Bombing of Germany Flashcards
How Justified was it?
Other than fighting in Northern Africa, another alternative to direct fighting in Northern Europe was the bombing of German cities to demoralise the German people, the feeling for revenge grew after the bombing of Poland, the Low Countries and the Blitz, the bomber offensive was launched in 1942 and only few people spoke out against it such as the Bishop Bell of Chichester. Despite overwhelming support from the USA, a specialist report in 1942 indicated that bombing was not effective or precise enough to damage German war production, the Blitz hadn’t destroyed British morale so what was to suggest that it would destroy German morale, there was also ethical objections to killing thousands of German civilians. Harris deliberately targeted German cities during the bombing offensive and targeted cites such as: Hamburg, the Industrial cities of the Ruhr, Berlin and in Feb 1945 Dresden. The total British civilian death toll stood at 60,595 but the German civilian death toll ranges between 400,000 and 600,000 from bombing raids. The bombing of Dresden remains controversial as it offered no real military advantage nor was it a industrial base, Churchill himself, who enthusiastically encouraged the bombing offensive expressed doubts over its effectiveness but didn’t change anything to do with the air power policy.
