When it comes to ranking the most devastating bombing campaigns in history, the damage can be measured in many different ways. It is possible to rank them by duration, because the longer a campaign goes on, the more it inflicts emotional trauma on the population. They can be ranked by the amount of destruction they caused. They can also be ranked by the cost they have in human life, which is without a doubt the most devastating aspect of a bombing campaign. Here are the five most devastating bombing campaigns in the history of the world.
cc licensed flickr photo shared by BiblioArchives / LibraryArchives
5. Bombing of Dresden by the Allies
Dresden was attacked for just two days in World War II, February 13-15, 1945. Though short in duration, this attack by the Allies was one of the scariest in history. This was one of the first attacks to feature the use of the newly developed incendiary bombs, which created thousands of fires that burned Dresden to the ground. More than 15 square miles of the city’s center were completely burned to cinders. A little more than 25,000 people lost their lives during the two days of terror.
4. Bombing of London by the German Luftwaffe
Commonly known as The Blitz, this was the deadliest bombing campaign conducted by the Nazis during World War II. The Luftwaffe kept up a seemingly never-ending rain of destruction on England and Northern Ireland, especially London. This campaign lasted from September 7, 1940 to May 10, 1941, including one stretch during which London was attacked for 57 straight days. Over one million homes were destroyed in London alone, and all together more than 40,000 people lost their lives to German bombs.
3. Bombing of Hamburg by the Allies
This was the deadliest bombing attack on Germany during World War II. Conducted over 8 days during late July and early August of 1943, this attack known by the Allies as Operation Gomorrah was one of the most important of the war. 3,000 planes dropped more than 9,000 tons of bombs on Hamburg. Of the 414,500 building in Hamburg at the time, 214,350 of them were destroyed. This severely crippled the German war effort, because Hamburg was a major industrial center of the German war machine. The bombing of Hamburg killed more than 40,000 people, and close to another 40,000 were left injured by the Allied bombs.
2. Bombing of Tokyo by the US Army Air Forces
From the time the US was close enough for their bombers to make the round trip to Tokyo, they started sending raids to the Japanese capital city. Most of the bombing happened between November 1944 and August 1945. At first the US bombers flew at very high altitudes, dropping their bombs from 30,000 feet where they didn’t have much to worry about from the Japanese defenses. These high altitude raids had little success, so a new tactic was developed.
The success of the incendiary bombs that burnt much of Dresden to the ground inspired the US commanders to order low altitude bombing raids using incendiary bombs. With much of Tokyo made of wood and paper, this was bound to lead to horrendous results. During two nights in March 1945, US planes dropped enough bombs to kill 100,000 people, leave another 80,000 injured and leave more than a million people homeless. All together US planes destroyed more than half of Tokyo by the end of the war.
1. Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Fortunately still the only nuclear attack in history, this was the deadliest and scariest bombing campaign in history. With just two bombs dropped, the US managed to kill roughly 250,000 people in the two cities with the force of the bombs or radiation poisoning over the next few months. The mutations caused by exposure to radiation are still leading to birth defects in descendants of the survivors. This was the attack devastating enough to force the Japanese to surrender unconditionally.
Duncan Holtz is a career soldier in the US Army and contributor for Online Military Education, a site that provides information, reviews and guides on online GI Bill colleges and the various programs available to students.
cc licensed flickr photo shared by BiblioArchives / LibraryArchives
5. Bombing of Dresden by the Allies
Dresden was attacked for just two days in World War II, February 13-15, 1945. Though short in duration, this attack by the Allies was one of the scariest in history. This was one of the first attacks to feature the use of the newly developed incendiary bombs, which created thousands of fires that burned Dresden to the ground. More than 15 square miles of the city’s center were completely burned to cinders. A little more than 25,000 people lost their lives during the two days of terror.
4. Bombing of London by the German Luftwaffe
Commonly known as The Blitz, this was the deadliest bombing campaign conducted by the Nazis during World War II. The Luftwaffe kept up a seemingly never-ending rain of destruction on England and Northern Ireland, especially London. This campaign lasted from September 7, 1940 to May 10, 1941, including one stretch during which London was attacked for 57 straight days. Over one million homes were destroyed in London alone, and all together more than 40,000 people lost their lives to German bombs.
3. Bombing of Hamburg by the Allies
This was the deadliest bombing attack on Germany during World War II. Conducted over 8 days during late July and early August of 1943, this attack known by the Allies as Operation Gomorrah was one of the most important of the war. 3,000 planes dropped more than 9,000 tons of bombs on Hamburg. Of the 414,500 building in Hamburg at the time, 214,350 of them were destroyed. This severely crippled the German war effort, because Hamburg was a major industrial center of the German war machine. The bombing of Hamburg killed more than 40,000 people, and close to another 40,000 were left injured by the Allied bombs.
2. Bombing of Tokyo by the US Army Air Forces
From the time the US was close enough for their bombers to make the round trip to Tokyo, they started sending raids to the Japanese capital city. Most of the bombing happened between November 1944 and August 1945. At first the US bombers flew at very high altitudes, dropping their bombs from 30,000 feet where they didn’t have much to worry about from the Japanese defenses. These high altitude raids had little success, so a new tactic was developed.
The success of the incendiary bombs that burnt much of Dresden to the ground inspired the US commanders to order low altitude bombing raids using incendiary bombs. With much of Tokyo made of wood and paper, this was bound to lead to horrendous results. During two nights in March 1945, US planes dropped enough bombs to kill 100,000 people, leave another 80,000 injured and leave more than a million people homeless. All together US planes destroyed more than half of Tokyo by the end of the war.
1. Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Fortunately still the only nuclear attack in history, this was the deadliest and scariest bombing campaign in history. With just two bombs dropped, the US managed to kill roughly 250,000 people in the two cities with the force of the bombs or radiation poisoning over the next few months. The mutations caused by exposure to radiation are still leading to birth defects in descendants of the survivors. This was the attack devastating enough to force the Japanese to surrender unconditionally.
Duncan Holtz is a career soldier in the US Army and contributor for Online Military Education, a site that provides information, reviews and guides on online GI Bill colleges and the various programs available to students.
No comments:
Post a Comment