Because the Allied bombing of German cities contributed to Germany’s defeat, it can be justified. Germany had carried out a series of raids and bombings on Britain and would soon become a threat to the Allied. The goal of the Allied was to weaken war material production and demoralize Germany into submission.
From 1939 to 1945, the Battle of the Atlantic would sink 175 ships and kill over 70,000 men on merchant and passenger ships. Germany’s goal was to “starve the British people into submission by destroying their sea communications and cutting them off from overseas supplies.”
Between 1940 and 1941, Germany bombed Britain in what was known as The Blitz. Germany’s goal was to demoralize Britain enough to surrender. Over 100 tones of explosives were dropped on 16 British cities. London was attacked 71 times, 57 nights in a row. Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Plymouth, Glasglow and many other cities were attacked multiple times. Over 40,000 civilians died and industrial cities were destroyed.
In November 1940, Coventry, an industrial city in Britain, was bombed. Thousands of incendiary bombs, which Britain would begin to use, were used to set the city on fire. 500 Germans completed the raid on Coventry within 10 hours. The city was heavily damaged with 2/3 of its buildings wrecked or destroyed.
Without the Allied bombing, Germany could have won the war. The bombing of Hamburg and Berlin contributed to the defeat of Germany. Hamburg had a large port and was known for its industry. Shipyards, U-boat pens, and oil refineries were targeted and bombed. Germany was still far from collapsing. Weapon production continued to increase; however, the bombing of Berlin caused Hitler to change the target of the Luftwaffe. Instead of targeting British airfields and air defenses, they would attack British cities. The British air defense was extremely weak and unprepared at this time. This switch allowed the British air defense to strengthen and rebuild.
The Vergeltungswaffen bombs, V1 and V2, were used by Germany to destruct Southern Britain. Hitler thought these bombs would be the key to his victory. The RAF and the USAF had found 96, of which they destroyed 73, locations where the V1 was going to be launched from. This left 23 V1’s that would claim the lives of thousands. The V1 and V2 weapons that remained killed about 115,000 British civillians. These weapons were mainly targeted at civilians. Imagine how many civilian lives would be lost if all 96 weapons were launched. The Bomber Command, Sir Arthur Harris, was in charge of bombing the launching sites of the V weapons. With that, he also targeted areas that contained large amounts of oil. The attack on German oil was very successful in reducing Germany’s fuel supply, which would in the long run contribute to the Allied victory.
Those involved in the bombing of German cities, could only rely on 3 things to help them determine where the bomb would land: A compass, airspeed, and wind direction. The bombings occurred at night, which would make it hard for the navigators to pinpoint an exact location or factory to bomb. Bombing obvious infrastructures and cities seemed like the best option for them. Since churches were large and easy to see, where one was in sight, a bomb was dropped.
Germany’s victory could have led to a European wide genocide similar to, but much larger than the holocaust. The 600,000 German casualties that resulted from the Allied bombing is a far less number than those that would die if Germany had conquered Europe. Think about how many Jews and non-Aryans were living in Europe and the Middle East at that time. If Europe were under Hitler’s power, most of the non-Aryans would be murdered.
The Allied bombing of German cities is justifiable. With all Germany’s attacks on Britain, it should be expected that Britain would fight back. The Allied suffered fewer casualties than Germany had due to bombing attacks; however, if they had not rushed to weaken and defeat Germany, the war would continue claiming the lives of many more. The bombing of German cities brought the war to a quicker end.
Although there were many civllian casualties the bombing of Germany during the war was justifiable. This is because it kept the Western Allies in the fight in continental Europe at a time in which they could not feasibly utilise ground forces. It also helped to demoralize the German people and keep the Luftwaffe occupied.
After the Evacuation of Dunkirk, the British Army was in bad shape. They had lost most of their equipment escaping and many of their comrades had been killed or wounded in France. They needed time to recover. The bombing of Germany was the only way for the British to stay in the fight in continental Europe at this time. This would be especially important in 1941 when Stalin was growing impatient with the inability of the British to initiate a second front in Western Europe. The bombing of Germany helped to calm a disgruntled and important ally.
The bombing of Germany helped to occupy the Luftwaffe. The bombing attacks diverted Luftwaffe attention to the home front. Many of the Luftwaffe's fighters and heavy artillery pieces were being diverted away from the Eastern Front where they could have made a critical difference.
The bombing of Germany also helped to demoralize the German people and disrupt industry. The bombing of Hamburg critically impacted German morale with Bomber Command taking few casualties. Raids on Dresden and other areas in the east of Germany would have similar results to Hamburg. Also many of the people living these industrial cities targeted by Bomber Command were involved either directly or indirectly with the German war effort. The deaths of these civillians greatly disrupted German industries and their ability to produce war materials.
The bombing made sense in light of German attacks on Britain as well. Both the Blitz and the V-1 and V-2 rocket attacks had greatly harmed the British people. It would have seemed odd to the British public if their air force stood down and did not take revenge on the Germans.
The head of Bomber Command Air Marshall "Bomber" Harris hoped to avoid the slaughter of ground forces through area bombing. He believed that he could prevent the British Army from having to undergo the horrific slaughters of World War One through his strategies. If his bombing raids were successful then ground forces would only have to deal with minor resistance by the time they reached Germany. Harris also believed that he could cripple German morale to such an extent that they could force Germany to surrender without having troops touch down on their soil. These raids had genuinely good intentions for a quick end to the war based on these plans.
As Detlef Siebert said "In war, morality is a luxury - and some rules of engagement can prove impractical". This is very true especially in the case of this war. The bombing of Germany may have had a horrific impact upon German civillians, but it had the genuine intentions of bringing a quick end to an already bloody war and to cause less hardship for Allied ground forces. In the face of evil forces like the Nazis sometimes what is morally correct is not always the most practical option.
The Allied bombing of German cities during the war unfortunately resulted in civilian deaths, but it was a justifiable part of World War II. In war, it is often necessary to kill others to save the lives of your own people.
At the time, the Allies were not ready to establish a second front in France, so the bombing of Germany allowed them to stay involved in the war and provide some relief to the Soviet Union by weakening Germany.
Bombs also destroyed some of Germany's industry. This made it more difficult for them to manufacture U-Boats, planes, and other war technology, which helped the Allies in other battles. The bombing was also intended to destroy Germany's will to resist. The success of that objective has been debated, but there is little doubt that it demoralized the German people to some extent.
A common criticism of the Allied bombing on Germany is that they hit cities rather than strategic targets, but that is an unfortunate byproduct of technology of the time. The Allies original goal was to hit specific locations, but bombs often ended up miles away from the actual target. This meant the Allies had little choice but to change their strategy to area bombing.
Those who oppose the bombing often seem to forget that Nazi Germany was determined to dominate Europe, and they attempted to do so through violent and brutal means.
While Germany inflicted terror upon the world during World War II, the German people were safe and removed from the fighting. The bombing of Germany sent a strong message to German leaders that what they were doing was not acceptable, and for the first time during the war, fear was spread throughout Germany.
In war, you have to do everything you can do to win. Following the rules and playing nice was not going to defeat a tyrannical nation who had broken every rule in the book.
The Allied bombing of German cities was unjustifiable because it did not serve its purpose, it removed forces and resources from campaigns of more importance, the Allies continued to use the area bombing technique when they were capable of more accuracy, and it was morally unacceptable. When the Allies first decided to bomb German cities, the goal was to industrially cripple their enemy, and to assist their ally Stalin in his campaigns against Germany in the East. This would have been a plausible strategy, but when they began to use area bombing- whether because their ability to aim the bombs was limited or because they wanted to break German morale- many people were killed, they did not improve their techniques to avoid this, and there were other places where the air force was needed.
First of all, the bombing of German cities wasn’t very successful, at least not at the beginning. It set out to cripple Germany’s industry and crush the people’s will to fight, but this was not happening at first: by the end of 1942, after a year of bombing, Germany’s oil industry was unscathed, industrial production had actually increased by 50%, and the German air force was growing. British and American losses were almost synonymous with that of the Luftwaffe, and the air raids were, in fact, dealing a blow to Allied civilian morale. It took until 1944 for this offensive to actually have a marked effect on the German war effort, in the meantime costing the Allies a lot, in finances and in the planes lost. Continuing this strategy was an interesting decision, seeing as there were other uses for the air force in missions that were turning out to be more fruitful.
The forces and resources used in the bombing of German cities could have been put to other uses. The Battle of the Atlantic is one of them. Defending the coast and escorting merchant ships across the ocean were important places for airplanes to be, and they proved to be very successful in protecting ships from U-boats. Another use for the planes used for bombing was the mine-laying program, which was turning out to be very effective as well. It’s questionable whether the planes would have produced more results for the Allies bombing Germany, especially at the beginning of the campaign.
Once the bombing began to become successful, and technologies improved that allowed more accuracy in bombing, area bombing was still used. The low level marking technique, for example, could be used to hit more specific targets, and although some teams did aim to do this, many did not. Many of the air raids were purposed to kill civilians even though they were capable of targeting industrially significant areas, such as the bombing of Dresden by Arthur Harris’ Bomber Command. Winston Churchill himself said of this campaign: “The destruction of Dresden remains a serious query against the conduct of Allied bombing”.
Finally, the question of the morality of area bombing must be considered, especially in raids like that of Dresden, in which the only goal was to kill civilians. When bombing industrial targets, there are always innocent people that are going to lose their lives, and this in itself may be morally unacceptable, but in the situation that there is no industrial target and the sole purpose of killing the civilians is to terrorize them, the Allies crossed the line. They were claiming to save the world from the barbarian Nazis that would extend their atrocities across Europe should the Allies be defeated, and yet were barbarically burning German civilians and their cities. The other reason for area bombing was to minimize further combat on the ground, in which many soldiers would die. Avoiding ground combat, in which troops that were designated to fight would be killed, was possibly less a violation of morality than was bombing civilians that were not supposed to be in danger.
The Allies should not have continued their bombing of German cities. At the beginning, it was not achieving its goals, the costs were high, and the planes could have been used for other campaigns. When bombing technology improved such that it was possible to target industrial bases as opposed to causing widespread destruction, many air raids continued to aim to terrorize German civilians. Even in war, when morality is rare, and when revenge is pushing the war machine forward, the final goal of peace and of pushing back the aggressor remains: the Allied bombing campaign sunk to the barbaric level of Nazi tactics that the Allies were trying to prevent the world from experiencing, and it murdered and destroyed the lifestyle of many innocent German civilians purely for the purpose of terrifying them, who may have had no will to war in the first place.
In war, ethics are a hard to come by; if you have the chance to undermine and weaken the moral of the opposing side then it is imperative that you take it. There are many reasons to justify the allied bombing campaign of Germany, all of which are directly related to saving allied troops by slowing down the German war machine. During the time of the war it was not the allied forces who initiated the bombing campaign but the Germans. There were strategic bombings all over England of everything from factories to airfields, all affecting civilian life. England had no choice but to retaliate, if they did not they would have looked weak in the eyes of the Nazis and the Nazis may have escalated their attacks. When the Nazis attacked London, by accident or not, the British again had no other choice but to retaliate with an attack on Berlin or else risk the chance of looking weak in the face of the Germans. The retaliation attacks by the allies focused on the strategic bombings of targets such as airfields and armament factories in Germany. The lack of technology, however, did not allow the allies, or for that matter the Germans, the ability to precisely hit their targets. They therefore had to adopt the strategy of “area bombing”. “Area bombing” also had the goal of lowering the moral of the enemy civilian population. The immediate target of these bombing raids was no longer military or industrial instillations. Instead from this point on the bombers targets were larger, more prominent facilities in industrial towns, such as churches. They aimed for these targets as they knew that important industrial war buildings were nearby. With a target such as this, the attack force was sure to strike the intended enemy facility, or at least the people who worked there. A new meaning of war now arose as the distinction between combatants and non-combatants changed. Every person in an “industrial town” was now a target as they were all seen to contribute to the German war effort. The Germans however, were also guilty of targeting civilian areas as the V1 and V2 rockets, as well as the Luftwaffe, also targeted “industrial towns” causing many British civilian deaths. There was no choice for the British but to retaliate as the public expected the Germans to feel the same damage and pain that they had laid upon them. Near the end of the war the Allied bombing campaign scarcely attacked any cities as it shifted its efforts to aid the allied ground forces invading Germany. Bombing now focused on V rocket sights, and attacks on commodities that fueled Germany’s war industry, such as vital fuel supplies. It was discovered from intercepted German communications that these took a significant toll on their war effort. During the last months of the war the allies escalated their bombing campaign, and by then most German towns of industrial importance had been demolished. Despite these efforts, every day the Nazis continued to kill thousands of allied soldiers on the battlefield as well as all of the innocent in the concentration camps, and countless others from the V rocket attacks on Britain. At this time the allied bombing campaign had reached a point where the mere possibility of saving allied lives was felt to justify the deaths of tens of thousands of German civilians. In the end the bombing was, in the words of Winston Churchill, “mere acts of terror and wanton destruction”. In war, however, doing what is morally right does not guarantee victory, and sometimes you have to stoop, close if not all the way, to the level of your enemy to achieve triumph over them. For all of these reasons I believe that the Allied bombing of German cities during the war was justified.
The Allied bombing of German cities during the war was justifiable. The bombings did help the Allies win for certain reasons. These reasons were that they damaged German industry and saved the lives of many Allied that would have been killed if they had attempted to do occupy Germany. The main goal of the bombings was to destroy German industry to hinder their ability to create supplies for the army and to demoralize the Germans. The Allies were successful with destroying industrial buildings, which led to the German army having trouble creating supplies for their troops due to the lack of industry. The bombings killed many civilians in the process, but this is unavoidable when bombing cities in order to destroy industries. The bombings also helped save many Allied soldiers. The bombings had saved the lives of many Allied soldiers because they would not be sent to occupy Germany. An occupation of Germany would have caused the death of many Allied soldiers who would have been useful for other battles. I believe the bombings were justified because the hindered the German army and saved the lives of many Allied soldiers.
The Allied bombing of German cities was justifiable. While the bombings started out seemingly ineffective, this changed as more bombings allowed the Allies to sort out the ineffective aspects of it so that the technique and technology could improve. These advancements allowed it to become more effective in conjunction with how the Allies’ widened their target, which in turn, increased their accuracy. Hamburg makes for a good example of the effectiveness of the strategy, area bombing, which replaced the more precise target bombings. While the city was thoroughly reduced to a wreck, the losses of the Allies were low.
There is no doubt that being suddenly bombed and engulfed in flames while trapped under a caved in building does a number on one’s psyche. The bombing of Dresden no doubt rattled morale in inducing such terror as this time, the goal was specifically to kill civilians in the city. While it once fuelled propaganda, one does not remain forever immune to the exposure of these such events. Even Goring allegedly thought that Germany had met demise, on seeing Mustangs in the sky in Berlin.
Industrial towns, which fed and armed the military, were destroyed and destroying German anything was a good sign. The Allied troops were not yet ready to start a second front on land in continental Europe. These bombings, at the very least, drew some attention away from the eastern front, which were the Russians’ alone to defend.
On the argument made on innocent civilians being killed in the allied bombings, it seemed inevitable in World War II, after the Germans had bombed highly populated areas of London. If one wants to critique morality and humanity in the affairs of war, this is no place to start. The very intention was to crush German morale and what better way to do it than with the casualty of many and better yet - civilians? As to whether the Germans purposefully bombed London or not, it had happened regardless of intent. It would come as a surprise not to consider retribution. As juvenile as this defence may be, it is what it is: the Germans started it.
This notion of morals and righteousness both have to take a backseat and lend way to the priority: defeating the enemy. The bombings took many lives but they were a necessary evil, paving the path to the victory of the Allies.
The allied bombing of German cities during the war is justifiable. To start would be how the Germans bombed England first and expecting the allies to be magnanimous towards Germany in this case is absurd. War itself is a messy sad business, and cities being bombed fall hand in hand. Not that any of this is a good thing, but it is justifiable. “All is fair in Love and War”. To digress, the Germans used this tactic before. They threatened to bomb Rotterdam to the Dutch, and followed through in effort to besiege the city. So it would be hypocritical to point fingers at the allies.
The war itself as a whole is a very horrible event, no part of it except the end has light. Yet necessary measures were taken. The allied bombing of German cities during the war is also known as part of Strategic Bombing. The British announced it as a military tactic and to memorialize. It would target production, industry, even destroy railways and resources the Germans needed to win the war. Industrial workers play a huge part of the war as well and unfortunately benefited the allies to rid German Industrial workers. When the allies bombed Berlin, it only destroyed 33% of the city, and Leipzig was only 20% destroyed. Compared to the damage the Germans did to the Allies City is much worse.
