Strategic bombing during World War II

World War II (1939–1945) involved sustained strategic bombing of railways, harbours, cities, workers' and civilian housing, and industrial districts in enemy territory. Strategic bombing as a military strategy is distinct both from close air support of ground forces and from tactical air power.[29] During World War II, many military strategists of air power believed that air forces could win major victories by attacking industrial and political infrastructure, rather than purely military targets.[30] Strategic bombing often involved bombing areas inhabited by civilians, and some campaigns were deliberately designed to target civilian populations in order to terrorize them and disrupt their usual activities. International law at the outset of World War II did not specifically forbid the aerial bombardment of cities – despite the prior occurrence of such bombing during World War I (1914–1918), the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), and the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945).

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Strategic bombing during World War II
Part of World War II
A B-24 on a bomb run over the Astra Romana refinery in Ploiești, Romania, during Operation Tidal Wave[1]
Location European Theatre of World War II Pacific Theatre of World War II
Belligerents
Allied Powers  United States  United Kingdom  Canada  Australia  New Zealand  Soviet Union  France  Poland  China	Axis powers  Germany  Japan  Italy  Hungary  Romania  Finland  Bulgaria Thailand
Commanders and leaders
Henry Arnold Carl Spaatz Curtis LeMay Chester Nimitz Charles Portal Richard Peirse Arthur Harris Arthur Tedder Clifford McEwen George Jones Alexander Novikov Sergei Khudyakov Alexander Golovanov	Hermann Göring Albert Kesselring Wolfram von Richthofen Hugo Sperrle Naruhiko Higashikuni Hajime Sugiyama Masakazu Kawabe Chūichi Nagumo Rino Corso Fougier Francesco Pricolo Ettore Muti Kálmán Ternegg Jarl Lundqvist Gheorghe Jienescu
Casualties and losses
Total: 749,940–1,305,029 dead 248,664 military dead Britain: 60,000 civilians killed[2] 160,000 airmen (all Allies, Europe)[3][4] China: 260,000–351,000 Chinese civilians[5][6] France: 67,000 civilians killed from US-UK bombing[7] Half of the 2,500 frenchcrew of the British RAF bomber command perished [8] Netherlands: 1250-1350 killed (army and civilians) between 10-15 May 1940[9][10] 10,000 Dutch civilians killed by air bombings from Allied Forces alone after 15 May 1940[10] Poland: 50,000 civilians in the 1939 campaign (including artillery bombardment and ground fighting).[11] 2,500 - 7,000 civilians killed by bombing in Warsaw in 1939.[12] 2416 airmen of bombing squadrons (Polish Airforce in the West)[13] Soviet Union: 51,526 - 500,000 Soviet civilians[14][15] 2,700 airmen (Japan)[16] United States: 79,265 airmen/personnel (Europe)[17] Over 3,033 airmen (Japan)[18] Yugoslavia 1,500 - 17,000 civilians in Belgrade	Total: 790,509–1,693,374+ dead Germany: 353,000–635,000 civilians killed, including foreign workers[2][19][20] Very heavy damage to infrastructure Japan: 330,000–900,000 civilians killed[21] 20,000 soldiers killed (in Hiroshima) Very heavy damage to industry Italy: 60,000–100,000 civilians killed[22] 5,000 soldiers killed[22] Heavy damage to industry Hungary: 19,135–30,000 killed and 25,000 wounded[23][24] Heavy damage to industry[25] Romania: 9,000 civilians killed or wounded[26] Destruction and heavy damage to oil refineries and to thousands of buildings[26] Bulgaria: 1,374 dead and 1,743 injured[27] 12,564 buildings damaged, of which 2,670 completely destroyed[27] Thailand: At least 2,000 dead.[28]

Strategic bombing during World War II began on 1 September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland and the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) began bombing Polish cities and the civilian population in an aerial bombardment campaign.[31] As the war continued to expand, bombing by both the Axis and the Allies increased significantly. The Royal Air Force, in retaliation for Luftwaffe attacks on the UK which started on 16 October 1939, began bombing military targets in Germany, commencing with the Luftwaffe seaplane air base at Hörnum on the 19-20 March 1940.[32] In September 1940 the Luftwaffe began targeting British civilians in the Blitz.[33] After the beginning of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the Luftwaffe attacked Soviet cities and infrastructure. From February 1942 onward, the British bombing campaign against Germany became even less restrictive and increasingly targeted industrial sites and civilian areas.[34][35] When the United States began flying bombing missions against Germany, it reinforced British efforts. The Allies attacked oil installations, and controversial firebombings took place against Hamburg (1943), Dresden (1945), and other German cities.[36]

In the Pacific War, the Japanese frequently bombed civilian populations; for example, in Chongqing. US air raids on Japan escalated from October 1944[37] culminating in widespread firebombing and, in August 1945, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The effectiveness of the strategic bombing campaigns is controversial.[38][39][40][41] Although they did not produce decisive military victories in themselves, some argue that strategic bombing of non-military targets significantly reduced enemy industrial capacity and production[42][43] and was vindicated by the surrender of Japan.[44] Estimates of the death toll from strategic bombing range from hundreds of thousands to over a million. Millions of civilians were made homeless, and many major cities were destroyed, especially in Europe and Asia.