The Allied Bombing of Dresden By: Cymone Winters

Who are the Allied powers? The main allied powers were Great Britain, the United States, China, and the Soviet Union. The leaders were Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. The allied powers wanted to defeat the Axis powers and have a peaceful post-war.

Who are the Axis powers? The main Axis powers were Germany, Japan and Italy. The leaders were Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Emperor Hirohito. This began with Germany, Japan and Italy partnering together. They were known as “The Three Power Pact”. The Three Power Pact wanted to destroy the Soviet Union and acknowledge themselves as Supremacy.

What happened on February 13-15? On the night February 13, hundreds of of bombs moved down on Dresden, in two waves. The defense of Dresden only were able to take down 6 bombers. By the morning of February 14, 800 bombers dropped more than 1,400 tons of highly explosive bombs and more than 1,100 tons of incendiaries.

Continued…….. Later on in the day of February 14, while survivors were trying to leave the city. 300 bombers began to bomb Dresden railroads, bridges and transportation facilities. This caused thousands of people to die. On February 15, another 200 bombers dropped 950 tons of highly explosives. By this time Dresden was completely destroyed. It is estimated to be about 35,000 to 135,000 people died.

Dresden Before the Bombing, Dresden was known to be a very beautiful city, because of its museums and architecture.

The aftermath of the Bombing At the end of the bombing, the city was completely destroyed. The city began to level. Since there was an unknown number of refugees, they were unable to figure out the exact number of people who died. Some of the historic buildings were reconstructed from the remaining, but the rest of the city was rebuilt with plain buildings.

The Bombing The bombing was actually considered controseival because Dresden was not important in the war, and before the bombing the never suffered a major Allied attack. The Allies claimed that bombing Dresden it interrupted important lines of communication. People really believed that they bombed Dresden so that, they could get Germany to surrender early and terrorize the people of Dresden.

Works cited "Allies and Axis: Who's Who in WWII?" The National WWII Museum Blog. N.p., 11 Jan. 2017. Web. 01 Feb. History.com Staff. "Bombing of Dresden." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 01 Feb. 2018. N.p., n.d. Web.