A fantastic example would be the bombing of Dresden. As a very popular city, it was also very popular for the war. "one of the foremost industrial locations of the Reich" Thousands of bombs were dropped, turning the whole city into fire. With many industrial factories, resources, military headquarters, and railways. A German Army High command’s weapons office stated 127 factories that supplied the German army with materiel. When the allies bombed it, it shook up all of Germany, and helped destroy things Germany needed. Thus benefiting victory for the allies. Day bombing was called "precision bombing", bombs fell somewhere near a specific designated target such as a railway yard. Which cut off transportation for the German Military. The attacks on Germany's canals and railroads made transportation of materiel difficult. When things like oil production, oil refineries, and tank farms were bombed it was a huge contribution to collapse of Germany in 1945. It also helped the allies to stay fighting in continental Europe thus helping the allies win the war.
The allied bombing of German cities during the war, because it did help the allies cripple Germany as much as possible. A huge part of the bombing was to demolish German industry and slow down their ability to produce war material. Which is the biggest thing they accomplished, the allies were wasting their time and money with strategic bombing. Majority of their bombs did not hit their targets and was a complete fail. The bombings were successful when it came to weakening and destroying Germany’s industry and it also kept the allies’ troop alive. With bombing they did not have to risk their life with occupying Germany. If they chose to occupy instead they would lose a lot of their arm forces which make them weaker than Germany. Therefore the allied bombing was justifiable on the behalf of the allied troops.
Britain was not the first to bombo cities, as Germany's Luffwaffe so avidly 'blitzed' through France and Britain. Although it is hard to decipher ethics and morality into war tactics, the Allied bombing of German cities could have been justified. The bombing initially involved strategic bombing targets in Germany, but was later changed to larger area targets like industrial and plants and communication centers. Britain bombed Germany as a way of revenge for the cities that were bombed in the U.K. The objective of the Allied bombings were to demoralize Germany so much that they would resist the urge to fight back. Had it not been for the bombing of Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, and Dresden the German military would not have been weak enough to stop the advance on war and conquer other territory. Although the Allied bombing did not achieve its objective in completely stopping Germany from following through with the war, Britain was successful in the sense that it slowed down the German military troops and deterred them from advancing quickly and reaching victory.
Killing civilians always seems like a horrendous activity, no matter when or where it takes place. Naturally, it’s a first reaction to believe that the bombings would be unjustified. However, we can look at it from two different points of view. On one hand, hundreds of thousands of people were killed or injured. On the other hand, this was a war. War is not a walk in the park on a sunny day. Yes, usually those people are soldiers who risk their lives by choice, but casualties are to be expected anyway. The bombings were justifiable because it is war, and people are going to do everything in their power to win. The British tactics to help them win were primarily to break the morale of the German people and destroy their industry. It is debatable whether or not the bombings strengthened and angered the Germans or weakened them. In all honesty though, if your entire neighborhood was burning, wouldn't you be a little upset? Similarly, you’d be upset if your place of work was completely destroyed. With large factories and industrial buildings no longer putting out weapons and artillery for the Germans, the Allies had a small advantage. But any advantage against the Germans was pretty useful. Part of the reason the bombings were successful in destroying the moral of the Germans was because Hitler had promised that Berlin would not be bombed. In fact, in both WWI and WWII, there were few, if any, actual battles fought on German soil. With the advantages of the German moral being lowered and ability to supply military goods slowed, the Allies were able to continue to fight back, and eventually be victorious.
The Allied bombings of German cities were totally justified. Even though it killed many German civilians, there is no doubt it contributed to the Ally victory. Strategic spot bombing was wildly inaccurate and ineffective, with only 50% of the American bombs landing within 2 miles of their target point. The targeted bombing of factories and armouries was a waste of valuable wartime resources. Not only did area bombing drain resources from the enemy, it also had the job of weakened the public’s will to carry on the fight. And even those German civilians cannot be assumed “innocent” during a time of war, it can be easily assumed that the vast majority were in some way contributing to the Axis’ war efforts. The German army was certainly not thinking about the civilians either, firing their v1 and v2 rockets into British cities on top of the regular air raids and bombings of British cities. It can also be said that the Allied bombings had the effect of distracting the Luftwaffe from their jobs of bombing British cities and fight the war on the eastern front. The effectiveness of the area bombing was plain to see , and by the last months of the war, all the German cities of any industrial importance had been destroyed. The bombing of the German cities also gave the Allies another gift, an arguably very important gift: time. While the allies were not prepared or even able to start a second front in France on the ground, the Allied air force most certainly could have an effect. Although morally quite shady, during war practicality is paramount, and the Allied bombings of German cities were not only practical, but necessary in the fight for Allied victory.
The bombing of German cities during the war was justifiable In a war as serious as WWII where victory was needed at any cause, it’s fair to say that the bombings was just another element of the modern warfare. City bombing was indeed started by the Germans during the blitz, and the British carried out to bomb specific locations such as factories that were producing war materials in the Nazi war effort. The objective of the bombing was to slow down and drain the German resources and to soften up the cities for when the Allies are ready to push through Germany. Although the bomber’s were often missing their targets, and killing civilians, it was still producing a good cause for the allies, as any damage to German cities at the time was needed. It is not fair to say that the civilians were completely innocent, as they were doing their part in helping fight this war, such as working at factories that were producing war materials. With the large amount of civilians being killed during bombing, it helped to lower their will to fight on. It is also justifiable that the bombing technology was not at the level where the bombing was precise, which caused the bombers to miss their targets and to bomb less strategic spots. The British felt like they must bomb Germany to relieve the heavy attack on the Soviets, and to also make a pay back to Germany for the heavy bombing Britain took during the Battle of Britain. With only months remaining, a lot of German industrial cities were demolished into rubble, which gave the allies an easier way through Germany to Berlin, and as well destroyed important factories that were producing war goods for the Nazi’s. There was no other way to attack Germany at the time then through the air. Germany was in a good condition as no fighting took place on its soil, the bombing had to be done to show that Britain is in a war, as well to soften up Germany as best as they can. The bombing was definitely justifiable as Germany was beginning to weaken at home and at the fronts during late stages of the war.
I believe the Allied bombing of German cities was justified. Partly because of the fact that Germany started the offensive on the night of August 24th, 1940 as the German Luftwaffe - 'accidentally' dropped some bombs over London, which served as an utter embarrassment to the British. The prime minister retaliated with a raid on Berlin. Hitler had responded to that by going ahead with the Blitz, in the next few months and years the countries had raided each other simultaneously on each country's cities.
Britain had to show Germany, and Russia along with the rest of the world that it was actually fighting a war, and Bomber Command was the only force that could attack Germany directly. Britain had to think of something to do to help the Russians with their fight against Germany as the Allies could not establish a Second Front in France with ground troops. After 22 June, 1941 and the German attack on the Soviet Union, this was most concerning, for the soviets were quick to point out that they were doing almost all the dying and politely demanded a Second Front. The offensive was therefore, in part, a means of calming a slightly pissed off ally.
Britain's air force started realizing that its bombers were unable to find/hit specific war targets such as airfields or armament factories. Only 1/5 aircraft seemed to be succeeding in dropping its bombs within five miles of its target. Under these circumstances the offensive would only be effective if the bombs were directed at targets such as cities, so in February 1942, focus was shifted onto the 'morale of the enemy civil population (area bombing,) which became most effective. Not only did the allied bombing drain the enemy's resources, and slowly discourage/scare the public into surrender, it gave the allies time, which helped them prepare their rearmament, they had little ground forces and not a chance of being able to establish a second front in France.
The Allied bombing of German cities during the war was justifiable. Even though the bombing were very tragic to the German civilians they did help Britain win the war against Germany. The Bombing was a strategy to stop Germany from having success in the war. The Germans attacked first in cities like Glasgow, Briminghan, Bristol, Liverpool and London in Britain called “the Blitz” and over 40, 000 civilians died. The British strategy o help them win were to break the morale of the German people and to wreck there industry. The Bombings weakened the Germans, their army and with the 50,000 innocent men women and children who died as civilians, Britain gained its advantage on the germans because their will to fight was not there anymore. Its clear to me that Germany started the bombing with England. And for that I think the bombing of the germany cities were justifiable even though that many civilians died during the attacks. It had to be done if England wanted to win the war. Germany was willing to do what ever it took to take over Europe and Britain did the same to end the second world war.
The bombing of German cities was justifiable. Germany had planned to invade Britain and had just been bombed British airfields and London. This was known as Operation Sea Lion. This provided justification for Britain to bomb Germany as did the millions of lives that would be saved from the peril of being ruled by Hitler.
Nazi Germany wanted control of Europe. Though the initial London bombing was accidental, there were several other bombs on British airfields. These actions showed Britain that Germany had England in their crosshairs. The bombing of Berlin was seen as a way to deterrent, a means to destroy German morale, and slow Hitler down. It was incredibly important to win; another justification of Britain’s bombing tactics.
Such tactics are often cited as unethical, as they killed thousands of “innocent civilians”. But this has to be put into perspective- Hitler’s beliefs and aggression were killing millions of people. The bombing of Berlin and other German cities saved countless lives, as they were a key step in stopping Hitler. If Nazi Germany had won this battle, it is plausible that Hitler would have won the war. If the Axis powers were victorious, then discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism could have become the prerogatives of European governments. Civilians who were not considered Aryan would then be targeted. The fact that Britain’s bombs were able to shift Hitler’s attention to attacking major British cities, instead of airfields, gave the Fighter Command some time to recover from the previous damage inflicted upon them by Germany. Britain was then better able to counterattack Germany, which was a major development in the battle. The bombing of Berlin was the turning point in the Battle of Britain, the significance of which cannot be overlooked.
The bombing of German cities does have negative connotations; however, the pros clearly outweigh the cons when it comes to defeating Hitler and Nazi Germany.
The bombing of German cities was justified. It may be viewed simply as England taking revenge on Germany for the bombing of London and other British cities, however the tactical aspects of it made it much more effective in the war effort than if it was just to “make Germany pay.”
At first the effectiveness of the attacks was questionable, RAF Bombers rarely hitting their targets, the Terror Bombing actually strengthening Germany’s will to fight, the lack of accuracy in bombing. However, as time went on, the Allies became more adept at performing these raids and the plan started to take shape. The campaign would be “focused on the morale of the enemy civil population and in particular the industrial workers.” Therefore the primary targets (submarine construction yards, aircraft industry, transportation, oil plants, etc) were set. If the Allies could destroy German resources and limit their war production turnover, Hitler would have a much harder time fighting this war let alone winning.
In war it is more important that you kill to protect your own rather than allow the enemy to triumph knowing that if they were to win, your people will pay. The “Battle of Hamburg” is an example of this and was truly a victory for the Allies in the fact that the city was devastated from the bombs dropped. The firestorm from the incendiary bombs leveled the city meanwhile killing mass numbers of German civilians. The slaughter was by no means ethical, but it served its purpose and delivered a giant blow to the German morale.
The bombing of German cities was not only able to diminish German morale; it also limited the resources that were allowing Hitler to continue with his strong offensives. While achieving both of the main goals the area bombing was designed to, the Allies also managed to do this at little cost. The difference in lives lost on the Allied side to the lives lost on the German side is tremendous. However unethical it was to take hundreds of civilian lives, in the long run the bombing weakened Germany and was a key factor in the defeat of Hitler.
The bombing of German cities during World War 2 was justified. Although it was cruel, it was necessary to bring the Germans down. Bombing of the cities was used to destroy war supplies and diminish the Germans moral. With wave after wave of bombing teams cities and war supplies were being flattened. This may have been started as retaliation for the bombing of London and other British cities but ended up being a mass bombing with thousands of deaths. At first the bombing was just upsetting the Germans and gave them a good reason to fight. But after wave after wave of bomb squads and cities being taken down, the Germans started to lose their determination. The incendiary bombs did their job and brought down cities very fast. Since Britain had to show Russia that the Russians are not doing all the fighting the bombing went on. To improve the damage down they used the strategy called area bombing to do as much damage as possible since precision bombing on certain factories was not effective enough. The bombing campaign was also necessary because it was the only way to attack Germany directly. The bombing kept German troops at home which helped out the fighting fronts. The horrific event of the bombing was a necessity in the war effort to help defeat Germany.
The bombing of Germany during WW2 was justified. The bombing did cost civilian lives, but it also damaged and destroyed factories. The relentless bombing was also an attempt to break German moral. Germany already had limited supplies and material and this just brought destruction to them. The German bombings also showed Russia that the British weren't just twiddling their thumbs, as the French were, and sitting on their island waiting for Russia to defeat most of the Germans.
I believe that the bombing of Germany during World War Two was completely justified. First off, Germany bombed Britain first during the Blitz, so they pretty much had it coming. Also, the bombing wasn't intentional when it came to bombing the German cities and civilians. The purpose was to bring down the German morale and to prove to the Soviet Union that Britain were actually apart of this war. The Soviets felt that the British were standing idly by while they fought the war against Germany. The British weren't able to bomb accurately, so they had no choice but to area bomb Berlin. The bombing of Berlin not only damaged, but destroyed some of Germany's best factories. Germany already had limited resources compared to Britain, so destroying some of their means of reproducing some of their materials and products. The bombing of Berlin could make the British plan of 'Operation Overlord' unnecessary. Operation Overlord was the invasion of the German-occupied European countries. They hoped that the bombing would leave Germany in the dumps so a full invasion wasn't needed. The British bombing of Berlin showed how superior the RAF was compared to the Luftwaffe which was important to the D-Day landings. The Allies focused on bombing Hitler's oil fields. The bombing of these would severely hurt the Nazis because they really needed the oil for their various campaigns as well as their air force and military. All these reasons show how the bombing of Berlin in WWII was justified.
The bombing of German cities during World War II was justifiable. The main goal of the Allied bombing strategy was to weaken war material production and in so doing, demoralize the Germans into submission and defeat. The Evacuation of Dunkirk had left the British army weakened and without materials and equipment. However, they could not take the time to recover those soldiers and materials they had lost, so the bombing of German cities was a way to stay in the fight in Europe, and give time for military losses to be recovered. At this point, Bomber Command was Britain’s only way of attacking Germany directly. The overall aim was to shorten the war and save Allied lives. The Allied bombing of Germany could be seen as an attack of revenge in response to the bombing raid by Hitler and the Nazis on Britain. Churchill began to feel that there was a need for an ‘absolutely devastating exterminating attack by very heavy bombers from this country upon the Nazi homeland’ when in August 1940 the Luftwaffe accidentally and against Hitler’s orders, dropped bombs over London. Churchill then requested a raid on Berlin as retribution, which Hitler then responded by going ahead with The Blitz. Revenge may not be the best policy, but because of that as one of the driving forces in the Allied attacks, it did eventually lead to Germany’s defeat and surrender. British Bomber Command used the strategy of “area bombing” designed to undermine enemy morale by wholesale bombing by night. It was unsuccessful in the beginning, with the RAF bombers barely hitting the targets they intended, and this “terror bombing” actually strengthening the will of Germany instead of doing the opposite. On the other hand, a positive result of the initial effort was that it showed the inadequacy of Bomber Command’s operational effectiveness, which led to improvements in radar, navigation techniques, accuracy, and bomber fleet size. Due to these improvements in the technology of the bombings, bombing strategy became more effective, and with the widening of the Allies’ target, more accurate as well. Eventually as time went on the raids started to become more successful, and focused on primary targets such as submarine construction yards, transportation, oil plants, and aircraft industry. A lot of Bomber Command’s attacks were in support of the Allied ground forces as well as bombing Hitler’s V rocket sites and attacking oil targets. It was justifiable to attack Hitler’s V rockets as they were used by the Nazis to kill thousands on the battlefield and the concentration camps, murdering and terrorizing the civilians in Britain. Bomber Command Air Marshal Harris wanted to avoid the slaughter of the Allied ground forces through strategic bombing, as well as cripple the German morale to an extent where Germany would have to surrender. At the Casablanca Conference in 1943, Britain and the US adopted a bombing policy that directed the primary objective to be “the progressive destruction and dislocation of the German military, industrial and economic system and the undermining of the morale of the German people to a point where their capacity for armed resistance is fatally weakened”. The American in particular, wanted to be selective and accurate with targets. The area bombing of Hamburg is an example of the effective targeting, as well as the idea of killing in order to protect your own people. The incendiary bombs dropped from the Allied planes created firestorms that demolished cities as well as leaving large numbers of German civilian casualties. Although this seems horrendous, it did serve a purpose by weakening the morale of the Germans.
The bombing of Dresden, as well as Berlin, Leipzig, and other east German cities was justifiable as it was used to cause confusion in the evacuation from the east’ as well as ‘hamper the movements of troops from the west’. Although it was unethical to target refugees, as they did not contribute to the German war effort, they were thought of as legitimate targets as the attacks on them caused chaos could obstruct the German troop reinforcements on the Eastern Front. Overall, the bombing offensive against Germany was justified because it made a significant contribution to the ultimate defeat of Germany. The Germans were forced to keep a large number of fighters at home to defend German airspace as well as anti-aircraft guns that could have been used elsewhere to attack Allied tanks on the ground. Severe damage had been done to industry, fuel supplies and transport as the Allies became more selective and accurate with their targets. In war, morality can become an unaffordable luxury, and actions need to be taken to save the lives of your own people. This means that moral standards sometimes have to be sacrificed in the short term. Once war is underway, it is rarely civilized or humanized, and no one comes out of it innocent.
