Transcript The Bombing of Cities - Streetsboro City Schools

Strategic Bombing of World
War II
Five Main Targets
1. Military group – ground troops, military bases, command
centers, etc.
2. Industrial group – factories, reduce enemy industrial
capacity and production
3. Urban group – civilian populations, create demoralization
& revolt
4. Resources and energy group - coal, oil, gas drums/tanks,
refineries etc.
5. Transportation group - means to transport war materials,
i.e., bridges, railroads, etc.
• Groups (4) and (5) became dominant targets
Battle of Britain
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The blitz, as the British called the German air raids,
began in early September 1940.
The focus was on military targets, factories, and ports.
After an allied plane (British) bombed Berlin, Germany
started to focus its air raids on London.
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Nightly attacks were designed to destroy the British will to
resist.
Thousands were killed but Londoners were determined to
resist.
Children were evacuated to the countryside and spent
their nights in bomb shelters and subways.
Firefighters at work in a bomb damaged street after a
Saturday night raid in London 1941.
Daily life in a damaged residential neighborhood.
Londoners shelter in a tube station during the blitz.
In the end, the Royal Air
Force (RAF) bravely
defended Great Britain from
the German Lufwaffe and
thwarted any plans Hitler
had of a German invasion of
Great Britain. British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill
said of the RAF “Never was
so much owed by so many
to so few.”
Incendiary Bombing
Incendiary bombing, often
called firebombing, is
a bombing technique
designed to damage a
target, generally an urban
area, through the use
of fire, caused by incendiary
devices, rather than from
the blast effect of large
bombs. Incendiary bombs
were used extensively
in World War II as an
effective bombing weapon,
often in conjunction with
high-explosive bombs.
Probably the most famous
incendiary attacks are
the bombing of Dresden
and the bombing of Tokyo.
Allied Bombing of Dresden, Germany
Feb. 13-15, 1945
• Military bombing by the British
Royal Air Force and the
United States Army Air Force.
• There were four raids with
1300 bombers dropping over
3900 tons of high explosive
bombs.
• Destroyed 15 sq. miles of the
city.
• No areas were specifically
targeted, it was rather
indiscriminate area bombing.
• Civilian death toll is put
around 18,000-25,000
Dresden Before the Bombing
Dresden After the Bombing
A pile of bodies lay ready for cremation after
the allied bombing of Dresden, Germany.
"When I look around to see how we can win the war I see that
there is only one sure path. We have no Continental army which
can defeat the German military power.. there is one thing that will
bring him down, and that is an absolutely devastating,
exterminating attack by very heavy bombers from this country
upon the Nazi homeland. We must be able to overwhelm them by
this means, without which I do not see a way through."
-Winston S Churchill 8.July 1940].
Bombing of Tokyo, Japan
March 9-10, 1945
The Operation Meetinghouse firebombing of Tokyo on the night of 9 March 1945 was the
single deadliest air raid of World War II, greater than Dresden, Hiroshima, or Nagasaki as
single events. Estimated deaths range from 90,000 to 125,000.
Emperor Hirohito's tour of the destroyed areas of Tokyo in March 1945 was the
beginning of his personal involvement in the peace process, culminating in Japan’s
surrender six months later.
Charred remains of Japanese civilians after the firebombing of Tokyo.
B 29 Superfortress used in the raids over Tokyo.