The bombing of Zadar by the Allied Forces lasted from November 1943 to October 1944 during the Second World War. Although other large Croatian cities endured the same destruction in similar operations, Zadar's stands out because of the number of attacks (30 documented, while Italian accounts claim over 50) and the number of victims (figures vary from less than 1000 to as many as 4000, in a city which had a total population of 20,000). Over the course of the bombing 60% of the city's buildings were destroyed, which have led some to theorize about the true cause of the attack. The bombing of Zadar is sometimes compared to the Ally bombing of Dresden, and in the more distant past the Crusader invasion of Zadar of 1202. The attack represents one of the most tragic events to happen to the city. Zadar (Italian Zara, Latin Iader or Iadera) is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea, with a population of 82 000 (2005). ... The group of countries known as the Allies of World War II consisted of those nations opposed to the Axis Powers during the Second World War. ... Look up November in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... The bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) between February 13 and February 15, 1945 remains one of the more controversial events of World War II. Historian Frederick Taylor says: The destruction of Dresden has an epically tragic quality... The Siege of Zara (November 10-November 23, 1203) was the first major action of the Fourth Crusade. ... // Events August 1 - Arthur of Brittany captured in Mirebeau, north of Poitiers Beginning of the Fourth Crusade. ...

Strategic Situation of Zadar

Zadar was a part of the Kingdom of Italy at the start of the Second World War as a result of Treaty of Rapallo of 1920. Zadar became an Italian enclave on the shore of the eastern Adriatic Sea. Because of its strategic location, the city became a part of fascist plans to serve as a base for the future invasion of all Dalmatia. These plans were set into motion before the war began. From the 1920s on more than 8,000 Croats were pressured to leave the city while people from Southern Italy were resettled there, taking their place. While surrounded by a Croatian population on all sides and economically tied with them, Zadar was turned into a purely Italian city up until the war. A significant amount of the city's population consisted of military personnel during this time. This is the history of Italy as a monarchy and in the World Wars. ... The Treaty of Rapallo was a treaty between Italy and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes by which the latter was forced to give up parts of its Slovenian and Croatian territory. ... A satellite image of the Adriatic Sea. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Map of Croatia with Dalmatia highlighted Dalmatia is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, in modern Croatia, spreading between the island of Rab in the northwest and the Gulf of Kotor (Boka Kotorska) in the southeast. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Social issues of the 1920s. ...

The Italian fascist government induced fear into the Italian emigrants, constantly scaring them with the danger of the Slavic "barbarians" of the region. Up until 1941 the city was surrounded by Italian fortifications, of which the bunker behind Gaženice and in the area of Ploče and Crnog were the most notable. At the same time as preparing a defense from the sea, an attack was planned against the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a kingdom in the Balkans which existed from the end of World War I until World War II. It occupied an area made up of the present-day states of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Republic of Macedonia, and most of present-day Slovenia...

Zadar from the start of the war until the capitulation of Italy (1941-1943)

After the German invasion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941 Italian units in Zadar stayed in place waiting for a resolution to this event. Their organization was not on an enviable level,which confirms the occurence which would follow. It is little known that on April 8 the Yugoslavian air force bombed Zadar. Although it resulted in some damage, it cannot be compared to the bombing that the city would endure two years later. Among the Italians sprang a panic and an evacuation was held towards Ancona and Pula. Furthermore, even as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began to crumble as soon as the German invasion had began, the Italian army did not make a move out of the city. The Italians disarmed the Yugoslavian garrison at Benkovac and Kistanje in May of 1941, waiting an entire month after the Kingdom had ceased to exist. Although the invasion of the kingdom had been organized by the Germans, Italy profited from the the end of Yugoslavia. The newly proclaimed Independent State of Croatia (NDH) signed the Treaty of Rome which dealt a large part of Dalmatia to Italy. Zadar became the capital of the newly created Dalmatian Province and the main fascist base in the territory. April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). ... Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche, a region of northeastern Italy, population 100,507 (2001). ... Pula (Croatian, Istriot and German Pula, Italian Pola, Slovenian Pulj) is the largest city in Istria, Croatia, at the southern tip of that peninsula, with a population of 59,080 (2005). ... http://www. ... Look up May in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... Invasion of Yugoslavia Operation 25 was the german code-name for the so-called April War, the German attack on Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Legal status of Zadar after Italy's capitulation