The Allied bombing of German cities during the war was justifiable. In August 1940, Germany dropped bombs on the Allied city of London, so the Allies had a reason to hold resentment. The strategies in bombing many German cities, was to weaken the morale of their people. With the Nazis quickly taking over many European countries, the Allies believed the bombing would help them boost their moral and contribute to Germany surrendering.
The Allies were justified in bombing German cities. London had been bombed by the Germany first, and although they said it was an “accident,” the German still destroyed and killed many buildings and innocent civilians. They wanted to “seek revenge for the German bombs which had fallen on Britain.” This was a war, and Germany had to expect some counter attack. War is war, which means there are always going to be bombs and each side will always try to find ways to weaken the other side. People cannot say that bombing German cities was not justified, because that’s what war is, bombs and more bombs.
One of the Allied strategies was to weaken the morale of the German people. Many say that it was not justified because they were dropping bombs on women and children, but that’s the exact same thing the Germans “accidently” did to the British cities. When the Allies wanted to demoralize Germany, and the Germans were angry about them killing innocent Germans, the Nazis at the same time were killing thousands of innocent people in the concentrations camps. There was no justification in what the Nazis did, so they did not have the right to be angry at the British for killing innocent Germans. The biggest thing that the Allies got from bombing German cities was boosting the Allied morale. With the Nazis winning the war at the time, the Allies needed something to brighten their spirits, and this bombing helped.
The main thing that the Allies wanted to get from the bombing was to get the Germans to surrender. The Allies believed that the only way they could remain in this war and keep up with the Nazis was to use heavy bombers. Germans were moving forward and continuing to win annex land. “The Allies had to show Germany and the rest of the world that it was actually fighting in the war.” They couldn’t let Germany continue demolishing counties and walking all over Europe. They had to do something that would bring fear to the Germans.
The bombing of German cities by the Allies was completely justified. The Germans had bombed British cities first and they “deserved to reap in the whirlwind they had sown.” The Germans were demoralizing people throughout Europe and it was time for the Allies to show the German people what it felt like. Bombing the German cities helped boost the Allies morale and helped them have faith in winning this war. The Allies needed this bombing to happen, they needed people to fear them and they needed Germany to be informed that the Allies were not going to back down.
The bombing of German cities during World War II were not justified for many reasons, and none of them moral. The claimed purpose of the allied bombings on Germany may have been to demoralize the population and reduce production, but quite the opposite happened in the end. Some may claim that the bombing campaigns lead to the end of the war, or at least expedited the victory; however, how can you say that bombing a city makes the army any weaker?
The entire point to bombing any city is to try to force the population to surrender or give up against an enemy, but as seen in Germany quite the opposite happened. The entire population including the soldiers resisted or fought with even more ferocity, defiance and was more determined than ever to defeat the enemy. That right there makes the argument of the bombing weakening the German moral invalid, seeing the exact opposite happened in the end. Now I’ve always been curious, how does bombing a city of innocent people lead to a weakness in the armed forces? I for one cannot see any way that bombing cities makes the army weak. The only way that this could make sense would be if the factories in the city were destroyed or significantly damaged, which did not happen because of bombing raids.
The might of the German war machine would and did not stop production, no matter how many bombs the Allies dropped on it. While the allied bombing campaigns were active the German war materiel production actually rose by 50% and did not fall below the starting figure until 1944, at which point Germany had lost the war for other reasons, not the bombing campaigns. Now if you’re wondering “didn’t the bombing reduce the potential of German industry?” well look at it this way, Germany was not prepared for a long war, they simply did not have the resources to increase their already strong industry more than 50%, especially if they are at war. This failure to reduce or at least cripple the German war effort makes it unjustified, especially if an end justifies a means. So is killing thousands of civilians just to maybe damage an insignificant portion of the war effort? There was no way to confirm if the bombing raids ever did more than just kill civilians, let alone come up with numbers claiming the bombing raids made any significant impact in the war.
The only way any person can justify the slaughter of innocent women, children, young and old would be if in the end it saved lives. The bombing of German cities did not save lives, the campaigns were ineffective at halting the German war effort and in the end there is no evidence that a lack of bombing on cities would have changed the outcome of the war.
To answer this question, one must first ask “is fighting in war justifiable?” The answer is yes. The goal of the bombing of German cities was to destroy factories and production facilities which contributed to the German war effort, and to pound the Germans into submission. The Germans did not submit because of the bombing but the bombing of the cities was effective. It destroyed homes and streets and other infrastructure vital to the cities and to the production establishments; and although German production continued to rise by fifty percent until 1944, one can only speculate how much more their production would have grown if left unhindered by the bombing. The only argument that could really stand up against this is the moral side: “thousands and thousands of German people died for no reason and the bombing of German cities is akin to the Holocaust.” The German people were part of a hostile nation which threatened the allies’ very existence; the victims of the Holocaust were of no such danger or threat to anyone. When a country is at war, every citizen of that country is a potential fighter, a potential soldier, and if that enemy gets in the way of bombing, so be it; a bombing raid should not be cancelled because civilians are present, if that were the case then they would have put civilians in their military bases to say “you can’t bomb us here, there are civilians.” The bombing was certainly justifiable and suitable for the circumstances.
As the Germans blitzed the British and bombed London first, it was expected that the British would want to retaliate. The objective of bombing Germany was to destroy German morale and industries that were contributing to the German war effort. Had the British not retaliated, the Germans would not have been denied conquest for the first time, and would have been made stronger as the Luftwaffe would have established themselves superior to the RAF.
Although the German morale was not significantly broken by these bombings, the British could only act on what they believed would happen, which was that the morale would be reduced if they saw that the war was coming to them. The Allies bombed Hamburg, and because it was one of the bigger cities in Germany, this also was an attempt to show many of the civilians that their government and Hitler could not protect them. Hitler had previously promised that Berlin would not be bombed as well, but that obviously did not happen.The bombing of Hamburg also destroyed German industries, which would later help to slow down the German war efforts as they had less supplies to work with. The British bombed all the cities of industrial importance to the German army, and attempted to "soften" them for when the Allies did invade on land. This also slowed down the Germans and helped the British to save the lives of their own troops, as they were hoping that Germany would be shaken up enough that the resistance would be of a lesser extent. This helped to unify the British in defeating the Germans, as their morale was now at a much higher level. The bombing also helped to diminish some of Germany's resources and war production, which made it much more difficult for them to win the war as they had less to work with.
The bombing also slowed down the German war effort in the way that they were now focused on bombing cities instead of bombing airfields that were vital to a British victory. This allowed the RAF time to group and organize a strategy that they could use to defeat the Germans in the long run. This served as a turning point in the war, as it was the first time that Germany would be denied conquest, which set up the stage for the British to defeat the Germans in the war.
The Allied bombings of German cities such as Berlin and Hamburg were justifiable because it contributed in stopping Germany of success in war. The goals of these bombings were strategic. They may come off to some as unethical or immoral, but Britain also weren't the first to bomb cities and industries.
Britain bombed Germany not only to cause militaristic weakness, but also as revenge. Germany bombed cities in Britain such as Glasgow, Bristol, Liverpool, and Birmingham, killing over 40,000 civilians and destroying their cities and structures. This was known as the Blitz and took place in 1940-41. But, the main goal of these bombings in Germany was to cause weakness to their military, and in hopes that Germany would surrender, which didn't happen until May 7th, 1945.
A very important bombing was the one of Berlin, which caused the Luftwaffe target to change under Hitler’s demands. This meant that rather than bombing Britain’s already very weak military, they would bomb cities; which was unfortunate, but was good in helping Britain gain time in preparing for actual battle. After changing tactics and imposing area bombing, accuracy improved and in the summer of 1944, bomber command put efforts into support of the Allied ground forces, only bombing very few cities. They bombed Hitler’s V rocket sites, and attacked on oil targets. This caused the Nazis to lose very much of their vital fuel supplies.
One of the reasons people found the bombings to be unjustifiable was because the area bombings were not specific; causing tragedy such as death of civilians. But without these bombings it would have cost a war to Britain, causing Germany to claim victory.
These bombings are justifiable because of the reason they were done. The safety of Britain and the rest of Europe against Germany. These bombings may not seem ethical, but in war we must go to an extent to protect our nation, and in Europe’s case, a continent. They are also justifiable for the fact that after being ineffective in previous bombings, the RAF changed their tactics and created accuracy in area bombings and were able to destroy Germany’s militaristic industries, such as oil refineries and industrial cities such as Dresden.
The Allied bombing of German cities during the war is justifiable. The goal was to demoralize the Germans into surrendering and weaken there war production. War is war and if you are able to protect the lives of your fellow countrymen by bombing the enemy’s territory unto surrender so be it. Don’t forget the Germans were the ones that opened the bombing campaign on Britain destroying their war productions and hitting London. After London’s small bombing on Berlin. In retaliation Germany started bombing against the British civilians called the “Blitz,” which main purpose was to bomb Britain’s cities. So when British now having the chance to put a dent on Hitler’s Nazis they should not be hesitant in bombing the Germans. The allies were focusing on bombing airfields and armament factories but could not the mark because of the lack of technology. They then adapted to the situation and changed to an “Area Bombing” strategy. This “Area Bombing” strategy would be used to also demoralize the German civilians by aiming for churches and industrialized towns because they were easier to focus upon from in the planes and the Allies would know nearby would be war producing buildings. In order to protect your country you must put your country first so if that means area bombing civilians and industrial towns in order to weaken the Germans war productions it must to be done making it justifiable.
Ultimately, the Allied bombing of German cities did help contribute to Germany’s defeat and therefore it can be justified. Germany had carried out a series of raids and bombings on Britain, this, became a threat to the other Allies and they felt in order to weaken Germany’s war material production and demoralize Germany into submission then the bombing would have to be necessary. Sometimes, in order to weaken a country, sacrificing thousands of innocent civilians is necessary to pressure Germany into submission by taking away their will to carry on, as well as their sense of courage.
In the Battle of the Atlantic would altogether sink 175 ships and kill over 70,000 men on passenger and merchant ships. Britain’s ability to stay in war depended on getting food, fuel, and raw materials from North America and it was this weakness that Germany sought to exploit through submarine warfare. The German’s goal was to destroy their sea communications and cut off their overseas supplies by the use of submarine warfare.
Germany came up with a brutal strategy which is known as the Blitz, basically non stop dropping of explosives on other cities. Germany believed constant droppings of explosives would demoralize Britain so much that it would cause them to surrender due to the lives lost and the damage that would take place after each explosive dropped. Over 100 tones of explosives were dropped on 16 British cities. For example, London was attacked 71 times. In addition, Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Plymouth, Glasglow and many other cities were attacked multiple times. Sadly, over 40,000 civilians died and industrial cities were destroyed all due to Germany’s brutal strategy, the Blitz.
After the Evacuation of Dunkirk, the British Army was weak and in terrible shape. They had lost most of their war materials and equipment from escaping and many of their comrades had been killed or wounded in France. They needed time to recover and become stronger as an army. The bombing of Germany seemed like the only reasonable thing to do in order for the British to stay in the war.
Without the Allied bombing, Germany could have won the war. The military targets were shifted the strategy of bombing larger targets like communications, transportation centers, industrial and power-generation plants and selected cities to delay aircraft fighter production. The bombing of Hamburg and Berlin contributed to the defeat of Germany. Hamburg had a large port and was known for its industry. For instance, Shipyards, U-boat pens, and oil refineries were targeted and bombed. The bombing of Berlin caused Hitler to change the target of the Luftwaffe. Instead of targeting British airfields and air defenses, they would attack British cities. The British air defense was extremely weak and unprepared at this time. This switch allowed the British air defense to strengthen and rebuild.
Without the Allied bombing, Germany could have won the war. The bombing of Hamburg and Berlin contributed to the defeat of Germany. Hamburg had a large port and was known for its industry. Shipyards, U-boat pens, and oil refineries were targeted and bombed. Germany was still far from collapsing. Weapon production continued to increase; however, the bombing of Berlin caused Hitler to change the target of the Luftwaffe. Instead of targeting British airfields and air defenses, they would attack British cities. The British air defense was extremely weak and unprepared at this time. This switch allowed the British air defense to strengthen and rebuild.
Altogether, the bombing seemed necessary to the Allies and seems justifiable. Both the Blitz and the V-1 and V-2 rocket attacks had greatly harmed the British people. It resulted in so many deaths of innocent civilians and concluded to a great amount of damage. It wouldn’t make sense if the British public did not take a stand for their country or their people by letting their air force commence revenge by bombing German cities to also demoralize Germany by taking their will to fight away and also damaging their cities and taking
their will to fight away and also damaging their cities and taking thousands of lives away from innocent people. One may believe that without the bombing of Germany was necessary. Without the bombing, the Germans could have won the war. Ultimately, the bombing helped contributed to help end the war much faster by demoralizing Germany.
The Allied bombing of German cities was justifiable because it gave the Allies time to set up a second front and was critical in winning the war in Europe. The Allies began with target bombing which proved to be ineffective as only one in five bombs dropped actually made it within five miles of the target. Target bombing did not achieve the Allied goals of weakening German industry, military and most importantly the nation's morale. By moving into area bombing the Allies were able to obtain greater success because of the larger targets.
The initial goal of the Allies was to destroy German military by going after their industrial resources. An example of a bombing that targeted this with success was the bombing of Hamburg. Many u-boats and shipyards were destroyed. More important the destruction of strong oil refineries starved the Germans of vital fuel supplies. Another way the bombing hurt the German military was by the attack of eastern German cities which created chaos as civillians fled. This allowed the Soviets to gain an advantage in territory as they invaded. German troops were obstructed by the citizens and were unable to respond to the Soviet invasion right away.
Another reason the bombing of German cities was justifiable was because with larger area targets the Allies were able to inflict fear and weaken the German morale as the Germans did to the British during the Blitz. To cause even more devastation the Allies dropped mainly incediary bombs that since fire was found to be the most effective way of destroying the cities.
Lastly the bombing of German cities was justifiable because though many German civilian lives were being lost at the same time more lives were being lost in German run concentration camps and on the battle fields. Hitler's V-rockets were also still spreading terror in Britain as well. Britain, of all the allied powers, especially had to show they were in the war and were fighting back. With the bombing ing Germany they were able to show that.
The Allied bombing of German cities was justifiable. In a state of total war, it is expected that there will be fighting and death of civilians, whether it seems fair or not. The Germans had previously carried out a series of bombings on Britain and would pose as a threat to the Allied. The goal of the Allied was to demoralize Germany and weaken their industry. They occupied the Luftwaffe, and provided some relief to the USSR. Bombing these cities destroyed parts of the industry that was very important for the production of war materials. It became more difficult for Germans to manufacture U-boats, planes, and other important technology. The bombings also saved the lives of many Allied soldiers, because they were not forced to occupy Germany. The Allied bombings may not have completely stopped the Germans like they had been hoping, but it was still considered a success, because they were still able to hinder German war production, and slow down their advancement. It demoralized the Germans, and in the end I think helped stop a German victory.
The bombing of German cities in WWII was justified, mostly for the reason of the Germans previously bombing London in the Battle of Britain. Since the Nazis had already bombed Britain, it would make sense for the Allies to want to bomb German cities in retaliation. Though the German's had dubbed the attacks on London as accidents, there was very much doubt in the minds of the Allies, due to the amount of damage caused in many areas of Britain.
The actually objective of these bombings was justified as well, the idea was to destroy production sites and factories to bring down the Nazi war effort. Though, streets and homes were destroyed, along with thousands of people, the efforts are worthwhile if it helps the Germans to be stopped.
““How can a nation so proud of its high moral standards drop bombs on women and children?” - Detlef Siebert
A country in agony after bombs are dropped on it decides to end thousands of lives, many innocent, in an act to destroy factories, and destroy morale only to find that German morale has been raised and production increased by 50%. Can this be considered justified? I believe that the bombing of German cities by Allied forces was unjustified. The bombs dropped on Germany had been targeted towards factories and military targets, however, because only one in five bombers had hit their targets, they had moved to area bombings, a method of bombing that targeted whole cities in an attempt to destroy German morale. However one can only speculate as to how much their morale had decreased; one could even argue that due to Joseph Goebbels effective propaganda he used the bombings to strengthen the perseverance of the German peoples and boost morale. The point of bombing German cities was to push Germany to surrender, but it was obvious that they were not going to, however, the Allies had continued to bomb German cities.
It had been estimated that 80% of American bombing missions had relied on the use of radar, which was highly inaccurate, 50% of the bombs missing its target by a minimum of two miles. The raids on Dresden had used civilians as target because it was believed that the chaos caused by the attacks might have obstructed German troop reinforcements to the Eastern Fronts. (Siebert pg. 4)
Another objective of the Allied bombing of German cities was to stop, or at least, slow the production of war materials; this, in fact, did not happen. German production, increased by up to 50% and did not falter until the lack of resources took effect upon German production.
The bombing of German cities took its toll upon the citizens of those cities, however, we are not able to know how much more it contributed to the war effort, and if we are to believe that this is justified, then we should at least see some figures that prove that any objectives that the allies had were completed.
