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

The blitz, as the British called the German air raids, began in early September 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. 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. Battle of Britain

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, 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. Incendiary Bombing

Allied Bombing of Dresden, Germany Feb , 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.