Firebombing during World War II,Today it’s hard to understand how people justified the bombing of ci

Firebombing during World War II,Today it’s hard to understand how people justified the bombing of cities during World War II, in an age when collateral damage is generally scorned. The bombing of civilian targets, sometimes even blatant carpet bombing was completely accepted by both sides as part of the rules of war. A part of this phenomenon was firebombing, which was perhaps the most horrific acts of war humanity has ever committed upon other human beings. American Army Air Corps generals have remarked that dropping the atomic bombs was merciful compared to the firebombing campaigns at the end of the war.Unlike conventional bombing which used standard high explosive bombs, firebombing consisted mostly of the use of incendiary bombs, typically either magnesium or petroleum based. The goal of firebombing was to set a city ablaze, often not to destroy industrial or military targets, but as an act of terrorism against the civilian populace. Firebombing was especially horrifying because of the casualties that they created. Even those who resided away from the center of the bombing were at risk as the raging inferno spawned by the bombing could quickly spread. Few were safe. Those who sought safety in air raid  shelters or bunkers could die of asphyxiated as the fire above consumed the oxygen below ground, or could be roasted alive as the shelter turned into a large ovens.The first cases of firebombing occurred in 1939 by the Japanese against Chinese cities. Shortly afterwards the Germans used firebombs against Warsaw and on British cities during the Battle of Britain. The British were not slow to return the favor, conducting firebombing campaigns against German cities. Firebombing was kicked up a notch in 1945 when the Americans abandoned their policy of strategic bombing. For most of the war the American Army Air Corps only bombed military and industrial facilities while avoiding civilian districts in cities. When the Germans moved most of their industrial and military facilities underground towards the end of the war, the US decided that it was time to target civilians much like the British had done for the past four years.In the last years of World War II in Europe tens, if not hundreds thousands were killed in firebombing raids, including men, women, and children.  Casualty numbers are often hard to estimate, as many were literally incinerated to ash, and thus could not be officially counted. Thousands more suffered severe burns. Being someone who works in emergency care, I can tell that severe burns are the most horrifying types of trauma one can suffer.The firebombing of German cities was terrible, but when the practice was done against Japanese cities it’s destruction was taken to a whole new level. The use of incendiary bombs were especially deadly against Japanese cities due their structures being built primarily of flammable materials such as wood in paper. In 1945 alone, hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians were incinerated in American firebombing raids.The single deadliest bombing raid in history occurred on the night of March 4-5th, 1945 against Tokyo. On that night, American B-29 bombers dropped over 453 tons of incendiary bombs over a 643 acre area of the city. Within hours, the entire city was ablaze, killing between 100,000 - 200,000 people (as many or more deaths as the atomic bombings combined), wounding thousands more, leaving over a million homeless, and reducing 15.8 square miles into ruin and rubble. The glow of the fire could be seen over 150 miles away.The attack occurred in several waves, the first two bombing in straight lines across the city, forming a giant fiery X. This was done to overwhelm the city’s fire services, forcing them to spread out across the city. The subsequent waves then used the X as a target to expand the inferno.  A french reporter named Robert Guillain survived the bombing, and published reports of people bursting into flames in the streets, and of people submerging themselves in nearby canals only to be boiled alive. The bombers dropped their bombs at the relatively low altitude of 5,000 feet, so low that pilots had to cover their mouths from the smell of burning flesh.For more on this topic, I encourage followers to listen to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast episode entitled Logical Insanity, in which he details how the Allies rationalized and justified atrocities such as the deliberate targeting of civilians in both Japan and Germany during World War II.  It is an unbiased piece, with Carlin taking neither side, only detailing what happened and revealing the thoughts and beliefs of the people who lived through it on both sides.  Of course, Dan Carlin does it as only Dan Carlin can, and he is much more detailed and eloquent than I can ever be.  Unfortunately this episode is one of the ones that he charges for, but it’s only $1.99. -- source link

More pics about