more on allied bombing impacts Flashcards
What was the impact of the Anglo-American bombing of Germany?
Direct impact by bringing the war into people’s homes
What was the impact of air raids?
400,000 Germans were killed
500,000 were disabled or severely injured
3.6 million homes were destroyed
What was the impact of the raid on Hamburg?
created a firestorm that killed 40,000 civilians
What was the impact of the bombing of Dresden?
35,000 Germans killed
13 square miles of the city were destroyed
When was the bombing of Dresden?
13-15th Feb 1945
When was the bombing raid on Hamburg?
24th July 1943
Why did many assume the war was as good as over and what challenged this view?
French had been defeated + British had been forced from France at Dunkirk
Hitler ruled from Paris to Warsaw
start of bombing attacks on Berlin challenged this view
Why did the British start bombing?
they believed that a long term bombing strategy could wear down the enemy & degrade their ability to fight
What was the aim of the bombing?
to destroy the German economy & infrastructure and break civilian morale
What did the British and Americans agree to in 1943?
a dramatic escalation of the air war over Germany
the result was round the clock bombing of Germany
What were the impacts of the dramatic escalation in bombing?
The Ruhr valley was targeted
RAF destroyed the hydro-electric dams on the Eder and Moehne Rivers in the ‘dam buster raids’
anger of population directed towards regime for their inability to stop the raids
many believed the Hamburg raid was evidence the war was lost
