Posted on 02/13/2020 7:17:08 AM PST by C19fan
During the final months of World War II, from February 13 to 15, 1945, Allied forces bombed the ancient, cathedral city of Dresden, in eastern Germany.
The bombing was controversial because Dresden's contribution to the war effort was minimal compared with other German cities — though it was a key transport junction and used by German forces to defend the country against Soviet forces approaching from the east.
Before the huge air raid, it had not suffered a major Allied attack. By February 15, however, it was a smouldering ruin — 2,400 tons of high explosives and 1,500 tons of incendiary bombs were dropped on the city. An unknown number of civilians, somewhere between 35,000 and 135,000, were dead.
British rifleman Victor Gregg was one of hundreds of men being held as a PoW in the city by the Germans. On the 75th anniversary of the start of the bombing, this is his eyewitness account of the devastation he left behind.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
What do y’all think if Slaughrhouse Five?
Billy Pilgrim was there. Schlacthauf funf.
“Except for perhaps the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Dresden is perhaps the most controversial bombing raid of World War II.”
I always thought it was a response to Coventry.
If the Germans had won the war, this would be exhibit A for war crimes against allied generals.
Read other reports bomber crews could smell the cooked bodies.
At least one historian of the war has stated the fire bombings of the German cities were unnecessary and were carried out at the insistence of a particular British officer who had a rather maniacal desire to destroy the German people.
I would accept it as justified if it definitely shortened that war.
Even more true of the fire-bombing of Tokyo.
Yep.
For the people who believe that the war should be lost if fighting meant retaliation in kind for the bombing of allied infrastructure in order to survive and win its controversial.
For people who have studied war enough to comprehend the logistics portion of War its just another inevitable consequence of starting wars which leaders and bureaucrats should be aware of when they launch wars.
I don’t have the lack of education which is an absolute requirement to consider this “controversial.”
Dresden was hell. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were hell. War is hell. The Axis powers started that war and we finished it. Why is there controversy?
“Except for perhaps the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Dresden is perhaps the most LIFESAVING bombing raid of World War II.”
Fixed it for you.
So it goes.
Starting a war has consequences. Sometimes unbearably horrible consequences. There’s a lesson in there somewhere...
Haven’t read it. Keep meaning to.
War really is hell for some. But it needs to be remembered that the Dresden attack was retaliation for the Nazi’s brutal attack on Coventry on the 14 Nov 1940. The Nazi’s had no regrets about the raid and deaths caused in Coventry. Only free peoples of nations like the UK and USA have feelings of guilt, remorse, and self-loathing for events that take place in time of unfettered war. Just my $.02
You think directly targeting and killing innocent people, with no military purpose, is OK?
You are no better than ISIS.
Heard similar reports, but the responsible person was named Winston.
[If the Germans had won the war, this would be exhibit A for war crimes against allied generals.]
My dad was on Okinawa, preparing for a land invasion of the Japanese islands.
I wonder if I would even be here without Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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