The Allied bombing in Germany was justified. Without the Allies using bombs to destroy German cities, they would have won the war. After London was bombed 71 times, 52 nights in a row, the Allies needed a way to retalliate. Not only do they have to protect their own country, but they needed to protect France as well. They needed to do to Germany what they did to them, but worse. They needed to demoralize Germany enough for them to surrender and they needed to take out their industries so the military didn't have any resources.
In the article "British Bombing Strategy in World War 2", Siebert says, "German signals traffic showed that the oil campaign was hugely successful and was starving the Nazi's of vital fuel supplies".
This shows that the Allies were successful at destroying resources. Without fuel, the German's couldn't have an airforce or any water forefront, so by the Allies destroying fuel needed to run that, they were weakening their chances.
The Allies did what they had to do in order to protect their country against another Germany advance. Unfortunately, it involved the killings of cilivians.
The Allied bombings of German cities were justifiable. The goal of the bombings was to destroy Germany’s ability to continue to fight by destroying their productive capacity, and to break the morale of the enemy population and cause them to want peace. Even though many civilians were killed or injured the overall campaign did help to stop Germany’s success in war. In times of total war the allies where not the only ones to use strategic bombings against their enemy. The Germany led their own bombing campaign in British cities during 1940-41. This became known as the Blitz. The allies wanted to target Airfields and different armament factories in Germany. In the bombings of Hamburg Britain was successful at weakening the oil refinery industries and shipyards. Another example of a successful bombing was Dresden. In that city the allies were able to destroy factories, roads railroads and many more essential components for their transportation. Because the equipment that the allies was using wasn't as modern and up to date at the time it was very difficult to preform strategic bombing. They developed a new strategy known as area bombing. As bad as that might sound you have to remember that Germans used the exact same strategy in their bombings as well. During the blitz Germany was bombing cities in Britain such as Bristol, Glasgow, Birmingham, and Liverpool. The effects were devastating more than 40 000 civilians killed as well as many building structures damaged. What was Britain supposed to do just sit and do nothing? It is perfectly normal during the time of war to have high casualties of civilians on both sides. War is an ugly thing but it’s important to remember that if you don’t fight for your country no one will. Britain had good reasons and was able to achieve most of their goals in this campaign thus making it justified. Without the bombings we don’t know what kind of outcome the war would have. Without doing damage to the German forces and lowering the people’s morale Germany would definitely be stronger which would make it harder for allies to defeat them.
The allied bombing of German cities was justified because if Germany had won the war, European civilization as we know it would have ended. It is believed that slavery and genocide would have been done across the continent. The decision to bomb Germany helped the allies and was very successful. By bombing German, cities it demoralized the German population, encourage the British, Germany had to now remove heavy artillery from the eastern front because they not had to defend their airspace, and finally it encouraged the Soviet Union’s army who were now having problem in the East. The British’s freedom was now being threatened. Now under Nazi leadership, the German’s were ruthless and would do whatever it took. The method of attack known as Blitzkrieg overwhelmed the British, especially since the attacks were without warning. The British knew they had to fight back in some way or they would suffer just as other nations had. Britain was the only country strong enough to fight Germany, and with aerial bombing they knew the west could be taken back to German territory. In conclusion, area bombing of German cities decreased the Germans war production and moved the war to German territory forcing them on the defense. German aircraft factories now had to produce more fighters for defense instead of more bombers for attack. Bombing helped stop the German’s from being able to use these resources elsewhere, example launching an invasion on Britain. As you can see, the allied bombing of German cities was necessary in order to help the allied push Germany onto the defensive.
The bombing of German cites was justifiable. There were thousands of innocent civilians killed in these bombings, and there are many who think that can never be justified. However, one must remember that this was a world war and wars involve fighting, bombing, and often cause the deaths of innocent people. In Britain’s case, they didn’t intend to bomb the civilians, but unfortunately the bombs missed their targets.
We must also remember that that Germany first bombed London, Coventry and other British cities in 1940 and 1941. They used methods of bombing called the Blitz (lighting war) where thousands of innocent civilians were killed. At one point, London was bombed for 50 consecutive nights, creating an atmosphere of terror throughout the city. Germany should have expected that after bombing London, they would be susceptible to a counter attack. Britain wanted revenge on the Germans because of all the damage they had inflicted on their city, and in that case, I believe the retaliation bombing was justified.
It was never Britain’s intention to bomb German civilians. Britain planned to bomb specific targets such as railroads and factories, but their bombs misfired and hit cities. In order for Britain to weaken Germany, they had to change their aerial strategy to area bombing. At the time, Germany was a very powerful nation and was winning the war. Britain’s main objective was to weaken German industry, so it would be harder for the Germans to manufacture war material such as U-Boats.
Britain also wanted to weaken Germany’s moral and prove that Germany was not the most unbeatable force that everyone believed. The bombing of these cities saved many allied lives because it was suspected that Germany would eventually attack the allied cities. The bombing of the cities also showed the allies that they could beat Germany and it boosted their morale. Without the bombing of German cities, the war could have gone on for much longer and many more lives may have been lost.
Of course, strategic bombing did not happen out of nowhere; there was clearly a context to it which is necessary to understand its roots. Germany under Nazi rule was an aggressive and the allies had to cripple germany as much as they can. eventhough, the allied bombings of the cities did cost many lives it also destroyed many facotries thus making it hard for the germans to produce war material. eventhough the bombings did take lives of many german civilans but they were in total war and in total war it is reasonable that there woulf be death to civilians but on the other hand the bombings did help stop germany from winning the war
I personally think that the Allied bombings of the German cities were justifiable. The main object of the bombings were to destroy Germany's capability of production and the moral of the enemy which in the end led to one of the causes why the war ended the way it did otherwise Germany could've had a more success in the war and therefore the outcome of the war wouldn't of been what it was in the end. Britain had to retaliate because Germany led a full attack on Britain 71 times, 52 nights in a row which was called 'The Blitz'. The allies main objective was to bomb many armament factories in Germany in order for Germany's goods which helped them during them succeed in the war was on a halt. Britain bombed cities for example Hamberg where the oil refinery's, industries and shipyards were all destroyed and how Britain bombed the most production area of Dresden. Dresden had many resources that Germany needed enabling them to be who they were at the war and why they had what they had. Dresden held factories that were needed to produce war goods and rail roads in order to be sent to the many needed places were German's army needed to be stocked. Not only was this an attack for Germany to have greatly big damages on their production but for the moral of the citizens but also the soldiers. The Bomber Command in February 1942 shifted the focus onto the 'Morale of the enemy civil population' which was the new Policy which came to be called ' area bombing ' and although many innocent civilians lives were hurt nor either lost; in the end it was for the better. Without the bombing of Germany cities the war might've gone for much longer and many more civilian lives might've been lost otherwise.
The bombing of German cities was overall justifiable. Yes, it took a long time to put a damper on the German war effort, but it was a brand new war tactic; they had to learn new things and perfect it as they went, which makes the time it took justifiable. Also, the bombing of specific targets such as airfields and factories was extremely inaccurate, with an average error of 1000 yards. This made “area bombing” much more effective, as the target was no long one single base but an entire city, and along with the use of incendiary bombs, was much more successful. It also was eventually able to have a huge effect on German morale, particularly after the raid on Hamburg, when the city was completely devastated.
Another reason why city bombing was justifiable was because it was really all Britain could do to fight Germany in continental Europe. Britain had to do something in order to keep the Soviet Union happy with their efforts, and this was the perfect way to show Britain was not leaving the Soviets to fend for themselves. Also, it forced the Germans to focus on defending themselves at home, which kept many of their best weapons away from the Eastern Front.
Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris believed that air power could be decisive in fighting modern wars, and by April 1944, the Allies had command of the air. German industry, fuel supplies, and transport had been severely damaged, along with communication lines, which contributed to the success of Operation Overlord later on in the war. There is no doubt that overall the combing of cities did make a significant contribution to the defeat of Germany and was therefore justifiable.
The Allied bombing of German cities during the war was not justifiable. Because the British bombers were not able to hit specific war targets, it was instructed that a new policy be put into place: area bombing. Thus, nearly everyone living in that industrial town was legitimately targeted, whether they directly or indirectly contributed to the war effort. The objective of “area bombing” was to demoralize the Germans and to slow down or stop war production. However, the opposite was true. The German morale was strong and production increased until mid-1944. It is argued that the bombing of German cities brought about the end of World War II in Europe. But the bombing of cities did not make a significant impact; it was the American intervention in the air and the bombing of the war targets that was the turning point. The bombing of oil targets affected Germany more than the destruction of its cities. When the heavy bombers were running out of targets, it turned to towns of no importance, simply because it was easy to find and bomb. Bombing targets directly involved in the war is justified, but bombing entire cities for convenience or for bombing’s sake is unjustifiable.
The bombing of German cities by the Allies throughout World War II was indeed justifiable. The strategic bombing of the cities was not a blind, fumbling tactic. Bombings of both the civilian and industrial parts of a city had its pros- it would raise Allied morale while lowering the Germans’, and it would destroy some assets of the cities that were valuable in the German war effort, such as factories. The British also needed time to recuperate. The bombing was a strategy to help demotivate the Germans, and help hurry along the end to the war.
The British forces were at a heavy disadvantage, with a shortage of men and supplies. They needed time to recuperate. The bombings of the civilian areas of Germany would give them precisely that, as the Germans would direct their bombing to the civilian areas of Britain as well. The bombings were also agreed upon to satisfy Stalin, who had wanted another front to be opened in the west, which was not possible at the time. The bombings would force the Luftwaffe to focus on their own country, rather than target the USSR. Thus not only did the bombing give the Allies time to recover, it was a necessary act to keep their allied relationship with the USSR.
The technology of the time was also another factor in the bombings. The British air forces could not aim at specific areas of the cities properly due to the limitations of their equipment. Thus, they had to resort to area bombing, which would cause many civilian deaths along with the destruction of industrial assets. This was purely a case of the limitation of technology of that time. Area bombings would still aim to accomplish the same goals targeted bombing would have- damaging German assets and demoralizing German citizens.
Along with the listed reasons, Allied bombing of Germany was just a case of ‘what they had to do’. They had to divert attention from their military targets to give them a chance to rest; they had to appease an impatient Stalin and give the USSR a break; and to achieve these goals, they had to resort to area bombing due to the hindrances of limited technology, causing the many civilian deaths the bombings are criticized for. There may have been a better alternative to turn to rather than the bombings to achieve these goals, but if there was, the Allies had not known. They were at war with Germany, and they would have taken any means to end it with themselves as the victors. In the end, the bombings had helped the Allies in inflicting demoralization and damage upon the Germans, and would assist in turning the tide around in their favor.
The rules to war are written in blood. How much you spill is up to how much you have to spill it with. Saying that, the Allied bombing of German cities was completely justifiable. As the German "mistake" had opened the door to total war. I can say, and I believe that without the bombing of some German facilities, they would have continued the bombing on Britain to the point of surrender. It was to demoralise the Germans, and that's one of the main reasons Germany had started a bombing campaign on England. If their really were rules to war, then both sides would have stopped. Since they did not, they made this option available both ways. Since it toned down supplies for the Germans, it made an impact on operation Barbrosa. Since more German troops had to stay nested in Germany, they could not be launched on the attack of Russia. Since the British survived the attack, they could use this as an opportunity to launch the Normandy landings, as Germany would still be distracted somewhat on Russia.
The bombing of German cities by allies during World War II was most definitely justifiable. Many people will say that it is not justified because innocent lives were lost, but civilians have been suffering from death due to war from the beginning of time, its nothing new, its war. Britain had to show Germany and the rest of the world that it was actually fighting a war, and Bomber Command was the only force that could attack Germany directly. It was only fair that Britain was able to seek revenge for the German bombs that had fallen on them. Killing a large amount of Germans was therefore the only sure way of winning the war. In war you have to do everything you can to win.
Yes the allied bombing of German cities was justifiable. One of the reasons why the allied bombing of German cities was justifiable is because it kept German forces at home. German aircraft and aircraft detecting devices had to be kept at home to defend their country, the airplanes and other equipment could've been used on the eastern front to help defeat the Soviets, but instead was kept back. Another thing that it kept home was people. Up to 1 million Germans had to work in air raid defense and warning, those 1 million people also could've been used on the eastern front, 1 million is a very large number and could have made a very large difference in the outcome of events on the Eastern Front. Another reason is because it let Britain and the U.S. show the Soviets that they were willing to fight and gave them something to go on that they were going to create a second front that the Soviets wanted so bad. People may argue that it made British and American forces use supplies that they could've used elsewhere, but since there was no second front yet it actually gave Britain and the U.S. experience and helped train them and make them better. The bombing also destroyed oil and transportation, oil was crucial to Germany and the oil that had been destroyed could've been a big difference, and the destruction of transportation slowed down how fast Germany could get troops places to fight, and the supplies that they needed. Another thing the allies targeted in their bombings was Hitlers V-Rocket sites. This slowed down the production of them, if they had been produced faster it could've had great effect on Britain. The destruction of Dresden is also justifiable. It caused confusion in the evacuation from the east that slowed down the German troops from getting away from the Soviets and being able to re group, and it also slowed down German troops coming from the west who were trying to get to the eastern front to help fight over there. It also enabled bomber forces to take out tactical targets in France, that was crucial for the success of the D-Day landings, and the advance of the allied forces. If the Landings had not been successful then it is most likely that the outcome of the war also would have been very different. So yes, the allied bombing of German cities is justifiable for many reasons.
Yes I feel the bombing of the German cities was justifiable, the bombings had a very good strategy to distract Germany from the war. It succeeded in doing so which was an advantage. The British was very smart and successful in doing this because it helped weaken the Germany army and also took away from any confidence they had in succeeding. The first cities that were bombed in Germany gave Britain an advantage and costed Germany soldiers, focus and money. After this it was almost as though Germany had already been defeated it took away any will power to fight that the Germans had left. It slowed the Germans down for sure and made it much harder for them to fight back. The allied did what they had to do in order to achieve success, unfortunately that meant taking the lives of other innocent civilains
The Allied bombing of German cities during the war was justifiable. The bombing of Germany allowed the Allies to stay involved in the war, also, help the Soviet Union on their side. Industries within Germany would be destroyed. Germany would then have difficulties creating U-Boats, planes, which would allow the Allies to have an edge. The targets of the Allied bombing on Germany were cities other than strategic locations. Though this could also be due to the technology at the time, Allies were to attack specific locations, but they usually ended up off-target. The bombing was also to destroy the morale of the country, so the cities could’ve been a part of the overall target. Overall, it demoralized the citizens of Germany. The bombing of German cities could be interpreted as a message to German leaders. The bombing of Berlin and other German cities, in the long run, would save lives. The bombing would overall slow Hitler down, and change his plan, for example instead of attacking British Airfields, Hitler would attack the Britain’s cities, giving the Fighter Command time to recover. In war you must complete your goal and do anything to complete it, efficiently and effectively. Germany already was doing similar attacks by the same means, Allies could’ve too, and in the long run they would save live. This makes the Allied bombing of Germany justifiable.
The Allied bombings of German cities during the war was certainly justifiable. The Allies were fighting a superpower and needed a new tactic to surprise the Germans. They started with target bombings with targets such as industrial buildings, companies, factories, etc. but due to poor aim they decided to switch their strategy to area bombing. Area bombing killed more civilians than target bombing but it was all they could manage. The objective of the bombings was to weaken the enemies morale and slow down their fighting machine. And the bombings were successful, to some extent: they demoralised the German population, they encouraged the British people, they forced the Germans to remove heavy guns from the Eastern Front to defend their airspace, and they provided some encouragement to the Soviet Army that was suffering massive losses in the East. Germans were forced to work inside their country instead of going out and fighting. Even though it was not until 1944 until the air raids began to have real costly damage on German production and morale, damage is damage. The allies had to be making a move so the air raids had to suffice as it was their best shot at weakening Germanys’ power. They will willinig to try anything as long as it was going to stop the war. The bombing of German cities proved to be effective and played an important role in the eventual defeat of Germany. Taking all of those reasons in to account I believe that the allied bombing of German cities was indeed justifiable.
Those of you who emphatically believe the TERROR bombings of Germany were justified will never understand how wrong you are until you live long enough to see your own entire family burned in seconds and your city completely destroyed. You are as ignorant as the Allied fly boys who pushed the buttons to release terror from the skies without knowing anything about the horrible reality which their bombs caused on the ground.
Because the Allied bombing of German cities contributed to Germany’s defeat, it can be justified. Germany had carried out a series of raids and bombings on Britain and would soon become a threat to the Allied. The goal of the Allied was to weaken war material production and demoralize Germany into submission.
ReplyDeleteFrom 1939 to 1945, the Battle of the Atlantic would sink 175 ships and kill over 70,000 men on merchant and passenger ships. Germany’s goal was to “starve the British people into submission by destroying their sea communications and cutting them off from overseas supplies.”
