5 - Allied Bombing Campaigns Flashcards
(6 cards)
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