After Mussolini was removed from power, the new government of Pietro Badoglio declared an armistice on September 8, 1943 and exited the war. The NDH took advantage of this chaotic situation, by proclaiming the Treaty of Rome to be void and occuppying Dalmatia. In this act the NDH had the support of the Germans, which scared the Italians of Zadar who now remained without military protection. However, the Germans did visit the city, and on September 10 the German 114 Infantry Division took over. The city was preventedfrom joining the NDH on the grounds that Zadar itself was not a subject of the Treaty of Rome, be it void of not. The NDH's leader Ante Pavelić designated Zadar as the capital of the Sidraga-Ravni Kotari County, although its prefect was prevented from entering the city. Zadar remained under its local Italian administration with German military protection. It was in this unsure climate that the Allied bombing began. Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945) led Italy from 1922 to 1943. ... Pietro Badoglio (September 28, 1871 - November 1, 1956) was an Italian soldier and politician. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... Ante Pavelić Ante Pavelić (July 14, 1889 - December 28, 1959) was the leader and founding member of the fascist Croatian Ustasha movement in the 1930s and later the leader of the so-called Independent State of Croatia. ...

Aerial bombing of Zadar

The first large Allied aerial attack on Zadar was carried out on November 2, 1943, during which an orphanage was destroyed, among other buildings. Larger attacks followed on November 28 in which 200 people were killed, and on December 16 and December 30. The first attacks marked many civilian casualties, but the city continued to function despite the damage. The attack on the 16th was especially harsh, as the shelters at Cererija (today's Voštarnica) and at the city's centre were hit. Between 150 to 200 people died during those attacks. Fifty American B-25 participated in the strikes, dropping 90 tonnes of bombs. November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... A B-25 Mitchell in flight during World War II From the Maxwell Air Force Base website (original image). ...

Besides these main attacks, the city was bombed to a lesser degree apart on other days. Through the use of carpet bombing, entire neighbournood blocks were destroyed. The city centre was hardest hit, especially around the Forum and Kalelarga street where no buildings were spared. The greatest damage was not caused by the bomb explosions, but the fires which resulted, turning the city into a pile of skeletons of burnt out houses. During each attack a specific part of the city was targetted. On the 16th, the area from the Church of Our Lady of Good Health to across the Kalalerga to the People's Square (Zadar)|People's Square]] was targetted, while on the 30th the area from the new waterfront to the Green Square was attacked. On December 31 the city hospital and the majority of the industrial machinery was destroyed. The Luxardo factory (manufacturer of Maraschino) was set on fire and burned for three days. The phrases area bombing and carpet bombing refer to the use of very large numbers of unguided gravity bombs, often with high proportion of incendiary bombs, to attempt the complete destruction of a target region, either to destroy personnel and materiel, or as a means to demoralize the enemy (see... December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Maraschino is a bittersweet, clear liqueur flavored with marasca cherries, which are grown in northern Italy (near Trieste), Croatia, and Slovenia. ...

See also

• Bombing of Dresden
• Bombing of Prague

The bombing of Dresden in World War II by the Allies remains controversial after more than 50 years. ... Bombing of Prague was a controversial event during the end of World War II (On February 14, 1945) when American Air Force carried out an air raid over Prague. ...