Between 1940 and 1941, Germany bombed Britain in what was known as The Blitz. Germany’s goal was to demoralize Britain enough to surrender. Over 100 tones of explosives were dropped on 16 British cities. London was attacked 71 times, 57 nights in a row. Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Plymouth, Glasglow and many other cities were attacked multiple times. Over 40,000 civilians died and industrial cities were destroyed.
In November 1940, Coventry, an industrial city in Britain, was bombed. Thousands of incendiary bombs, which Britain would begin to use, were used to set the city on fire. 500 Germans completed the raid on Coventry within 10 hours. The city was heavily damaged with 2/3 of its buildings wrecked or destroyed.
Without the Allied bombing, Germany could have won the war. The bombing of Hamburg and Berlin contributed to the defeat of Germany. Hamburg had a large port and was known for its industry. Shipyards, U-boat pens, and oil refineries were targeted and bombed. Germany was still far from collapsing. Weapon production continued to increase; however, the bombing of Berlin caused Hitler to change the target of the Luftwaffe. Instead of targeting British airfields and air defenses, they would attack British cities. The British air defense was extremely weak and unprepared at this time. This switch allowed the British air defense to strengthen and rebuild.
The Vergeltungswaffen bombs, V1 and V2, were used by Germany to destruct Southern Britain. Hitler thought these bombs would be the key to his victory. The RAF and the USAF had found 96, of which they destroyed 73, locations where the V1 was going to be launched from. This left 23 V1’s that would claim the lives of thousands. The V1 and V2 weapons that remained killed about 115,000 British civillians. These weapons were mainly targeted at civilians. Imagine how many civilian lives would be lost if all 96 weapons were launched.
The Bomber Command, Sir Arthur Harris, was in charge of bombing the launching sites of the V weapons. With that, he also targeted areas that contained large amounts of oil. The attack on German oil was very successful in reducing Germany’s fuel supply, which would in the long run contribute to the Allied victory.
Those involved in the bombing of German cities, could only rely on 3 things to help them determine where the bomb would land: A compass, airspeed, and wind direction. The bombings occurred at night, which would make it hard for the navigators to pinpoint an exact location or factory to bomb. Bombing obvious infrastructures and cities seemed like the best option for them. Since churches were large and easy to see, where one was in sight, a bomb was dropped.
Germany’s victory could have led to a European wide genocide similar to, but much larger than the holocaust. The 600,000 German casualties that resulted from the Allied bombing is a far less number than those that would die if Germany had conquered Europe. Think about how many Jews and non-Aryans were living in Europe and the Middle East at that time. If Europe were under Hitler’s power, most of the non-Aryans would be murdered.
ReplyDeleteThe Allied bombing of German cities is justifiable. With all Germany’s attacks on Britain, it should be expected that Britain would fight back. The Allied suffered fewer casualties than Germany had due to bombing attacks; however, if they had not rushed to weaken and defeat Germany, the war would continue claiming the lives of many more. The bombing of German cities brought the war to a quicker end.
Although there were many civllian casualties the bombing of Germany during the war was justifiable. This is because it kept the Western Allies in the fight in continental Europe at a time in which they could not feasibly utilise ground forces. It also helped to demoralize the German people and keep the Luftwaffe occupied.
ReplyDeleteAfter the Evacuation of Dunkirk, the British Army was in bad shape. They had lost most of their equipment escaping and many of their comrades had been killed or wounded in France. They needed time to recover. The bombing of Germany was the only way for the British to stay in the fight in continental Europe at this time. This would be especially important in 1941 when Stalin was growing impatient with the inability of the British to initiate a second front in Western Europe. The bombing of Germany helped to calm a disgruntled and important ally.
The bombing of Germany helped to occupy the Luftwaffe. The bombing attacks diverted Luftwaffe attention to the home front. Many of the Luftwaffe's fighters and heavy artillery pieces were being diverted away from the Eastern Front where they could have made a critical difference.
The bombing of Germany also helped to demoralize the German people and disrupt industry. The bombing of Hamburg critically impacted German morale with Bomber Command taking few casualties. Raids on Dresden and other areas in the east of Germany would have similar results to Hamburg. Also many of the people living these industrial cities targeted by Bomber Command were involved either directly or indirectly with the German war effort. The deaths of these civillians greatly disrupted German industries and their ability to produce war materials.
The bombing made sense in light of German attacks on Britain as well. Both the Blitz and the V-1 and V-2 rocket attacks had greatly harmed the British people. It would have seemed odd to the British public if their air force stood down and did not take revenge on the Germans.
The head of Bomber Command Air Marshall "Bomber" Harris hoped to avoid the slaughter of ground forces through area bombing. He believed that he could prevent the British Army from having to undergo the horrific slaughters of World War One through his strategies. If his bombing raids were successful then ground forces would only have to deal with minor resistance by the time they reached Germany. Harris also believed that he could cripple German morale to such an extent that they could force Germany to surrender without having troops touch down on their soil. These raids had genuinely good intentions for a quick end to the war based on these plans.
As Detlef Siebert said "In war, morality is a luxury - and some rules of engagement can prove impractical". This is very true especially in the case of this war. The bombing of Germany may have had a horrific impact upon German civillians, but it had the genuine intentions of bringing a quick end to an already bloody war and to cause less hardship for Allied ground forces. In the face of evil forces like the Nazis sometimes what is morally correct is not always the most practical option.
The Allied bombing of German cities during the war unfortunately resulted in civilian deaths, but it was a justifiable part of World War II. In war, it is often necessary to kill others to save the lives of your own people.
ReplyDeleteAt the time, the Allies were not ready to establish a second front in France, so the bombing of Germany allowed them to stay involved in the war and provide some relief to the Soviet Union by weakening Germany.
Bombs also destroyed some of Germany's industry. This made it more difficult for them to manufacture U-Boats, planes, and other war technology, which helped the Allies in other battles. The bombing was also intended to destroy Germany's will to resist. The success of that objective has been debated, but there is little doubt that it demoralized the German people to some extent.
A common criticism of the Allied bombing on Germany is that they hit cities rather than strategic targets, but that is an unfortunate byproduct of technology of the time. The Allies original goal was to hit specific locations, but bombs often ended up miles away from the actual target. This meant the Allies had little choice but to change their strategy to area bombing.
Those who oppose the bombing often seem to forget that Nazi Germany was determined to dominate Europe, and they attempted to do so through violent and brutal means.
While Germany inflicted terror upon the world during World War II, the German people were safe and removed from the fighting. The bombing of Germany sent a strong message to German leaders that what they were doing was not acceptable, and for the first time during the war, fear was spread throughout Germany.
In war, you have to do everything you can do to win. Following the rules and playing nice was not going to defeat a tyrannical nation who had broken every rule in the book.
The Allied bombing of German cities was unjustifiable because it did not serve its purpose, it removed forces and resources from campaigns of more importance, the Allies continued to use the area bombing technique when they were capable of more accuracy, and it was morally unacceptable. When the Allies first decided to bomb German cities, the goal was to industrially cripple their enemy, and to assist their ally Stalin in his campaigns against Germany in the East. This would have been a plausible strategy, but when they began to use area bombing- whether because their ability to aim the bombs was limited or because they wanted to break German morale- many people were killed, they did not improve their techniques to avoid this, and there were other places where the air force was needed.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the bombing of German cities wasn’t very successful, at least not at the beginning. It set out to cripple Germany’s industry and crush the people’s will to fight, but this was not happening at first: by the end of 1942, after a year of bombing, Germany’s oil industry was unscathed, industrial production had actually increased by 50%, and the German air force was growing. British and American losses were almost synonymous with that of the Luftwaffe, and the air raids were, in fact, dealing a blow to Allied civilian morale. It took until 1944 for this offensive to actually have a marked effect on the German war effort, in the meantime costing the Allies a lot, in finances and in the planes lost. Continuing this strategy was an interesting decision, seeing as there were other uses for the air force in missions that were turning out to be more fruitful.
The forces and resources used in the bombing of German cities could have been put to other uses. The Battle of the Atlantic is one of them. Defending the coast and escorting merchant ships across the ocean were important places for airplanes to be, and they proved to be very successful in protecting ships from U-boats. Another use for the planes used for bombing was the mine-laying program, which was turning out to be very effective as well. It’s questionable whether the planes would have produced more results for the Allies bombing Germany, especially at the beginning of the campaign.
Once the bombing began to become successful, and technologies improved that allowed more accuracy in bombing, area bombing was still used. The low level marking technique, for example, could be used to hit more specific targets, and although some teams did aim to do this, many did not. Many of the air raids were purposed to kill civilians even though they were capable of targeting industrially significant areas, such as the bombing of Dresden by Arthur Harris’ Bomber Command. Winston Churchill himself said of this campaign: “The destruction of Dresden remains a serious query against the conduct of Allied bombing”.
Finally, the question of the morality of area bombing must be considered, especially in raids like that of Dresden, in which the only goal was to kill civilians. When bombing industrial targets, there are always innocent people that are going to lose their lives, and this in itself may be morally unacceptable, but in the situation that there is no industrial target and the sole purpose of killing the civilians is to terrorize them, the Allies crossed the line. They were claiming to save the world from the barbarian Nazis that would extend their atrocities across Europe should the Allies be defeated, and yet were barbarically burning German civilians and their cities. The other reason for area bombing was to minimize further combat on the ground, in which many soldiers would die. Avoiding ground combat, in which troops that were designated to fight would be killed, was possibly less a violation of morality than was bombing civilians that were not supposed to be in danger.
DeleteThe Allies should not have continued their bombing of German cities. At the beginning, it was not achieving its goals, the costs were high, and the planes could have been used for other campaigns. When bombing technology improved such that it was possible to target industrial bases as opposed to causing widespread destruction, many air raids continued to aim to terrorize German civilians. Even in war, when morality is rare, and when revenge is pushing the war machine forward, the final goal of peace and of pushing back the aggressor remains: the Allied bombing campaign sunk to the barbaric level of Nazi tactics that the Allies were trying to prevent the world from experiencing, and it murdered and destroyed the lifestyle of many innocent German civilians purely for the purpose of terrifying them, who may have had no will to war in the first place.
In war, ethics are a hard to come by; if you have the chance to undermine and weaken the moral of the opposing side then it is imperative that you take it. There are many reasons to justify the allied bombing campaign of Germany, all of which are directly related to saving allied troops by slowing down the German war machine.
ReplyDeleteDuring the time of the war it was not the allied forces who initiated the bombing campaign but the Germans. There were strategic bombings all over England of everything from factories to airfields, all affecting civilian life. England had no choice but to retaliate, if they did not they would have looked weak in the eyes of the Nazis and the Nazis may have escalated their attacks. When the Nazis attacked London, by accident or not, the British again had no other choice but to retaliate with an attack on Berlin or else risk the chance of looking weak in the face of the Germans.
The retaliation attacks by the allies focused on the strategic bombings of targets such as airfields and armament factories in Germany. The lack of technology, however, did not allow the allies, or for that matter the Germans, the ability to precisely hit their targets. They therefore had to adopt the strategy of “area bombing”. “Area bombing” also had the goal of lowering the moral of the enemy civilian population. The immediate target of these bombing raids was no longer military or industrial instillations. Instead from this point on the bombers targets were larger, more prominent facilities in industrial towns, such as churches. They aimed for these targets as they knew that important industrial war buildings were nearby. With a target such as this, the attack force was sure to strike the intended enemy facility, or at least the people who worked there. A new meaning of war now arose as the distinction between combatants and non-combatants changed. Every person in an “industrial town” was now a target as they were all seen to contribute to the German war effort.
The Germans however, were also guilty of targeting civilian areas as the V1 and V2 rockets, as well as the Luftwaffe, also targeted “industrial towns” causing many British civilian deaths. There was no choice for the British but to retaliate as the public expected the Germans to feel the same damage and pain that they had laid upon them.
Near the end of the war the Allied bombing campaign scarcely attacked any cities as it shifted its efforts to aid the allied ground forces invading Germany. Bombing now focused on V rocket sights, and attacks on commodities that fueled Germany’s war industry, such as vital fuel supplies. It was discovered from intercepted German communications that these took a significant toll on their war effort. During the last months of the war the allies escalated their bombing campaign, and by then most German towns of industrial importance had been demolished.
Despite these efforts, every day the Nazis continued to kill thousands of allied soldiers on the battlefield as well as all of the innocent in the concentration camps, and countless others from the V rocket attacks on Britain. At this time the allied bombing campaign had reached a point where the mere possibility of saving allied lives was felt to justify the deaths of tens of thousands of German civilians. In the end the bombing was, in the words of Winston Churchill, “mere acts of terror and wanton destruction”. In war, however, doing what is morally right does not guarantee victory, and sometimes you have to stoop, close if not all the way, to the level of your enemy to achieve triumph over them. For all of these reasons I believe that the Allied bombing of German cities during the war was justified.
The Allied bombing of German cities during the war was justifiable. The bombings did help the Allies win for certain reasons. These reasons were that they damaged German industry and saved the lives of many Allied that would have been killed if they had attempted to do occupy Germany.
ReplyDeleteThe main goal of the bombings was to destroy German industry to hinder their ability to create supplies for the army and to demoralize the Germans. The Allies were successful with destroying industrial buildings, which led to the German army having trouble creating supplies for their troops due to the lack of industry. The bombings killed many civilians in the process, but this is unavoidable when bombing cities in order to destroy industries. The bombings also helped save many Allied soldiers. The bombings had saved the lives of many Allied soldiers because they would not be sent to occupy Germany. An occupation of Germany would have caused the death of many Allied soldiers who would have been useful for other battles. I believe the bombings were justified because the hindered the German army and saved the lives of many Allied soldiers.
The Allied bombing of German cities was justifiable. While the bombings started out seemingly ineffective, this changed as more bombings allowed the Allies to sort out the ineffective aspects of it so that the technique and technology could improve. These advancements allowed it to become more effective in conjunction with how the Allies’ widened their target, which in turn, increased their accuracy. Hamburg makes for a good example of the effectiveness of the strategy, area bombing, which replaced the more precise target bombings. While the city was thoroughly reduced to a wreck, the losses of the Allies were low.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that being suddenly bombed and engulfed in flames while trapped under a caved in building does a number on one’s psyche. The bombing of Dresden no doubt rattled morale in inducing such terror as this time, the goal was specifically to kill civilians in the city. While it once fuelled propaganda, one does not remain forever immune to the exposure of these such events. Even Goring allegedly thought that Germany had met demise, on seeing Mustangs in the sky in Berlin.
Industrial towns, which fed and armed the military, were destroyed and destroying German anything was a good sign. The Allied troops were not yet ready to start a second front on land in continental Europe. These bombings, at the very least, drew some attention away from the eastern front, which were the Russians’ alone to defend.
On the argument made on innocent civilians being killed in the allied bombings, it seemed inevitable in World War II, after the Germans had bombed highly populated areas of London. If one wants to critique morality and humanity in the affairs of war, this is no place to start. The very intention was to crush German morale and what better way to do it than with the casualty of many and better yet - civilians? As to whether the Germans purposefully bombed London or not, it had happened regardless of intent. It would come as a surprise not to consider retribution. As juvenile as this defence may be, it is what it is: the Germans started it.
This notion of morals and righteousness both have to take a backseat and lend way to the priority: defeating the enemy. The bombings took many lives but they were a necessary evil, paving the path to the victory of the Allies.
The allied bombing of German cities during the war is justifiable. To start would be how the Germans bombed England first and expecting the allies to be magnanimous towards Germany in this case is absurd. War itself is a messy sad business, and cities being bombed fall hand in hand. Not that any of this is a good thing, but it is justifiable. “All is fair in Love and War”. To digress, the Germans used this tactic before. They threatened to bomb Rotterdam to the Dutch, and followed through in effort to besiege the city. So it would be hypocritical to point fingers at the allies.
ReplyDeleteThe war itself as a whole is a very horrible event, no part of it except the end has light. Yet necessary measures were taken. The allied bombing of German cities during the war is also known as part of Strategic Bombing. The British announced it as a military tactic and to memorialize. It would target production, industry, even destroy railways and resources the Germans needed to win the war. Industrial workers play a huge part of the war as well and unfortunately benefited the allies to rid German Industrial workers. When the allies bombed Berlin, it only destroyed 33% of the city, and Leipzig was only 20% destroyed. Compared to the damage the Germans did to the Allies City is much worse.
A fantastic example would be the bombing of Dresden. As a very popular city, it was also very popular for the war. "one of the foremost industrial locations of the Reich" Thousands of bombs were dropped, turning the whole city into fire. With many industrial factories, resources, military headquarters, and railways. A German Army High command’s weapons office stated 127 factories that supplied the German army with materiel. When the allies bombed it, it shook up all of Germany, and helped destroy things Germany needed. Thus benefiting victory for the allies. Day bombing was called "precision bombing", bombs fell somewhere near a specific designated target such as a railway yard. Which cut off transportation for the German Military. The attacks on Germany's canals and railroads made transportation of materiel difficult. When things like oil production, oil refineries, and tank farms were bombed it was a huge contribution to collapse of Germany in 1945. It also helped the allies to stay fighting in continental Europe thus helping the allies win the war.
