5 - Allied Bombing Campaigns Flashcards
What happned in 1942 which changed the war??
7th December 1941 USA joined the war
What did the allies do after usa joined??
Bombing campaigns -
Began March 1942 - Major raid on Lübeck
USAAF (Daytime attacks) & RAF (Nighttime attacks) - ‘1000 bomber raids’
March-July 1943: 43 German Cities bombed
Hamburg: 7x 25th July - 3rd August
Focus on Rhineland & Ruhr
SD Report, Lübeck - day after bombing (March 1942): defiance and high morale shown by opening shops
What effect did this have on the germany people??
Crackdown on defeatist. Goebbels - morale through “secret weapons”.
Psychological - firestorms+sleepless nights
Until Late 1944 production continued
Wore the public morale down but not broken
What was Dresden??
Feb 13 - Feb 15 - 1945
Two days
1,200 bombers
25-35,000 killed
3,900 tons of bombs
Mostly railways in city center
1945??
Jan 45 - soviets enter germany
3.5 million germans flee homes - 500,000 to 1 million
They ran away to cities bombed to rubble by the allies
1/4 popultation is homeless and exposed
Richard Bessel - Said it was remarkable ( NOT REMARKABLE THOUGH ) Seemingly overnight the regime evaporated
What was the bombings impact on economics??
1943-1944 economic gains ahcieved even with bombing
Impacted worker morale
Jan 45 Ministry of Armaments -
35% less tanks
31% less aircraft
42% fewer lorries
Had a direct imapct
