Internal Royal Air Force memo (January, 1945)

Dresden, the seventh largest city in Germany and not much smaller than Manchester, is also far the largest unbombed built-up the enemy has got. In the midst of winter with refugees pouring westwards and troops to be rested, roofs are at a premium. The intentions of the attack are to hit the enemy where he will feel it most, behind an already partially collapsed front, to prevent the use of the city in the way of further advance, and incidentally to show the Russians when they arrive what Bomber Command can do.

Taken from the following site.

www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWdresden.htm


I do not belittle or minimize the terrible events of August 6 and 8, 1945. Estimates of the Dresden bombing and resulting firestorm are that between 35,000 and 100,000 people died. As with Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the vast majority of dead were civilian, and the cities had no military value (they did not produce war materiel).

I think the decision to use the bombs was meant to accomplish a few things: end the war with Japan and tell Russia to behave in Europe and Asia. It is one thing to say you have a weapon of mass destruction. It is quite another to demonstrate you have the will to use it.

Canada was a world leader in bio-chem warfare until early in the 1960s. I am happy we got out of the business of mass murder. Firestorms and ABC warfare are horrible, ugly things, and they have NO place on the face of this planet. There are some things that should just be uninvented.

One has to wonder about the type of mind that can conceive of mass murder. It can't be human--but we know it is. Makes a guy wonder.

Bruce M