edit	World War II city bombing
Area bombardment • Terror bombing Augsburg • Berlin • Baedeker Raids • Belfast • Belgrade • Birmingham • Braunschweig • Chongqing Cologne • Coventry • Darwin • Dresden • Frampol • Greenock • Hamburg • Kassel • Kobe • London • Liverpool Manchester • Minsk • Pforzheim • Prague • Rotterdam • Sheffield • Tokyo • Warsaw • Wieluń • Würzburg • Zadar Strategic Bombing during World War II was unlike anything the world had previously witnessed. ... Survivor of German aerial bombardment of Warsaw This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Aerial area bombardment is the policy of indiscriminate bombing of an enemys cities, for the purpose of destroying the enemys means of producing military materiel, communications, government centres and civilian morale. ... Terror bombing is a strategy of deliberately bombing civilian targets and strafing civilians in order to break the morale of the enemy and make the civilian population of the enemy panic. ... The Bavarian city of Augsburg, Germany, was bombed twice by the RAF during World War II 1942 The Augsburg air raid on 17 April 1942 was one of the most daring of World War II. The first squadron to take delivery of the 4-engined Avro Lancaster was No. ... The term Battle of Berlin is sometimes restricted to the Royal Air Force for a bombing campaign on Berlin and other cities between the night of November 18 1943 and March 1944. ... The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of reprisal raids for the bombing of the erstwhile Hanseatic League city of Lübeck during World War II, which was being used to supply the Russian front. ... The Belfast Blitz was an event that occurred on Easter Tuesday, April 15, 1941, when 200 German Luftwaffe bombers attacked Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... he bombing of Belgrade occurred in the initial phases of World War II when German forces bombed the city in preperation for the invasion of Yugoslavia. ... The Birmingham Blitz was the heavy bombing of the city of Birmingham in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... The Bombing of Braunschweig (or Brunswick) in World War II on 15 October 1944 by the Royal Air Forces No. ... The Bombing of Chongqing (February 18, 1938 - August 23, 1943) was a Japanese strategic bombing campaign against the Chinese provisional capital of Chongqing that lasted 5 1/2 years. ... Cologne in 1945 The City of Cologne was bombed in 262 separate air raids by the Allies during World War II. During the war the Royal Air Force (RAF) bombed Cologne more than thirty one times. ... Two of Coventrys three spires This article is about the history of Coventry, England. ... Combatants Australia; United States Japan Commanders David V. J. Blake Chuichi Nagumo Strength 30 planes 242 planes Casualties At least 243 killed; (possibly 1,100 dead in total) 23 planes destroyed 10 ships sunk 1 killed  ? missing; 6 POW Four planes destroyed in Australian airspace; ? failed to return. ... The bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) between February 13 and February 15, 1945 remains one of the more controversial events of World War II. Historian Frederick Taylor says: The destruction of Dresden has an epically tragic quality... The Bombing of Frampol happened during the Polish Defence War of 1939. ... The Greenock Blitz is the name given to two nights of intensive bombing of the town of Greenock by the Luftwaffe in May 1941. ... Firestorm in Hamburg Operation Gomorrah was the military codename for a series of air raids conducted by the Royal Air Force on the city of Hamburg beginning in the end of July 1943. ... The city of Kassel in Germany was severely bombed during World War II. More than 10. ... On March 17th, 1945, three hundred and thirty-one American B-29 bombers launched a firebombing attack against the city of Kobe, Japan. ... German bomber over the Surrey Docks, Southwark, London The Blitz was the bombing of the United Kingdom by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 16 May 1941, during World War II. It was carried out by the Luftwaffe across the UK, but their attack was concentrated on London. ... The Liverpool Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of the city of Liverpool in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... The Manchester Blitz was the heavy bombing of the city of Manchester in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... The Minsk Blitz was the heavy bombing of the city of Minsk (population was 270 000) in the USSR during the Second World War. ... During the latter stages of World War II Pforzheim, a town in south west Germany was bombed on a number of times. ... Bombing of Prague was a controversial event during the end of World War II (On February 14, 1945) when American Air Force carried out an air raid over Prague. ... The bombing of Rotterdam was a terror bombardment by German forces on 14 May 1940, in the initial phases of World War II, when they invaded the Netherlands. ... The Sheffield Blitz is the name given to the worst nights of bombing in Sheffield, England during the Second World War. ... The U.S. bombing of Tokyo during World War II took place between 1942 and 1945. ... The Bombing of Warsaw in World War II refers both to the terror bombing campaign on Warsaw by Luftwaffe during the September Campaign (siege of Warsaw and to the German bombing raids during the Warsaw Uprising. ... Bombing of WieluÅ„ in World War II refers to the German bomb raid on a Polish city of WieluÅ„ at the outbreak of World War II. On September 1, 1939 at 4. ... During World War II, on March 16, 1945, 89% of the city was laid to ruins by a British Royal Air Force bombing raid. ...