What Was The Reason For The Bombing Of Dresden

On the night of February 13, 1945, The British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) carried out Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris’ plan to bomb Dresden. The RAF launched a raid on the night of February 13/14, 1945 and the USAAF bombed during the days of February 14th, 15th and March 2nd. The allies air forces used area bombing (bombing the target and surrounding area to ensure the target is destroyed) for the mission because the technology at that time did not allow for precision bombing. The bombing of Dresden was not justified.

The allies reasoning behind the Bombing of Dresden revolved around the Russians. Churchill and Roosevelt had already decided that their current ally, Joseph Stalin was going to be an issue after the war. In the hopes of alarming the Russians, they bombed Dresden. Internal RAF documents suggest that one reason for the bombing of Dresden was to “…show the Russians what bomber technology can do.” With the “…Russian army threatening the heart of Saxony…” they thought this plan was necessary, but this was not a good enough reason to destroy a city. The allies should not have tried to plan their
Approximately thirty-five thousand to a hundred and thirty-five thousand German civilians died during the bombing. The allies sent “805 aircraft that dropped 1,478 tons of high explosives and 1,182 tons of incendiaries,” on Dresden. 27,700 tons of bombs were used in an average month, during World War Two. In high explosives alone, the allies used approximately five percent of that month’s usage, which is completely unnecessary. Numerous “…victims [died] of lack of oxygen,” according to Margaret Freyer and during the chaos a “… child flies in an arc into the fire.” This happened to countless innocent civilians, who were simply in wrong place at the wrong time. It is a shame that this gruesome event had to happen in the closing months of an already vicious