Reference Entry
ALLIED BOMBING OF DRESDEN BEGINS
On February 13th, 1945, Allied bombers began a series of attacks on the German city of Dresden that would continue into the following days and become one of the most debated episodes of the air war in Europe. Dresden had been a cultural center with limited heavy industry compared to some other German cities, but by early 1945 it also served as a transportation hub feeding the German Eastern Front.
Dated Historical Context
A RECORDED MOMENT IN HISTORY
Allied Bombing of Dresden Begins
On February 13th, 1945, Allied bombers began a series of attacks on the German city of Dresden that would continue into the following days and become one of the most debated episodes of the air war in Europe. Dresden had been a cultural center with limited heavy industry compared to some other German cities, but by early 1945 it also served as a transportation hub feeding the German Eastern Front. British and American planners targeted rail lines, industrial facilities, and communications networks, but the resulting firestorms devastated large swathes of the city and killed tens of thousands of civilians. United States Army Air Forces bombers participated alongside Royal Air Force crews, reflecting the combined nature of the Allied strategic air campaign. In military terms, the attacks sought to disrupt German movements as Soviet forces advanced from the east. In human and moral terms, the destruction of Dresden raised enduring questions about proportionality, necessity, and the limits of air power. The city’s fate shows both the reach and the cost of strategic bombing at the end of the Second World War.
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