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ReplyDeleteThe allied bombing of German cities during the war, because it did help the allies cripple Germany as much as possible. A huge part of the bombing was to demolish German industry and slow down their ability to produce war material. Which is the biggest thing they accomplished, the allies were wasting their time and money with strategic bombing. Majority of their bombs did not hit their targets and was a complete fail. The bombings were successful when it came to weakening and destroying Germany’s industry and it also kept the allies’ troop alive. With bombing they did not have to risk their life with occupying Germany. If they chose to occupy instead they would lose a lot of their arm forces which make them weaker than Germany. Therefore the allied bombing was justifiable on the behalf of the allied troops.
ReplyDeleteBritain was not the first to bombo cities, as Germany's Luffwaffe so avidly 'blitzed' through France and Britain. Although it is hard to decipher ethics and morality into war tactics, the Allied bombing of German cities could have been justified. The bombing initially involved strategic bombing targets in Germany, but was later changed to larger area targets like industrial and plants and communication centers. Britain bombed Germany as a way of revenge for the cities that were bombed in the U.K. The objective of the Allied bombings were to demoralize Germany so much that they would resist the urge to fight back. Had it not been for the bombing of Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, and Dresden the German military would not have been weak enough to stop the advance on war and conquer other territory. Although the Allied bombing did not achieve its objective in completely stopping Germany from following through with the war, Britain was successful in the sense that it slowed down the German military troops and deterred them from advancing quickly and reaching victory.
ReplyDeleteKilling civilians always seems like a horrendous activity, no matter when or where it takes place. Naturally, it’s a first reaction to believe that the bombings would be unjustified. However, we can look at it from two different points of view. On one hand, hundreds of thousands of people were killed or injured. On the other hand, this was a war. War is not a walk in the park on a sunny day. Yes, usually those people are soldiers who risk their lives by choice, but casualties are to be expected anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe bombings were justifiable because it is war, and people are going to do everything in their power to win. The British tactics to help them win were primarily to break the morale of the German people and destroy their industry. It is debatable whether or not the bombings strengthened and angered the Germans or weakened them. In all honesty though, if your entire neighborhood was burning, wouldn't you be a little upset? Similarly, you’d be upset if your place of work was completely destroyed. With large factories and industrial buildings no longer putting out weapons and artillery for the Germans, the Allies had a small advantage. But any advantage against the Germans was pretty useful.
Part of the reason the bombings were successful in destroying the moral of the Germans was because Hitler had promised that Berlin would not be bombed. In fact, in both WWI and WWII, there were few, if any, actual battles fought on German soil. With the advantages of the German moral being lowered and ability to supply military goods slowed, the Allies were able to continue to fight back, and eventually be victorious.
The Allied bombings of German cities were totally justified. Even though it killed many German civilians, there is no doubt it contributed to the Ally victory. Strategic spot bombing was wildly inaccurate and ineffective, with only 50% of the American bombs landing within 2 miles of their target point. The targeted bombing of factories and armouries was a waste of valuable wartime resources.
ReplyDeleteNot only did area bombing drain resources from the enemy, it also had the job of weakened the public’s will to carry on the fight. And even those German civilians cannot be assumed “innocent” during a time of war, it can be easily assumed that the vast majority were in some way contributing to the Axis’ war efforts. The German army was certainly not thinking about the civilians either, firing their v1 and v2 rockets into British cities on top of the regular air raids and bombings of British cities. It can also be said that the Allied bombings had the effect of distracting the Luftwaffe from their jobs of bombing British cities and fight the war on the eastern front.
The effectiveness of the area bombing was plain to see , and by the last months of the war, all the German cities of any industrial importance had been destroyed. The bombing of the German cities also gave the Allies another gift, an arguably very important gift: time. While the allies were not prepared or even able to start a second front in France on the ground, the Allied air force most certainly could have an effect. Although morally quite shady, during war practicality is paramount, and the Allied bombings of German cities were not only practical, but necessary in the fight for Allied victory.
The bombing of German cities during the war was justifiable In a war as serious as WWII where victory was needed at any cause, it’s fair to say that the bombings was just another element of the modern warfare.
ReplyDeleteCity bombing was indeed started by the Germans during the blitz, and the British carried out to bomb specific locations such as factories that were producing war materials in the Nazi war effort. The objective of the bombing was to slow down and drain the German resources and to soften up the cities for when the Allies are ready to push through Germany. Although the bomber’s were often missing their targets, and killing civilians, it was still producing a good cause for the allies, as any damage to German cities at the time was needed. It is not fair to say that the civilians were completely innocent, as they were doing their part in helping fight this war, such as working at factories that were producing war materials. With the large amount of civilians being killed during bombing, it helped to lower their will to fight on. It is also justifiable that the bombing technology was not at the level where the bombing was precise, which caused the bombers to miss their targets and to bomb less strategic spots. The British felt like they must bomb Germany to relieve the heavy attack on the Soviets, and to also make a pay back to Germany for the heavy bombing Britain took during the Battle of Britain. With only months remaining, a lot of German industrial cities were demolished into rubble, which gave the allies an easier way through Germany to Berlin, and as well destroyed important factories that were producing war goods for the Nazi’s.
There was no other way to attack Germany at the time then through the air. Germany was in a good condition as no fighting took place on its soil, the bombing had to be done to show that Britain is in a war, as well to soften up Germany as best as they can. The bombing was definitely justifiable as Germany was beginning to weaken at home and at the fronts during late stages of the war.
I believe the Allied bombing of German cities was justified. Partly because of the fact that Germany started the offensive on the night of August 24th, 1940 as the German Luftwaffe - 'accidentally' dropped some bombs over London, which served as an utter embarrassment to the British. The prime minister retaliated with a raid on Berlin. Hitler had responded to that by going ahead with the Blitz, in the next few months and years the countries had raided each other simultaneously on each country's cities.
ReplyDeleteBritain had to show Germany, and Russia along with the rest of the world that it was actually fighting a war, and Bomber Command was the only force that could attack Germany directly. Britain had to think of something to do to help the Russians with their fight against Germany as the Allies could not establish a Second Front in France with ground troops. After 22 June, 1941 and the German attack on the Soviet Union, this was most concerning, for the soviets were quick to point out that they were doing almost all the dying and politely demanded a Second Front. The offensive was therefore, in part, a means of calming a slightly pissed off ally.
Britain's air force started realizing that its bombers were unable to find/hit specific war targets such as airfields or armament factories. Only 1/5 aircraft seemed to be succeeding in dropping its bombs within five miles of its target. Under these circumstances the offensive would only be effective if the bombs were directed at targets such as cities, so in February 1942, focus was shifted onto the 'morale of the enemy civil population (area bombing,) which became most effective. Not only did the allied bombing drain the enemy's resources, and slowly discourage/scare the public into surrender, it gave the allies time, which helped them prepare their rearmament, they had little ground forces and not a chance of being able to establish a second front in France.
The Allied bombing of German cities during the war was justifiable. Even though the bombing were very tragic to the German civilians they did help Britain win the war against Germany. The Bombing was a strategy to stop Germany from having success in the war. The Germans attacked first in cities like Glasgow, Briminghan, Bristol, Liverpool and London in Britain called “the Blitz” and over 40, 000 civilians died. The British strategy o help them win were to break the morale of the German people and to wreck there industry. The Bombings weakened the Germans, their army and with the 50,000 innocent men women and children who died as civilians, Britain gained its advantage on the germans because their will to fight was not there anymore. Its clear to me that Germany started the bombing with England. And for that I think the bombing of the germany cities were justifiable even though that many civilians died during the attacks. It had to be done if England wanted to win the war. Germany was willing to do what ever it took to take over Europe and Britain did the same to end the second world war.
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ReplyDeleteThe bombing of German cities was justifiable. Germany had planned to invade Britain and had just been bombed British airfields and London. This was known as Operation Sea Lion. This provided justification for Britain to bomb Germany as did the millions of lives that would be saved from the peril of being ruled by Hitler.
ReplyDeleteNazi Germany wanted control of Europe. Though the initial London bombing was accidental, there were several other bombs on British airfields. These actions showed Britain that Germany had England in their crosshairs. The bombing of Berlin was seen as a way to deterrent, a means to destroy German morale, and slow Hitler down. It was incredibly important to win; another justification of Britain’s bombing tactics.
Such tactics are often cited as unethical, as they killed thousands of “innocent civilians”. But this has to be put into perspective- Hitler’s beliefs and aggression were killing millions of people. The bombing of Berlin and other German cities saved countless lives, as they were a key step in stopping Hitler. If Nazi Germany had won this battle, it is plausible that Hitler would have won the war. If the Axis powers were victorious, then discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism could have become the prerogatives of European governments. Civilians who were not considered Aryan would then be targeted. The fact that Britain’s bombs were able to shift Hitler’s attention to attacking major British cities, instead of airfields, gave the Fighter Command some time to recover from the previous damage inflicted upon them by Germany. Britain was then better able to counterattack Germany, which was a major development in the battle. The bombing of Berlin was the turning point in the Battle of Britain, the significance of which cannot be overlooked.
The bombing of German cities does have negative connotations; however, the pros clearly outweigh the cons when it comes to defeating Hitler and Nazi Germany.
The bombing of German cities was justified. It may be viewed simply as England taking revenge on Germany for the bombing of London and other British cities, however the tactical aspects of it made it much more effective in the war effort than if it was just to “make Germany pay.”
ReplyDeleteAt first the effectiveness of the attacks was questionable, RAF Bombers rarely hitting their targets, the Terror Bombing actually strengthening Germany’s will to fight, the lack of accuracy in bombing. However, as time went on, the Allies became more adept at performing these raids and the plan started to take shape. The campaign would be “focused on the morale of the enemy civil population and in particular the industrial workers.” Therefore the primary targets (submarine construction yards, aircraft industry, transportation, oil plants, etc) were set. If the Allies could destroy German resources and limit their war production turnover, Hitler would have a much harder time fighting this war let alone winning.
In war it is more important that you kill to protect your own rather than allow the enemy to triumph knowing that if they were to win, your people will pay. The “Battle of Hamburg” is an example of this and was truly a victory for the Allies in the fact that the city was devastated from the bombs dropped. The firestorm from the incendiary bombs leveled the city meanwhile killing mass numbers of German civilians. The slaughter was by no means ethical, but it served its purpose and delivered a giant blow to the German morale.
The bombing of German cities was not only able to diminish German morale; it also limited the resources that were allowing Hitler to continue with his strong offensives. While achieving both of the main goals the area bombing was designed to, the Allies also managed to do this at little cost. The difference in lives lost on the Allied side to the lives lost on the German side is tremendous. However unethical it was to take hundreds of civilian lives, in the long run the bombing weakened Germany and was a key factor in the defeat of Hitler.
The bombing of German cities during World War 2 was justified. Although it was cruel, it was necessary to bring the Germans down. Bombing of the cities was used to destroy war supplies and diminish the Germans moral. With wave after wave of bombing teams cities and war supplies were being flattened. This may have been started as retaliation for the bombing of London and other British cities but ended up being a mass bombing with thousands of deaths. At first the bombing was just upsetting the Germans and gave them a good reason to fight. But after wave after wave of bomb squads and cities being taken down, the Germans started to lose their determination. The incendiary bombs did their job and brought down cities very fast. Since Britain had to show Russia that the Russians are not doing all the fighting the bombing went on. To improve the damage down they used the strategy called area bombing to do as much damage as possible since precision bombing on certain factories was not effective enough. The bombing campaign was also necessary because it was the only way to attack Germany directly. The bombing kept German troops at home which helped out the fighting fronts. The horrific event of the bombing was a necessity in the war effort to help defeat Germany.
ReplyDeleteThe bombing of Germany during WW2 was justified. The bombing did cost civilian lives, but it also damaged and destroyed factories. The relentless bombing was also an attempt to break German moral. Germany already had limited supplies and material and this just brought destruction to them. The German bombings also showed Russia that the British weren't just twiddling their thumbs, as the French were, and sitting on their island waiting for Russia to defeat most of the Germans.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the bombing of Germany during World War Two was completely justified. First off, Germany bombed Britain first during the Blitz, so they pretty much had it coming.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the bombing wasn't intentional when it came to bombing the German cities and civilians. The purpose was to bring down the German morale and to prove to the Soviet Union that Britain were actually apart of this war. The Soviets felt that the British were standing idly by while they fought the war against Germany. The British weren't able to bomb accurately, so they had no choice but to area bomb Berlin.
The bombing of Berlin not only damaged, but destroyed some of Germany's best factories. Germany already had limited resources compared to Britain, so destroying some of their means of reproducing some of their materials and products.
The bombing of Berlin could make the British plan of 'Operation Overlord' unnecessary. Operation Overlord was the invasion of the German-occupied European countries. They hoped that the bombing would leave Germany in the dumps so a full invasion wasn't needed.
The British bombing of Berlin showed how superior the RAF was compared to the Luftwaffe which was important to the D-Day landings.
The Allies focused on bombing Hitler's oil fields. The bombing of these would severely hurt the Nazis because they really needed the oil for their various campaigns as well as their air force and military.
All these reasons show how the bombing of Berlin in WWII was justified.
The bombing of German cities during World War II was justifiable. The main goal of the Allied bombing strategy was to weaken war material production and in so doing, demoralize the Germans into submission and defeat. The Evacuation of Dunkirk had left the British army weakened and without materials and equipment. However, they could not take the time to recover those soldiers and materials they had lost, so the bombing of German cities was a way to stay in the fight in Europe, and give time for military losses to be recovered. At this point, Bomber Command was Britain’s only way of attacking Germany directly. The overall aim was to shorten the war and save Allied lives.
ReplyDeleteThe Allied bombing of Germany could be seen as an attack of revenge in response to the bombing raid by Hitler and the Nazis on Britain. Churchill began to feel that there was a need for an ‘absolutely devastating exterminating attack by very heavy bombers from this country upon the Nazi homeland’ when in August 1940 the Luftwaffe accidentally and against Hitler’s orders, dropped bombs over London. Churchill then requested a raid on Berlin as retribution, which Hitler then responded by going ahead with The Blitz. Revenge may not be the best policy, but because of that as one of the driving forces in the Allied attacks, it did eventually lead to Germany’s defeat and surrender.
British Bomber Command used the strategy of “area bombing” designed to undermine enemy morale by wholesale bombing by night. It was unsuccessful in the beginning, with the RAF bombers barely hitting the targets they intended, and this “terror bombing” actually strengthening the will of Germany instead of doing the opposite. On the other hand, a positive result of the initial effort was that it showed the inadequacy of Bomber Command’s operational effectiveness, which led to improvements in radar, navigation techniques, accuracy, and bomber fleet size. Due to these improvements in the technology of the bombings, bombing strategy became more effective, and with the widening of the Allies’ target, more accurate as well. Eventually as time went on the raids started to become more successful, and focused on primary targets such as submarine construction yards, transportation, oil plants, and aircraft industry.
A lot of Bomber Command’s attacks were in support of the Allied ground forces as well as bombing Hitler’s V rocket sites and attacking oil targets. It was justifiable to attack Hitler’s V rockets as they were used by the Nazis to kill thousands on the battlefield and the concentration camps, murdering and terrorizing the civilians in Britain. Bomber Command Air Marshal Harris wanted to avoid the slaughter of the Allied ground forces through strategic bombing, as well as cripple the German morale to an extent where Germany would have to surrender.
At the Casablanca Conference in 1943, Britain and the US adopted a bombing policy that directed the primary objective to be “the progressive destruction and dislocation of the German military, industrial and economic system and the undermining of the morale of the German people to a point where their capacity for armed resistance is fatally weakened”. The American in particular, wanted to be selective and accurate with targets.
The area bombing of Hamburg is an example of the effective targeting, as well as the idea of killing in order to protect your own people. The incendiary bombs dropped from the Allied planes created firestorms that demolished cities as well as leaving large numbers of German civilian casualties. Although this seems horrendous, it did serve a purpose by weakening the morale of the Germans.
The bombing of Dresden, as well as Berlin, Leipzig, and other east German cities was justifiable as it was used to cause confusion in the evacuation from the east’ as well as ‘hamper the movements of troops from the west’. Although it was unethical to target refugees, as they did not contribute to the German war effort, they were thought of as legitimate targets as the attacks on them caused chaos could obstruct the German troop reinforcements on the Eastern Front.
DeleteOverall, the bombing offensive against Germany was justified because it made a significant contribution to the ultimate defeat of Germany. The Germans were forced to keep a large number of fighters at home to defend German airspace as well as anti-aircraft guns that could have been used elsewhere to attack Allied tanks on the ground. Severe damage had been done to industry, fuel supplies and transport as the Allies became more selective and accurate with their targets. In war, morality can become an unaffordable luxury, and actions need to be taken to save the lives of your own people. This means that moral standards sometimes have to be sacrificed in the short term. Once war is underway, it is rarely civilized or humanized, and no one comes out of it innocent.
