Why Is Allied Strategic Bombing Important In Ww2

Despite the allied bombing of Germany in WWII perhaps appearing to be significant, overall, it was only such to a limited extent. It is possible to analyse the extent to which the bombing was significant in four aspects: economic, morale, international relations and others theatres of war. The extent to which they were significant will be assessed against their respective pre-war expectations. Whilst each dimension are important, I am going to specifically focus on economic and moral because they were the main objectives of the Allies, and directly affected Germany.

The technological developments that assisted bombing, the impact of bombing on the German economy, the impact of bombing on the German civilian morale and also the effects on the German war effort all help explain why the Allied strategic bombing of Germany during the Second World War was significant to quite a far extent. Each of the following paragraphs will analyse the impacts of the Allied strategic bombing on different aspects of Germany and also what factors assisted the Allied bombing campaign in creating a significant impact on Germany during the Second World War.

The crushing defeat and ultimate failure of the Axis Powers was caused by significant events that had a great impact on the war. The Allies were victorious in 1945 due to the sheer military power of the United States, the infamous Soviet Transformation and the ‘Battle of Moscow’, the crushing fall of Japan and the vast resource differences between the Axis Powers and the Allies. These major events that took place during World War 2 helped shape the victorious outcome for the Allies, by not only weakening the German’s military force, but also its confidence.

The Hiroshima bombings was a crucial point in history that ended World War 2. Different perspectives are important into gaining an understanding of the event during that era. The two sources analysed, one being an interview with Paul Tibbets, a pilot who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and second Yoshikata Kawamoto, a boy in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb had dropped, show both positive and negative impacts on the atomic bomb plummeting in Hiroshima.

One potentially significant area of impact caused by strategic bombing was its effect on German moral. This is because it was expected to terrify and shock the German

During World War II the United States began to manufacture war materials to support its allies through lucrative government defense contracts as automobile factories like Ford and General Motors put aside their usual business operations and began to produce tanks and airplanes, shipyards too expanded their operations . The demand for war equipment naturally increased the demand for labor and as a result helped pull the American economy out of the grips of the Great Depression. Then as the unthinkable happened, on December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, which drew many young American men into the battlefield.

The gravity of such a decision was explained when Szilard wrote to President Truman about the bombs leading the way “to an era of devastation on an unimaginable scale,” (Szilard, 1). Though it was never fully known what the full extent of the damage to both cities was, many American and Japanese government agencies tried to discern the devastation. When surveying the damage, it was found that Nagasaki’s damages were close to 640,000,000,000 yen, which equated to 5.9 billion dollars, and Hiroshima’s losses were approximated at 1,540,000,000,000 yen, equating to 14 billion dollars (Committee, 391-392). The colossal loss of life added to the decrease in production, which caused the economy to suffer. Without factories to produce goods, and able-bodied workers to run these factories, the Japanese economy was in shambles and the people were left to starve. Most people who survived lost most, if not all, of their property and were left without sufficient funds and resources to pay for essentials, such as care for physical injuries caused by the bombings. Survivors were unable to find adequate shelter, medical care, and food, so many turned desperate, scavenging for resources that could help them survive. These economic problems not only weakened Japan as a whole, but also played a huge role in the

Richard Overy’s book “Why the Allies Won” is a great read for those who are intrigued by World War II alternate histories. Overy gives unique insights on the large scaled picture regarding how the war went throughout each of his chapters. The book identifies that the resulting Allied victory was not inevitable, and then it points out the factors that contributed to making the Allied victory possible.

"World War 2 was a war fought in two distinct phases. The first was the last war of a new generation. The second was emphatically the first of a new era" . <br><br>"The British strategic bomber campaign was of doubtful cost effectiveness" . Bomber Command was by far the largest claimant on labour and factory space within the armed forces. Relative to their size they suffered more casualties than any other sector. <br><br>The Anglo-American bomber force was divided in terms of strategy. Bomber Command believed it was too risky to bomb by day, while the Americans believed it was too difficult to bomb by night. Initially both forces lacked accurate navigational equipment, which deterred them from precision bombing. <br><br>Germany developed a

This investigation focuses on the use and necessity of the atomic bomb in World War II. To what extent did the atomic bomb dropped by the United States during World War II save lives? This will be investigated using websites, books, military accounts, and newspaper articles. Military calculations of what potentially could have happened had the United States invaded Japan instead of dropping the bomb will be researched. Also, information from the Manhattan Project, reinterpretations of the event, and military strategies of several countries will be used. The physical effects of the bomb on the victims will also be considered. Alternate opinions of why the bomb was dropped will be discussed.

“With its new aircraft, tactics, and superior numbers, New Operation Argument was launched”(Schill 80). Strategically, the mission was to achieve air superiority and immobilize Germany’s economy. The Eighth Air Force was in charge of targeting German electric power, transportation, petroleum, synthetic oil, and neutralize German air force”(Doolittle and Glines 295). Thus they launched seven consecutive days of visual bombing on February 19-25. Before conducting the official attack, Doolittle had his men practice fighting missions and maneuvers before conducting the operations. The attack was such a secret that airmen could not fly over German territory prior to the attack so that it would not compromise the future mission. Tactically, the Eighth Air Force had 3,300 heavy bomber sorties fly beside the Fifteenth Air Force consisting of 500 missions from Italy. In the meantime, “the Royal Air Force of Britain flew 2,750 night attacks aimed at German aircraft manufacturing plants (Olsen 82). After the “Big Week,” the United States gained air superiority over all of Europe. Operationally, Germany had undergone many months of decreased aircraft production during aircraft production during crucial time for them to counterattack. This resulted to Germany to having a small amount of German aircraft in the air and the rate of attrition of the Luftwaffe’s pilots to exceed Germany’s rate of

In this paper, we will discuss the pros and cons of nuclear bombs during world war II. But before we can discuss this we need to know what a nuclear weapon is, according to Thomas B. Cochran it is a "device designed to release energy in an explosive manner as a result of nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, or a combination of the two processes". Weapons were very helpful for the army but not for civilians because many civilians were injured and even killed. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings are great examples of weapons injuring and/or killing civilians However, this successfully made japan back away from the fight so it goes both ways. There are many controversies in

At the start of the war the impact was mainly insignificant as the bombing was not as bad as the

The idea of Total war is often used to sum up the German war effort at in terms of human lives lost the effect was indeed total. However in the instance of every last capable man and women being called to arms in the battlefield or to sustain the German war economy through conscription and nationalistic propaganda which is often referenced. This was not the case with only 40% of its annual output being directed into the war with the exception of 1917 where it grew to 60% (Ritschl, 45). This is lower than Britain’s 50-60% throughout the war (Ritschl, 45) and dispels such rumours of total war from Germany at least on an economic level in 1914-1916. Hence the effectiveness of the German war economy was severely impacted by the unwillingness of Germany to sacrifice economy in other aspects of its country. The failures of the Schlieffen plan made it hard to sell the idea of mass economic mobilisation to the Germans. Further exasperated by their lack of industrialisation in agricultural sectors labour intensive agricultural systems soon left to man shortages (although a

Firstly, it is essential to win the control of air for any modern land or sea offensive. Secondly, Luftwaffe’s shortage in heavy long range bombers, which could possibly have continued Germany’s strategic bombing offensive was a key factor in Britain’ defeat over them. Lastly this campaign invalidated the theories of Giulo Douhet and William Mitchell about heavy aerial bombardment of civilian centres resulting in rapid loss of confidence leading to the nation’s defeat. One can see that the early air power dream and image had highly misjudged the willpower of human race to defy defeat by