I thought it would be better to continue the discussion in here...
Lets take a look at the overall situation in Europe in early February 1945. Does it look good or bad for the Germans? Any signs of any potential counterattack throwing the allies back into the sea, or the Russians back into Russia? Any signs of increased German production, any signs of stubborn resistance in the west, or any great defensive lines in the east? Not really huh.
Well lets take a look at the Luftwaffe then. Can they take to the air in vast numbers and perhaps stop or disrupt any allied air missions? Any signs of any new fighter units going active? Do they even have fuel enough to sortie more than maybe 20 fighters at the same time? Not really.
Well then, lets take a look at Dresden. Prewar population of roughly 620.000. With all the refugees from the east its population is around 1.000.000 in early Feb 1945. Most of these refugees are simply passing through on their way west. Sleeping outside in freezing weather, carrying with them all their remaining belongings. Any German units in the area? Nope, as good as every available German soldier is at the front. Dresden is however protected by antiaircraft defenses in the form of antiaircraft guns and searchlights.
How about production then? Any industries in the area? Well..yes. Dresden has at least 110 factories and industrial enterprises that are legitimate military targets, and they are reported to be employing 50,000 workers. Among these are some dispersed aircraft components factories; a poison gas factory (Chemische Fabric Goye and Company); an anti-aircraft and field gun factory (Lehman); the Zeiss Ikon A.G., these are the guys who make the excellent zeiss optics for the German Tiger tanks, some other factories engaged in the production of electrical and X-ray apparatus (Koch and Sterzel A.G.), gears and differentials (Saxoniswerke), and electric gauges (Gebruder Bassler).
Anyway, where is that place located? Situated 71 miles E.S.E. from Leipzig and 111 miles S. of Berlin. Two major transport routs intersects in the city. The north-south axis between Germany and Czechoslovakia runs through the valley and gorge of the Elbe River, and the east-west axis along the foot of the central European uplands. In addition to this, Dresden is the junction of three great trunk routes in the German railway system: (1) Berlin-Prague-Vienna, (2) Munich-Breslau, and (3) Hamburg-Leipzig. As a key center in the dense Berlin-Leipzig railway complex, Dresden is connected to both cities by two main lines.
So, the case against Dresden so far, some industries, a handful of which might be considered secondary targets for any bomber mission. And rated as a key communications center together with Berlin, Leipzig and Munich when it comes to any east-west troop movements.
Enter the Russians.
At Yalta, the Soviet General Antonov made three specific requests for Allied assistance to the Russians.
"Our wishes are:
[SNIP]
b. By air action on communications hinder the enemy from carrying out the shifting of his troops to the East from the Western Front, from Norway, and from Italy (In particular, to paralyze the junctions of Berlin and Leipzig)."
Well then, the Russians wants the allies to prevent troop movement from the west to the east. Hey, look at Dresden. The marshalling yards has been bombed twice before. On 7/10/44 8th airforce send 30 bombers who delivered 72.5 tons on target. Then on 16/1/45 the brave 8th returned with 133 B-17's, this time virtually obliterating the marshalling yards with 322 tons of bombs, 42 of which were incendiaries. We know that the marshalling yards were not in operation less than a month after this strike. In fact there aren't that many trains running at all in Germany in Feb 1945. But lets not care about such petty details now. We must stop every possible troop movement from west to east. Berlin and Leipzig has already been hit hard many times. Berlin by a staggering 67,607.3 tons, and Leipzig by a modest 11,616.4 tons. Now its time for Dresden.
So...
On the night between the 13/14th of Feb 1945 the RAF Bomber Command conducted its glorious night raid on Dresden. 722 heavy bombers dropped 1477 tons of high explosive and 1182 tons of incendiary bombs on Dresden. Naturally they did not aim for anything in particular in the city. Heck no. The night bombing is still so inaccurate that the smallest thing they can hope to hit is a city, forget trying to target any marshalling yards. No sir. Aim for the city center. Still using the good 'ol bomber stream tactic, the bombers came in individually over the target in a long long line. The night bombings went on for the better part of the night, lasting several hours. Leaving behind what can only be described as I dunno...the scene of a crime?