The Allied bombing of German cities during the war was justifiable. In August 1940, Germany dropped bombs on the Allied city of London, so the Allies had a reason to hold resentment. The strategies in bombing many German cities, was to weaken the morale of their people. With the Nazis quickly taking over many European countries, the Allies believed the bombing would help them boost their moral and contribute to Germany surrendering.
ReplyDeleteThe Allies were justified in bombing German cities. London had been bombed by the Germany first, and although they said it was an “accident,” the German still destroyed and killed many buildings and innocent civilians. They wanted to “seek revenge for the German bombs which had fallen on Britain.” This was a war, and Germany had to expect some counter attack. War is war, which means there are always going to be bombs and each side will always try to find ways to weaken the other side. People cannot say that bombing German cities was not justified, because that’s what war is, bombs and more bombs.
One of the Allied strategies was to weaken the morale of the German people. Many say that it was not justified because they were dropping bombs on women and children, but that’s the exact same thing the Germans “accidently” did to the British cities. When the Allies wanted to demoralize Germany, and the Germans were angry about them killing innocent Germans, the Nazis at the same time were killing thousands of innocent people in the concentrations camps. There was no justification in what the Nazis did, so they did not have the right to be angry at the British for killing innocent Germans. The biggest thing that the Allies got from bombing German cities was boosting the Allied morale. With the Nazis winning the war at the time, the Allies needed something to brighten their spirits, and this bombing helped.
The main thing that the Allies wanted to get from the bombing was to get the Germans to surrender. The Allies believed that the only way they could remain in this war and keep up with the Nazis was to use heavy bombers. Germans were moving forward and continuing to win annex land. “The Allies had to show Germany and the rest of the world that it was actually fighting in the war.” They couldn’t let Germany continue demolishing counties and walking all over Europe. They had to do something that would bring fear to the Germans.
The bombing of German cities by the Allies was completely justified. The Germans had bombed British cities first and they “deserved to reap in the whirlwind they had sown.” The Germans were demoralizing people throughout Europe and it was time for the Allies to show the German people what it felt like. Bombing the German cities helped boost the Allies morale and helped them have faith in winning this war. The Allies needed this bombing to happen, they needed people to fear them and they needed Germany to be informed that the Allies were not going to back down.
The bombing of German cities during World War II were not justified for many reasons, and none of them moral. The claimed purpose of the allied bombings on Germany may have been to demoralize the population and reduce production, but quite the opposite happened in the end. Some may claim that the bombing campaigns lead to the end of the war, or at least expedited the victory; however, how can you say that bombing a city makes the army any weaker?
ReplyDeleteThe entire point to bombing any city is to try to force the population to surrender or give up against an enemy, but as seen in Germany quite the opposite happened. The entire population including the soldiers resisted or fought with even more ferocity, defiance and was more determined than ever to defeat the enemy. That right there makes the argument of the bombing weakening the German moral invalid, seeing the exact opposite happened in the end. Now I’ve always been curious, how does bombing a city of innocent people lead to a weakness in the armed forces? I for one cannot see any way that bombing cities makes the army weak. The only way that this could make sense would be if the factories in the city were destroyed or significantly damaged, which did not happen because of bombing raids.
The might of the German war machine would and did not stop production, no matter how many bombs the Allies dropped on it. While the allied bombing campaigns were active the German war materiel production actually rose by 50% and did not fall below the starting figure until 1944, at which point Germany had lost the war for other reasons, not the bombing campaigns. Now if you’re wondering “didn’t the bombing reduce the potential of German industry?” well look at it this way, Germany was not prepared for a long war, they simply did not have the resources to increase their already strong industry more than 50%, especially if they are at war. This failure to reduce or at least cripple the German war effort makes it unjustified, especially if an end justifies a means. So is killing thousands of civilians just to maybe damage an insignificant portion of the war effort? There was no way to confirm if the bombing raids ever did more than just kill civilians, let alone come up with numbers claiming the bombing raids made any significant impact in the war.
The only way any person can justify the slaughter of innocent women, children, young and old would be if in the end it saved lives. The bombing of German cities did not save lives, the campaigns were ineffective at halting the German war effort and in the end there is no evidence that a lack of bombing on cities would have changed the outcome of the war.
To answer this question, one must first ask “is fighting in war justifiable?” The answer is yes. The goal of the bombing of German cities was to destroy factories and production facilities which contributed to the German war effort, and to pound the Germans into submission. The Germans did not submit because of the bombing but the bombing of the cities was effective. It destroyed homes and streets and other infrastructure vital to the cities and to the production establishments; and although German production continued to rise by fifty percent until 1944, one can only speculate how much more their production would have grown if left unhindered by the bombing.
ReplyDeleteThe only argument that could really stand up against this is the moral side: “thousands and thousands of German people died for no reason and the bombing of German cities is akin to the Holocaust.” The German people were part of a hostile nation which threatened the allies’ very existence; the victims of the Holocaust were of no such danger or threat to anyone. When a country is at war, every citizen of that country is a potential fighter, a potential soldier, and if that enemy gets in the way of bombing, so be it; a bombing raid should not be cancelled because civilians are present, if that were the case then they would have put civilians in their military bases to say “you can’t bomb us here, there are civilians.” The bombing was certainly justifiable and suitable for the circumstances.
The Allied bombing of Germany was justifiable.
ReplyDeleteAs the Germans blitzed the British and bombed London first, it was expected that the British would want to retaliate. The objective of bombing Germany was to destroy German morale and industries that were contributing to the German war effort. Had the British not retaliated, the Germans would not have been denied conquest for the first time, and would have been made stronger as the Luftwaffe would have established themselves superior to the RAF.
Although the German morale was not significantly broken by these bombings, the British could only act on what they believed would happen, which was that the morale would be reduced if they saw that the war was coming to them. The Allies bombed Hamburg, and because it was one of the bigger cities in Germany, this also was an attempt to show many of the civilians that their government and Hitler could not protect them. Hitler had previously promised that Berlin would not be bombed as well, but that obviously did not happen.The bombing of Hamburg also destroyed German industries, which would later help to slow down the German war efforts as they had less supplies to work with. The British bombed all the cities of industrial importance to the German army, and attempted to "soften" them for when the Allies did invade on land. This also slowed down the Germans and helped the British to save the lives of their own troops, as they were hoping that Germany would be shaken up enough that the resistance would be of a lesser extent. This helped to unify the British in defeating the Germans, as their morale was now at a much higher level. The bombing also helped to diminish some of Germany's resources and war production, which made it much more difficult for them to win the war as they had less to work with.
The bombing also slowed down the German war effort in the way that they were now focused on bombing cities instead of bombing airfields that were vital to a British victory. This allowed the RAF time to group and organize a strategy that they could use to defeat the Germans in the long run. This served as a turning point in the war, as it was the first time that Germany would be denied conquest, which set up the stage for the British to defeat the Germans in the war.
The Allied bombings of German cities such as Berlin and Hamburg were justifiable because it contributed in stopping Germany of success in war. The goals of these bombings were strategic. They may come off to some as unethical or immoral, but Britain also weren't the first to bomb cities and industries.
ReplyDeleteBritain bombed Germany not only to cause militaristic weakness, but also as revenge. Germany bombed cities in Britain such as Glasgow, Bristol, Liverpool, and Birmingham, killing over 40,000 civilians and destroying their cities and structures. This was known as the Blitz and took place in 1940-41. But, the main goal of these bombings in Germany was to cause weakness to their military, and in hopes that Germany would surrender, which didn't happen until May 7th, 1945.
A very important bombing was the one of Berlin, which caused the Luftwaffe target to change under Hitler’s demands. This meant that rather than bombing Britain’s already very weak military, they would bomb cities; which was unfortunate, but was good in helping Britain gain time in preparing for actual battle.
After changing tactics and imposing area bombing, accuracy improved and in the summer of 1944, bomber command put efforts into support of the Allied ground forces, only bombing very few cities. They bombed Hitler’s V rocket sites, and attacked on oil targets. This caused the Nazis to lose very much of their vital fuel supplies.
One of the reasons people found the bombings to be unjustifiable was because the area bombings were not specific; causing tragedy such as death of civilians. But without these bombings it would have cost a war to Britain, causing Germany to claim victory.
These bombings are justifiable because of the reason they were done. The safety of Britain and the rest of Europe against Germany. These bombings may not seem ethical, but in war we must go to an extent to protect our nation, and in Europe’s case, a continent. They are also justifiable for the fact that after being ineffective in previous bombings, the RAF changed their tactics and created accuracy in area bombings and were able to destroy Germany’s militaristic industries, such as oil refineries and industrial cities such as Dresden.
The Allied bombing of German cities during the war is justifiable. The goal was to demoralize the Germans into surrendering and weaken there war production. War is war and if you are able to protect the lives of your fellow countrymen by bombing the enemy’s territory unto surrender so be it. Don’t forget the Germans were the ones that opened the bombing campaign on Britain destroying their war productions and hitting London. After London’s small bombing on Berlin. In retaliation Germany started bombing against the British civilians called the “Blitz,” which main purpose was to bomb Britain’s cities. So when British now having the chance to put a dent on Hitler’s Nazis they should not be hesitant in bombing the Germans. The allies were focusing on bombing airfields and armament factories but could not the mark because of the lack of technology. They then adapted to the situation and changed to an “Area Bombing” strategy. This “Area Bombing” strategy would be used to also demoralize the German civilians by aiming for churches and industrialized towns because they were easier to focus upon from in the planes and the Allies would know nearby would be war producing buildings. In order to protect your country you must put your country first so if that means area bombing civilians and industrial towns in order to weaken the Germans war productions it must to be done making it justifiable.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, the Allied bombing of German cities did help contribute to Germany’s defeat and therefore it can be justified. Germany had carried out a series of raids and bombings on Britain, this, became a threat to the other Allies and they felt in order to weaken Germany’s war material production and demoralize Germany into submission then the bombing would have to be necessary. Sometimes, in order to weaken a country, sacrificing thousands of innocent civilians is necessary to pressure Germany into submission by taking away their will to carry on, as well as their sense of courage.
ReplyDeleteIn the Battle of the Atlantic would altogether sink 175 ships and kill over 70,000 men on passenger and merchant ships. Britain’s ability to stay in war depended on getting food, fuel, and raw materials from North America and it was this weakness that Germany sought to exploit through submarine warfare. The German’s goal was to destroy their sea communications and cut off their overseas supplies by the use of submarine warfare.
Germany came up with a brutal strategy which is known as the Blitz, basically non stop dropping of explosives on other cities. Germany believed constant droppings of explosives would demoralize Britain so much that it would cause them to surrender due to the lives lost and the damage that would take place after each explosive dropped. Over 100 tones of explosives were dropped on 16 British cities. For example, London was attacked 71 times. In addition, Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Plymouth, Glasglow and many other cities were attacked multiple times. Sadly, over 40,000 civilians died and industrial cities were destroyed all due to Germany’s brutal strategy, the Blitz.
After the Evacuation of Dunkirk, the British Army was weak and in terrible shape. They had lost most of their war materials and equipment from escaping and many of their comrades had been killed or wounded in France. They needed time to recover and become stronger as an army. The bombing of Germany seemed like the only reasonable thing to do in order for the British to stay in the war.
ReplyDeleteWithout the Allied bombing, Germany could have won the war. The military targets were shifted the strategy of bombing larger targets like communications, transportation centers, industrial and power-generation plants and selected cities to delay aircraft fighter production. The bombing of Hamburg and Berlin contributed to the defeat of Germany. Hamburg had a large port and was known for its industry. For instance, Shipyards, U-boat pens, and oil refineries were targeted and bombed. The bombing of Berlin caused Hitler to change the target of the Luftwaffe. Instead of targeting British airfields and air defenses, they would attack British cities. The British air defense was extremely weak and unprepared at this time. This switch allowed the British air defense to strengthen and rebuild.
Without the Allied bombing, Germany could have won the war. The bombing of Hamburg and Berlin contributed to the defeat of Germany. Hamburg had a large port and was known for its industry. Shipyards, U-boat pens, and oil refineries were targeted and bombed. Germany was still far from collapsing. Weapon production continued to increase; however, the bombing of Berlin caused Hitler to change the target of the Luftwaffe. Instead of targeting British airfields and air defenses, they would attack British cities. The British air defense was extremely weak and unprepared at this time. This switch allowed the British air defense to strengthen and rebuild.
Altogether, the bombing seemed necessary to the Allies and seems justifiable. Both the Blitz and the V-1 and V-2 rocket attacks had greatly harmed the British people. It resulted in so many deaths of innocent civilians and concluded to a great amount of damage. It wouldn’t make sense if the British public did not take a stand for their country or their people by letting their air force commence revenge by bombing German cities to also demoralize Germany by taking their will to fight away and also damaging their cities and taking
their will to fight away and also damaging their cities and taking thousands of lives away from innocent people. One may believe that without the bombing of Germany was necessary. Without the bombing, the Germans could have won the war. Ultimately, the bombing helped contributed to help end the war much faster by demoralizing Germany.
ReplyDeleteThe Allied bombing of German cities was justifiable because it gave the Allies time to set up a second front and was critical in winning the war in Europe. The Allies began with target bombing which proved to be ineffective as only one in five bombs dropped actually made it within five miles of the target. Target bombing did not achieve the Allied goals of weakening German industry, military and most importantly the nation's morale. By moving into area bombing the Allies were able to obtain greater success because of the larger targets.
ReplyDeleteThe initial goal of the Allies was to destroy German military by going after their industrial resources. An example of a bombing that targeted this with success was the bombing of Hamburg. Many u-boats and shipyards were destroyed. More important the destruction of strong oil refineries starved the Germans of vital fuel supplies. Another way the bombing hurt the German military was by the attack of eastern German cities which created chaos as civillians fled. This allowed the Soviets to gain an advantage in territory as they invaded. German troops were obstructed by the citizens and were unable to respond to the Soviet invasion right away.
Another reason the bombing of German cities was justifiable was because with larger area targets the Allies were able to inflict fear and weaken the German morale as the Germans did to the British during the Blitz. To cause even more devastation the Allies dropped mainly incediary bombs that since fire was found to be the most effective way of destroying the cities.
Lastly the bombing of German cities was justifiable because though many German civilian lives were being lost at the same time more lives were being lost in German run concentration camps and on the battle fields. Hitler's V-rockets were also still spreading terror in Britain as well. Britain, of all the allied powers, especially had to show they were in the war and were fighting back. With the bombing ing Germany they were able to show that.
The Allied bombing of German cities was justifiable. In a state of total war, it is expected that there will be fighting and death of civilians, whether it seems fair or not. The Germans had previously carried out a series of bombings on Britain and would pose as a threat to the Allied. The goal of the Allied was to demoralize Germany and weaken their industry. They occupied the Luftwaffe, and provided some relief to the USSR. Bombing these cities destroyed parts of the industry that was very important for the production of war materials. It became more difficult for Germans to manufacture U-boats, planes, and other important technology. The bombings also saved the lives of many Allied soldiers, because they were not forced to occupy Germany. The Allied bombings may not have completely stopped the Germans like they had been hoping, but it was still considered a success, because they were still able to hinder German war production, and slow down their advancement. It demoralized the Germans, and in the end I think helped stop a German victory.
ReplyDeleteThe bombing of German cities in WWII was justified, mostly for the reason of the Germans previously bombing London in the Battle of Britain. Since the Nazis had already bombed Britain, it would make sense for the Allies to want to bomb German cities in retaliation. Though the German's had dubbed the attacks on London as accidents, there was very much doubt in the minds of the Allies, due to the amount of damage caused in many areas of Britain.
ReplyDeleteThe actually objective of these bombings was justified as well, the idea was to destroy production sites and factories to bring down the Nazi war effort. Though, streets and homes were destroyed, along with thousands of people, the efforts are worthwhile if it helps the Germans to be stopped.
““How can a nation so proud of its high moral standards drop bombs on women and children?”
ReplyDelete- Detlef Siebert
A country in agony after bombs are dropped on it decides to end thousands of lives, many innocent, in an act to destroy factories, and destroy morale only to find that German morale has been raised and production increased by 50%. Can this be considered justified? I believe that the bombing of German cities by Allied forces was unjustified.
The bombs dropped on Germany had been targeted towards factories and military targets, however, because only one in five bombers had hit their targets, they had moved to area bombings, a method of bombing that targeted whole cities in an attempt to destroy German morale. However one can only speculate as to how much their morale had decreased; one could even argue that due to Joseph Goebbels effective propaganda he used the bombings to strengthen the perseverance of the German peoples and boost morale. The point of bombing German cities was to push Germany to surrender, but it was obvious that they were not going to, however, the Allies had continued to bomb German cities.
It had been estimated that 80% of American bombing missions had relied on the use of radar, which was highly inaccurate, 50% of the bombs missing its target by a minimum of two miles. The raids on Dresden had used civilians as target because it was believed that the chaos caused by the attacks might have obstructed German troop reinforcements to the Eastern Fronts. (Siebert pg. 4)
Another objective of the Allied bombing of German cities was to stop, or at least, slow the production of war materials; this, in fact, did not happen. German production, increased by up to 50% and did not falter until the lack of resources took effect upon German production.
