Bombing Campaigns
Tokyo
On March 9, 1945, the United States bombed Tokyo, Japan. The United States carefully planned out this attack. The attack was one of the worst bombing in the history of the war. 334 bomber planes dropped their bombs on the city. The Japanese really had no defense on the attack. They had only a limited amount of trained pilots and the ones they did have were poorly trained. The bombing lasted for three hours. (25)
Berlin
On March 4, 1944 the United States performed their first attack on Berlin. This attack was not very successful. The U.S. sent 14 bombers but only one bomber actually dropped their loads on Berlin. The other planes were either lost to the Germans or dropped their loads on other areas. (26)
Dresden
Dresden, Germany was bombed on February 13, 1945 by the Allies (27).
This bombing is known as one of the most destructive bombings of the entire war. Bombing Dresden was actually very wasteful and did not result in anything strategically since Germany was about ready to surrender anyway (27). One theory is that Dresden actually happened to be one the main cities used for communication and the Allies thought that if they could destroy the way that the Axis countries communicate then they would want to end the war. Another theory is that the Allies just wanted to attack the Germans as a punishment for what they had done during the war (27).
This bombing is known as one of the most destructive bombings of the entire war. Bombing Dresden was actually very wasteful and did not result in anything strategically since Germany was about ready to surrender anyway (27). One theory is that Dresden actually happened to be one the main cities used for communication and the Allies thought that if they could destroy the way that the Axis countries communicate then they would want to end the war. Another theory is that the Allies just wanted to attack the Germans as a punishment for what they had done during the war (27).
London
London and other surrounding cities were attacked by a major bombing done by the Germans from September 1940 through May 1941 (28). The Germans mainly targeted very populated areas and factories. On September 7, 1940, Germany began to bomb London. This went on for 57
nights straight. During these nights of brutal bombings, the people of London
would try to take shelter in basements or subway stations (28). Although London was the main city attacked, many others surrounding it were also devastated by the bombing. These cities include: Portsmouth, Southampton, Plymouth, Exeter, Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, Birmingham, Coventry,
Nottingham, Norwich, Ipswich, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Hull, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle, Scotland, and Northern Ireland (28). The aftermath of the bombings was horrific.
nights straight. During these nights of brutal bombings, the people of London
would try to take shelter in basements or subway stations (28). Although London was the main city attacked, many others surrounding it were also devastated by the bombing. These cities include: Portsmouth, Southampton, Plymouth, Exeter, Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, Birmingham, Coventry,
Nottingham, Norwich, Ipswich, Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Hull, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle, Scotland, and Northern Ireland (28). The aftermath of the bombings was horrific.