The feet burned as they ran! Explore the secrets of Churchill that don’t want to take the blame Dresden bombing
Build area
▲ Dresden
Dresden is a beautiful and fertile German city . It has hundreds of years of prosperity, splendid culture and art, the highest urban greening rate in Europe and many exquisite baroque buildings, and is known as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Its urban area has an area of 328 square kilometers, ranking fourth among major German cities and an important cultural capital in Europe. It is known as "Florence on the Elbe River ". But such a beautiful and fertile city ushered in the darkest devastating moment since its founding, 73 years ago, on February 13, 1945.
945 On the evening of February 13, the Royal Air Force dispatched 796 Lancaster bombers and dropped 1,478 tons of high-explosive bombs and 182 tons of incendiary bombs into Dresden, from 12 pm on the 13th to the morning of the 14th. At noon on February 14, the Eighth Air Force of the US Army Air Force also joined the bombing, and 311 B-17 bombers once again dropped 771 tons of bombs on Dresden, turning Dresden into hell on earth.
This tragedy, known as the Great Bombing of Dresden, caused severe damage to 23% of Dresden's industrial buildings and 56% of non-industrial buildings (excluding residential buildings), and about 78,000 residences were completely destroyed. 25,000 people were killed in the bombing, 64,500 were homeless, and the entire city was close to destruction. The Dresden bombing was also the most controversial bombing operation of the United Kingdom and the United Air Force in 1943.
▲Dresden turned into a ruin after two days of high-intensity bombing
This must start with the cause of bombing Dresden. The bombing was initially intended to help the Soviet Red Army collapse the German Eastern Front. The German army on the Western Front was completely defeated in the Ardennes counterattack at the end of 1945. On the Eastern Front, on February 8, 1945, the Red Army had crossed the Ode River, only 70 kilometers away from the Berlin . It was only a matter of time before the resistance of the German army on the east and west fronts collapsed. But absurdly, the United Kingdom Joint Intelligence Subcommittee determined that the possible resistance of the Germans would last until November, so it was necessary to provide support for air bombing for the Soviet Red Army on the Eastern Front. Dresden is neither a German wartime production center nor an important industrial center. In the three-year bombing of Germany by the United Kingdom and the United Air Force, the bombing targets only included important industrial parks, industrial cities and fuel production areas in Germany.
Although Dresden's industrial capacity was not as attractive as that of the Ruhr Industrial Park in the eyes of the Allies, the Allies believed that Dresden's two transportation routes were of military importance. If the bombing is successful, it can effectively weaken the German army's strategic transportation to the Eastern Front, destroy its main transportation hub, weaken Dresden's urban defense system, and help the Soviet Red Army defeat the German army on the Eastern Front faster. Afterwards, the Soviet Union pointed out that the Dresden bombing only destroyed the city's residential and industrial areas, and basically did not destroy the fortresses in eastern Dresden, so it helped the Soviet Union in slightest.
Before the large-scale air strikes in February 1945, this important cultural capital of Germany had never suffered large-scale attacks by the Allied forces. But by February 15, in just two days, the city had become a burning ruin.
▲In this official photo released by the British Royal Air Force, on February 14, 1945, the still-burning flame smoke drifted over the city of Dresden. The fire affected the central cargo warehouse and cargo material accumulation warehouse in Dresden, as well as truck transfer stations and major transportation hubs
▲In fact, in addition to the air strikes from No. 13 to No. 15, the U.S. Eighth Air Force launched two more air strikes, two of which occurred on March 2, targeting the city's railway transfer station, and a small bombing against the industrial zone occurred on April 17.Of course, this is no longer important. The previous air strikes have turned Dresden into ruins.
▲Dresden had poured in a large number of refugees fleeing from eastern Germany before the bombing. As an important cultural capital of Germany and even Europe, a large number of historical relics were destroyed, and their value is uncalculable. This is also the most morally controversial point. After the bombing, the Nazi German authorities immediately promoted the Dresden bombing as the Allied Dresden - Refugee Massacre. German Propaganda Minister Goebbels even made external publicity, and the bombing directly killed 200,000 people. However, according to post-war neutral statistics, 25,000 Germans died, but generally believed that they would be higher. In fact, most historians believe that the Dresden bombing was minimal to the war because Germany would soon collapse and this bombing did not have much effect on the war.
According to Max Hastings, by February 1945, the bombing of German cities had nothing to do with the outcome of the war, and the beautiful name Dresden resonated with cultured people across Europe - a home full of charm and beauty, a symbol of Baroque humanistic . The bombing of him undoubtedly destroyed the cultural beliefs in Germany and even Europe!
The Allied media also raised many questions about the bombing. Many people also believed that the bombing of Dresden was completely unnecessary, but the Allied defended it and insisted that Dresden was the main transportation hub in Germany and that the bombing was completely reasonable!
▲What is ridiculous is that Churchill, who was originally the mastermind and supporter of the Dresden bombing, tried to transfer the responsibility to the Royal Air Force because he was afraid of criticizing it by public opinion. He tried to break away from the bombing by sending a memorandum, but the Royal Air Force firmly refused to transfer the responsibility to them.
These bombs triggered a fire and formed a flame storm. The more cities burn, the more oxygen is consumed - and the bigger the flame storm becomes, most people are burned and suffocated. The temperature in Dresden reached 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit, and fleeing people even found that their feet were burned while running, and some even jumped into the reservoir built in the city center to avoid the fire.
▲The Allies dropped 3,300 tons of bombs on Dresden. Many of the bombs dropped were incendiary bombs.
▲After half a century of reconstruction, Dresden has returned to its original state, but the bombing 73 years ago is still an indelible pain in the city
Dresden bombing Japan, Germany, World War II, Germany Dresden photos Berlin bombing Churchill and Dresden World War II Allied bombing