The bombing of German cities took its toll upon the citizens of those cities, however, we are not able to know how much more it contributed to the war effort, and if we are to believe that this is justified, then we should at least see some figures that prove that any objectives that the allies had were completed.
---Antony Czeto---
The Allied bombing in Germany was justified. Without the Allies using bombs to destroy German cities, they would have won the war. After London was bombed 71 times, 52 nights in a row, the Allies needed a way to retalliate. Not only do they have to protect their own country, but they needed to protect France as well. They needed to do to Germany what they did to them, but worse. They needed to demoralize Germany enough for them to surrender and they needed to take out their industries so the military didn't have any resources.
ReplyDeleteIn the article "British Bombing Strategy in World War 2", Siebert says, "German signals traffic showed that the oil campaign was hugely successful and was starving the Nazi's of vital fuel supplies".
This shows that the Allies were successful at destroying resources. Without fuel, the German's couldn't have an airforce or any water forefront, so by the Allies destroying fuel needed to run that, they were weakening their chances.
The Allies did what they had to do in order to protect their country against another Germany advance. Unfortunately, it involved the killings of cilivians.
The Allied bombings of German cities were justifiable. The goal of the bombings was to destroy Germany’s ability to continue to fight by destroying their productive capacity, and to break the morale of the enemy population and cause them to want peace. Even though many civilians were killed or injured the overall campaign did help to stop Germany’s success in war. In times of total war the allies where not the only ones to use strategic bombings against their enemy. The Germany led their own bombing campaign in British cities during 1940-41. This became known as the Blitz.
ReplyDeleteThe allies wanted to target Airfields and different armament factories in Germany. In the bombings of Hamburg Britain was successful at weakening the oil refinery industries and shipyards. Another example of a successful bombing was Dresden. In that city the allies were able to destroy factories, roads railroads and many more essential components for their transportation. Because the equipment that the allies was using wasn't as modern and up to date at the time it was very difficult to preform strategic bombing. They developed a new strategy known as area bombing. As bad as that might sound you have to remember that Germans used the exact same strategy in their bombings as well. During the blitz Germany was bombing cities in Britain such as Bristol, Glasgow, Birmingham, and Liverpool. The effects were devastating more than 40 000 civilians killed as well as many building structures damaged. What was Britain supposed to do just sit and do nothing?
It is perfectly normal during the time of war to have high casualties of civilians on both sides. War is an ugly thing but it’s important to remember that if you don’t fight for your country no one will. Britain had good reasons and was able to achieve most of their goals in this campaign thus making it justified. Without the bombings we don’t know what kind of outcome the war would have. Without doing damage to the German forces and lowering the people’s morale Germany would definitely be stronger which would make it harder for allies to defeat them.
The allied bombing of German cities was justified because if Germany had won the war, European civilization as we know it would have ended. It is believed that slavery and genocide would have been done across the continent. The decision to bomb Germany helped the allies and was very successful. By bombing German, cities it demoralized the German population, encourage the British, Germany had to now remove heavy artillery from the eastern front because they not had to defend their airspace, and finally it encouraged the Soviet Union’s army who were now having problem in the East.
ReplyDeleteThe British’s freedom was now being threatened. Now under Nazi leadership, the German’s were ruthless and would do whatever it took. The method of attack known as Blitzkrieg overwhelmed the British, especially since the attacks were without warning. The British knew they had to fight back in some way or they would suffer just as other nations had. Britain was the only country strong enough to fight Germany, and with aerial bombing they knew the west could be taken back to German territory.
In conclusion, area bombing of German cities decreased the Germans war production and moved the war to German territory forcing them on the defense. German aircraft factories now had to produce more fighters for defense instead of more bombers for attack. Bombing helped stop the German’s from being able to use these resources elsewhere, example launching an invasion on Britain.
As you can see, the allied bombing of German cities was necessary in order to help the allied push Germany onto the defensive.
The bombing of German cites was justifiable. There were thousands of innocent civilians killed in these bombings, and there are many who think that can never be justified. However, one must remember that this was a world war and wars involve fighting, bombing, and often cause the deaths of innocent people. In Britain’s case, they didn’t intend to bomb the civilians, but unfortunately the bombs missed their targets.
ReplyDeleteWe must also remember that that Germany first bombed London, Coventry and other British cities in 1940 and 1941. They used methods of bombing called the Blitz (lighting war) where thousands of innocent civilians were killed. At one point, London was bombed for 50 consecutive nights, creating an atmosphere of terror throughout the city. Germany should have expected that after bombing London, they would be susceptible to a counter attack. Britain wanted revenge on the Germans because of all the damage they had inflicted on their city, and in that case, I believe the retaliation bombing was justified.
It was never Britain’s intention to bomb German civilians. Britain planned to bomb specific targets such as railroads and factories, but their bombs misfired and hit cities. In order for Britain to weaken Germany, they had to change their aerial strategy to area bombing. At the time, Germany was a very powerful nation and was winning the war. Britain’s main objective was to weaken German industry, so it would be harder for the Germans to manufacture war material such as U-Boats.
Britain also wanted to weaken Germany’s moral and prove that Germany was not the most unbeatable force that everyone believed. The bombing of these cities saved many allied lives because it was suspected that Germany would eventually attack the allied cities. The bombing of the cities also showed the allies that they could beat Germany and it boosted their morale. Without the bombing of German cities, the war could have gone on for much longer and many more lives may have been lost.
Of course, strategic bombing did not happen out of nowhere; there was clearly a context to it which is necessary to understand its roots. Germany under Nazi rule was an aggressive and the allies had to cripple germany as much as they can.
ReplyDeleteeventhough, the allied bombings of the cities did cost many lives it also destroyed many facotries thus making it hard for the germans to produce war material. eventhough the bombings did take lives of many german civilans but they were in total war and in total war it is reasonable that there woulf be death to civilians but on the other hand the bombings did help stop germany from winning the war
I personally think that the Allied bombings of the German cities were justifiable. The main object of the bombings were to destroy Germany's capability of production and the moral of the enemy which in the end led to one of the causes why the war ended the way it did otherwise Germany could've had a more success in the war and therefore the outcome of the war wouldn't of been what it was in the end.
ReplyDeleteBritain had to retaliate because Germany led a full attack on Britain 71 times, 52 nights in a row which was called 'The Blitz'. The allies main objective was to bomb many armament factories in Germany in order for Germany's goods which helped them during them succeed in the war was on a halt. Britain bombed cities for example Hamberg where the oil refinery's, industries and shipyards were all destroyed and how Britain bombed the most production area of Dresden. Dresden had many resources that Germany needed enabling them to be who they were at the war and why they had what they had. Dresden held factories that were needed to produce war goods and rail roads in order to be sent to the many needed places were German's army needed to be stocked.
Not only was this an attack for Germany to have greatly big damages on their production but for the moral of the citizens but also the soldiers. The Bomber Command in February 1942 shifted the focus onto the 'Morale of the enemy civil population' which was the new Policy which came to be called ' area bombing ' and although many innocent civilians lives were hurt nor either lost; in the end it was for the better. Without the bombing of Germany cities the war might've gone for much longer and many more civilian lives might've been lost otherwise.
The bombing of German cities was overall justifiable. Yes, it took a long time to put a damper on the German war effort, but it was a brand new war tactic; they had to learn new things and perfect it as they went, which makes the time it took justifiable. Also, the bombing of specific targets such as airfields and factories was extremely inaccurate, with an average error of 1000 yards. This made “area bombing” much more effective, as the target was no long one single base but an entire city, and along with the use of incendiary bombs, was much more successful. It also was eventually able to have a huge effect on German morale, particularly after the raid on Hamburg, when the city was completely devastated.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason why city bombing was justifiable was because it was really all Britain could do to fight Germany in continental Europe. Britain had to do something in order to keep the Soviet Union happy with their efforts, and this was the perfect way to show Britain was not leaving the Soviets to fend for themselves. Also, it forced the Germans to focus on defending themselves at home, which kept many of their best weapons away from the Eastern Front.
Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris believed that air power could be decisive in fighting modern wars, and by April 1944, the Allies had command of the air. German industry, fuel supplies, and transport had been severely damaged, along with communication lines, which contributed to the success of Operation Overlord later on in the war. There is no doubt that overall the combing of cities did make a significant contribution to the defeat of Germany and was therefore justifiable.
The Allied bombing of German cities during the war was not justifiable. Because the British bombers were not able to hit specific war targets, it was instructed that a new policy be put into place: area bombing. Thus, nearly everyone living in that industrial town was legitimately targeted, whether they directly or indirectly contributed to the war effort. The objective of “area bombing” was to demoralize the Germans and to slow down or stop war production. However, the opposite was true. The German morale was strong and production increased until mid-1944. It is argued that the bombing of German cities brought about the end of World War II in Europe. But the bombing of cities did not make a significant impact; it was the American intervention in the air and the bombing of the war targets that was the turning point. The bombing of oil targets affected Germany more than the destruction of its cities. When the heavy bombers were running out of targets, it turned to towns of no importance, simply because it was easy to find and bomb. Bombing targets directly involved in the war is justified, but bombing entire cities for convenience or for bombing’s sake is unjustifiable.
ReplyDeleteThe bombing of German cities by the Allies throughout World War II was indeed justifiable. The strategic bombing of the cities was not a blind, fumbling tactic. Bombings of both the civilian and industrial parts of a city had its pros- it would raise Allied morale while lowering the Germans’, and it would destroy some assets of the cities that were valuable in the German war effort, such as factories. The British also needed time to recuperate. The bombing was a strategy to help demotivate the Germans, and help hurry along the end to the war.
ReplyDeleteThe British forces were at a heavy disadvantage, with a shortage of men and supplies. They needed time to recuperate. The bombings of the civilian areas of Germany would give them precisely that, as the Germans would direct their bombing to the civilian areas of Britain as well. The bombings were also agreed upon to satisfy Stalin, who had wanted another front to be opened in the west, which was not possible at the time. The bombings would force the Luftwaffe to focus on their own country, rather than target the USSR. Thus not only did the bombing give the Allies time to recover, it was a necessary act to keep their allied relationship with the USSR.
The technology of the time was also another factor in the bombings. The British air forces could not aim at specific areas of the cities properly due to the limitations of their equipment. Thus, they had to resort to area bombing, which would cause many civilian deaths along with the destruction of industrial assets. This was purely a case of the limitation of technology of that time. Area bombings would still aim to accomplish the same goals targeted bombing would have- damaging German assets and demoralizing German citizens.
Along with the listed reasons, Allied bombing of Germany was just a case of ‘what they had to do’. They had to divert attention from their military targets to give them a chance to rest; they had to appease an impatient Stalin and give the USSR a break; and to achieve these goals, they had to resort to area bombing due to the hindrances of limited technology, causing the many civilian deaths the bombings are criticized for. There may have been a better alternative to turn to rather than the bombings to achieve these goals, but if there was, the Allies had not known. They were at war with Germany, and they would have taken any means to end it with themselves as the victors. In the end, the bombings had helped the Allies in inflicting demoralization and damage upon the Germans, and would assist in turning the tide around in their favor.
The rules to war are written in blood. How much you spill is up to how much you have to spill it with. Saying that, the Allied bombing of German cities was completely justifiable. As the German "mistake" had opened the door to total war. I can say, and I believe that without the bombing of some German facilities, they would have continued the bombing on Britain to the point of surrender. It was to demoralise the Germans, and that's one of the main reasons Germany had started a bombing campaign on England. If their really were rules to war, then both sides would have stopped. Since they did not, they made this option available both ways. Since it toned down supplies for the Germans, it made an impact on operation Barbrosa. Since more German troops had to stay nested in Germany, they could not be launched on the attack of Russia. Since the British survived the attack, they could use this as an opportunity to launch the Normandy landings, as Germany would still be distracted somewhat on Russia.
ReplyDeleteThe bombing of German cities by allies during World War II was most definitely justifiable. Many people will say that it is not justified because innocent lives were lost, but civilians have been suffering from death due to war from the beginning of time, its nothing new, its war. Britain had to show Germany and the rest of the world that it was actually fighting a war, and Bomber Command was the only force that could attack Germany directly. It was only fair that Britain was able to seek revenge for the German bombs that had fallen on them. Killing a large amount of Germans was therefore the only sure way of winning the war. In war you have to do everything you can to win.
ReplyDeleteYes the allied bombing of German cities was justifiable. One of the reasons why the allied bombing of German cities was justifiable is because it kept German forces at home. German aircraft and aircraft detecting devices had to be kept at home to defend their country, the airplanes and other equipment could've been used on the eastern front to help defeat the Soviets, but instead was kept back. Another thing that it kept home was people. Up to 1 million Germans had to work in air raid defense and warning, those 1 million people also could've been used on the eastern front, 1 million is a very large number and could have made a very large difference in the outcome of events on the Eastern Front. Another reason is because it let Britain and the U.S. show the Soviets that they were willing to fight and gave them something to go on that they were going to create a second front that the Soviets wanted so bad. People may argue that it made British and American forces use supplies that they could've used elsewhere, but since there was no second front yet it actually gave Britain and the U.S. experience and helped train them and make them better. The bombing also destroyed oil and transportation, oil was crucial to Germany and the oil that had been destroyed could've been a big difference, and the destruction of transportation slowed down how fast Germany could get troops places to fight, and the supplies that they needed. Another thing the allies targeted in their bombings was Hitlers V-Rocket sites. This slowed down the production of them, if they had been produced faster it could've had great effect on Britain. The destruction of Dresden is also justifiable. It caused confusion in the evacuation from the east that slowed down the German troops from getting away from the Soviets and being able to re group, and it also slowed down German troops coming from the west who were trying to get to the eastern front to help fight over there. It also enabled bomber forces to take out tactical targets in France, that was crucial for the success of the D-Day landings, and the advance of the allied forces. If the Landings had not been successful then it is most likely that the outcome of the war also would have been very different. So yes, the allied bombing of German cities is justifiable for many reasons.
ReplyDeleteYes I feel the bombing of the German cities was justifiable, the bombings had a very good strategy to distract Germany from the war. It succeeded in doing so which was an advantage. The British was very smart and successful in doing this because it helped weaken the Germany army and also took away from any confidence they had in succeeding. The first cities that were bombed in Germany gave Britain an advantage and costed Germany soldiers, focus and money. After this it was almost as though Germany had already been defeated it took away any will power to fight that the Germans had left. It slowed the Germans down for sure and made it much harder for them to fight back. The allied did what they had to do in order to achieve success, unfortunately that meant taking the lives of other innocent civilains
ReplyDeleteThe Allied bombing of German cities during the war was justifiable.
ReplyDeleteThe bombing of Germany allowed the Allies to stay involved in the war, also, help the Soviet Union on their side. Industries within Germany would be destroyed. Germany would then have difficulties creating U-Boats, planes, which would allow the Allies to have an edge. The targets of the Allied bombing on Germany were cities other than strategic locations. Though this could also be due to the technology at the time, Allies were to attack specific locations, but they usually ended up off-target. The bombing was also to destroy the morale of the country, so the cities could’ve been a part of the overall target. Overall, it demoralized the citizens of Germany. The bombing of German cities could be interpreted as a message to German leaders. The bombing of Berlin and other German cities, in the long run, would save lives. The bombing would overall slow Hitler down, and change his plan, for example instead of attacking British Airfields, Hitler would attack the Britain’s cities, giving the Fighter Command time to recover.
In war you must complete your goal and do anything to complete it, efficiently and effectively. Germany already was doing similar attacks by the same means, Allies could’ve too, and in the long run they would save live. This makes the Allied bombing of Germany justifiable.
--Jay Tandel
The Allied bombings of German cities during the war was certainly justifiable. The Allies were fighting a superpower and needed a new tactic to surprise the Germans. They started with target bombings with targets such as industrial buildings, companies, factories, etc. but due to poor aim they decided to switch their strategy to area bombing. Area bombing killed more civilians than target bombing but it was all they could manage. The objective of the bombings was to weaken the enemies morale and slow down their fighting machine. And the bombings were successful, to some extent: they demoralised the German population, they encouraged the British people, they forced the Germans to remove heavy guns from the Eastern Front to defend their airspace, and they provided some encouragement to the Soviet Army that was suffering massive losses in the East. Germans were forced to work inside their country instead of going out and fighting.
ReplyDeleteEven though it was not until 1944 until the air raids began to have real costly damage on German production and morale, damage is damage. The allies had to be making a move so the air raids had to suffice as it was their best shot at weakening Germanys’ power. They will willinig to try anything as long as it was going to stop the war.
The bombing of German cities proved to be effective and played an important role in the eventual defeat of Germany. Taking all of those reasons in to account I believe that the allied bombing of German cities was indeed justifiable.
Those of you who emphatically believe the TERROR bombings of Germany were justified will never understand how wrong you are until you live long enough to see your own entire family burned in seconds and your city completely destroyed. You are as ignorant as the Allied fly boys who pushed the buttons to release terror from the skies without knowing anything about the horrible reality which their bombs caused on the ground.
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