The bombings resulted in fires that did great damage to the city proper, particularly in the older and more densely built up areas. Early official Allied post-strike reports estimated that 85 per cent of the fully built-up city area was destroyed, that the old part of the city, which comprised the greater portion of the built-up areas was largely wiped out, that the majority of buildings in the inner suburbs was gutted, and that in the outer suburbs, few buildings were effected by the area bombing attack. Virtually all major public buildings appeared heavily gutted or severely damaged. Public utilities, and facilities such as slaughter houses, warehouses, and distribution centers, were severely affected. A very large number of the city’s industrial facilities were destroyed or severely damaged, with perhaps a four-fifth’s reduction in the productive capacity of the arms plants. Later British assessments, which were more conservative, concluded that 23 per cent of the city’s industrial buildings were seriously damaged and that 56 per cent of the non-industrial buildings (exclusive of dwellings) had been heavily damaged. Of the total number of dwelling units in the city proper, 78,000 were regarded as demolished, 27,700 temporarily uninhabitable but ultimately repairable, and 64,500 readily repairable from minor damage. This later assessment indicated that 80 per cent of the city’s housing units had undergone some degree of damage and that 50 per cent of the dwellings had been demolished or seriously damaged.
So, dawn breaks on the 14th of February. No on can imagine the scenes in Dresden this morning. Anyway, as the firebrigades (or whats left of them anyway) of Dresden do their best to control some of the fires the 8th Airforce are preparing for the days strike. While the people of Dresden are fighting for their lives, trying to survive, trying to save their familymembers 316 B-17s are warming their engines. They arrive around noon. The citizens of the doomed city have no warning before the strike. No air sirens to alert them to the danger, everything in the city is already destroyed.
From the blue sky comes the second wave of destruction. This time a modest 295 tons of high explosive bombs, combined with 295 tons of incendiaries rains down on the city. This time however, the damage is concentrated in the marshalling yards area, after all, the bombers are B-17's, with their excellent Norden sights they actually have some chance of hitting what they are aiming at. The dense smoke over Dresden however makes aiming difficult, so the bombs are scattered all over the city once more.
Home they go, the brave crews of the mighty eight. Heroes of WWII, who took the fight to the Germans, and broke the back of the German war industry.
But they return of course. The next day 211 B-17's return with their load of 467 tons of High explosives. I'm not really sure why they did return a third time...a coup de graze perhaps?
I wont even bore you all with the numbers of civilians killed. No one will ever agree on the total number of killed in Dresden anyway, it was simply impossible to count them all. And no one will ever know how many refugees were in the city that first night.
Nor will anyone ever really care, no brit or american anyway. After all it was war, and the Germans started it. And what the Germans were doing in the east was far far worse. And take a look at Coventry 1940, the krauts did it first. Nope..those Germans sure had it coming.
I think I'll end this post with a quote that pretty much sums up the brittish view on things.
OPERATION 'THUNDERCLAP'
(Attack on German Civilian Morale)
Introduction [SNIP]
7. The following principles are put forward as essential to the achievement of the maximum moral effect upon a civilian population:-
(i) The attack must be delivered in such density that it imposes as nearly as possible a 100% risk of death to the individual in the area to which it is applied.
(ii) ... the total weight of the attack must be such as to produce an effect amounting to a national disaster.
(iii) The target chosen should be one involving the maximum associations, both traditional and personal, for the whole population.
(iv) The area selected should embrace the highest density of population.
(v) Attacks of this nature are likely to have maximum effect when the populaiton has become convinced that its Government is powerless to prevent a repetition. [SNIP]
15. Total devastation [...] would, moreover, offer incontovertible proof of a modern bomber force; it would convince our Russian allies [...] of the effectiveness of Anglo-American air power.
"the bombers ..... must in future be used to kill German civilians" - directive No.22 to BC
-War Cabinet policy paper, dated 3rd. November 1942
I really dont understand how any BC crew member who flew over Dresden, or any other German city for that matter, could ever look at himself in the mirror again without feeling disgust. But then again, that's just me.
