-Nazaire in France, and airfields and railway junctions across Western Europe. By 1943 Germany was on the defensive, and by the end of 1943 the Allies were able to launch raids on Berlin itself.

On the night of 30–31 May 1942 the RAF took part in the thousand-bomber raid on the town of Cologne. Similar raids by the RAF and USAF followed on Essen, Bremen, and the industrial heartland of the Ruhr. Steel production, vital for the tanks and aircraft of the Nazi war machine, was reduced by more than a third during this period, and thousands of civilian casualties inflicted on the German population. In Hamburg 40,000 deaths occurred in a firestorm created by Allied raids 27–28 July 1943. The firestorm was caused by the use of incendiary bombs that created such an intense, rapid wave of fire that everything, including people, was swept up in its course. Entire streets and buildings were razed to the ground.

German V1 and V2 missile attacks 1944–45 In 1944, despite being on the retreat, the development of V1 and V2 flying bombs enabled Germany to launch raids on British cities without the need for aircraft. The V1, nicknamed a ‘doodlebug’ or ‘buzz bomb’, was a pilotless monoplane that fell to the ground with its high-explosive payload when the engine cut out. The flying bombs were launched in the Pas de Calais region of northern France, and could be targeted on London, although they had no guidance system and landed randomly. They were, however, capable of inflicting immense damage. Londoners, hearing the drone of a ‘doodlebug’, would wait in fear for the engine to cut out overhead. Even more destructive was the rocket-powered V2 missile, launched from sites in the Netherlands. The V2 had a preset guidance system for accurate targeting, and travelled at supersonic speeds; over 5,000 were launched at Britain. Nothing could stop the V2 from reaching its target, and attacks only ended in March 1945 after the launch sites were captured by advancing Allied troops.

Allied raids 1944–45 In December 1944, with the war still raging in the East as Germany fought to slow the advancing Russian forces, Hitler launched his last attack in the West – the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes. Although defeated by January 1945, the attack demonstrated that Germany still posed a possible threat. With the Russians demanding increased Allied help in the East, and the Allied commanders keen to defeat the Germans as swiftly as possible, further massive bombing raids were sanctioned. On the night of 13–14 February 1945, a British and US force of nearly 1,000 bombers, supported by hundreds of fighter escorts, attacked the German city of Dresden. The resulting firestorm spread out from its ancient centre, obliterating buildings for 20 sq km/8 sq mi. The death toll is hard to quantify, as Dresden was housing both its own population and hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing from the advancing Russians. The official local figure of 39,773 is regarded by many as an underestimate; figures of 120,000–150,000 are generally accepted.

Bomber Command The necessity, ethics, and usefulness of the ‘area bombing’ tactics used in Hamburg and Dresden were questioned both at the time and after the war. Some historians have attacked the British commander-in-chief of Bomber Command, Air Vice-Marshal Arthur Harris, for pursuing unnecessarily murderous battle strategies against civilian targets, while failing to go for the more difficult industrial targets. Critics cite evidence that industrial production was often only temporarily reduced after the raids, and suggest that there was little long-term impact on the military ability of Germany.

Other historians believe that Harris pursued the best possible tactics at the time. Using a different interpretation of the same evidence, they claim that city bombing did in fact disrupt Germany's ability to fight the war through its effects on industrial production. In addition, many supporters of Harris argue that World War II was a ‘total war’, and that it is unfair to criticize the targeting of areas with large civilian populations, as the divisions between civilian and military targets were not clear cut.