Strategic bombing during World War II was greater in scale than any wartime attack the world had previously witnessed. The strategic bombing campaigns conducted by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Empire of Japan used conventional weapons, incendiaries, and nuclear weapons. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The city heart of Rotterdam after being terror bombed by Germany in 1940, the ruin of the (now restored) Laurens Kerk is the only building that reminds people of Rotterdams medieval architecture. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Anthem Kimi ga Yo Imperial Reign Capital Tokyo Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1868–1912 Emperor Meiji  - 1912–1926 Emperor Taishō  - 1926–1989 Emperor Shōwa Prime Minister  - 1885-1888, 1892-1896, 1898, 1900-1901 Itō Hirobumi  - 1888-1889 Kuroda Kiyotaka  - 1889-1891 Yamagata Aritomo  - 1906-1908, 1911-1912 Saionji Kinmochi... A conventional weapon is a weapon that does not incorporate chemical, biological or nuclear payloads. ... Incendiary bombs are bombs designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as napalm, thermite, or white phosphorus. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter A nuclear weapon derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions of fusion or fission. ...

Within hours of the war starting on 1 September 1939, the president of the United States (then a neutral power), Franklin D. Roosevelt, issued a request to the major belligerents to confine their air raids to military targets.^[1] The next day French and the British agreed to abide by the request which included the provision that "upon the understanding that these same rules of warfare will be scrupulously observed by all of their opponents".^[2] Berlin waited until the 18 September before agreeing to the request (by which time Warsaw was within the combat zone and a military target). is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Some things which can be neutral are: Neutral country, in politics, a country takes no side in a conflict. ... FDR redirects here. ... For the musical group Provision, see Provision (musical group) For accounting term provision, see Provision (Accounting) ... The laws of war (Jus in bello) define the conduct and responsibilities of belligerent nations, neutral nations and individuals engaged in warfare, in relation to each other and to protected persons, usually meaning civilians. ... is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The United Kingdom had a policy of using aerial bombing only against military targets and against infrastructure such as ports and railways which were of direct military importance. Whilst it was acknowledged that the aerial bombing of Germany would cause civilian casualties, the British government renounced the deliberate bombing of civilian property, outside combat zones, as a military tactic.^[3] This policy was abandoned on 15 May 1940, two days after the Rotterdam Blitz, when the RAF was given permission to attack targets in the Ruhr, including oil plants and other civilian industrial targets which aided the German war effort, such as blast furnaces which at night were self-illuminating. The first RAF raid on the interior of Germany took place on the night of 15 May - 16 May.^[4] Categories: Stub | Commercial item transport and distribution | Transportation ... In times of armed conflict a civilian is any person who is not a combatant. ... The United Kingdom is a unitary state and a democratic constitutional monarchy. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The city heart of Rotterdam after the bombing, the ruin of the (now restored) Laurens Kerk is the only building that reminds people of the Rotterdams medieval architecture. ... RAF is an three letter acronym for: Royal Air Force -- the Air Force of the United Kingdom (see also Air Ministry) Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion) -- a German terror organisation Rigas Autobusu Fabrika -- a factory making buses in Riga, Latvia Rapid Action Force in India Računarski Fakultet RAF... For the conurbation see Ruhr Area. ... Synthetic motor oil For other uses, see Oil (disambiguation). ... Blast furnace in Sestao, Spain. ... is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

On 24 August , 1940, some German aircraft strayed over London and dropped bombs in the east and north east of the city. A period of reciprocal retaliation began, mainly focused on industrial areas. The Germans never developed a fleet of heavy strategic bombers and after the start of German invasion of the Soviet Union most Luftwaffe bomber fleets were used to support the German army's efforts on the Eastern Front (World War II). Although the raids in support of the army were tactical ones, Soviet civilian casualties in Luftwaffe raids on cities that the Germans intended to capture could be very high. (Redirected from 24 August) August 24 is the 236th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (237th in leap years), with 129 days remaining. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants Soviet Union,[1] Poland, Tannu Tuva (until 1944 incorporation with USSR), Mongolia Germany,[2] Italy (to 1943), Romania (to 1944), Finland (to 1944), Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Spain (to 1943, unofficial) Commanders Joseph Stalin, Aleksei Antonov, Ivan Konev, Rodion Malinovsky, Ivan Bagramyan, Kirill Meretskov, Ivan Petrov, Alexander Rodimtsev, Konstantin Rokossovsky...

In February 1942, the British abandoned attempts at strategic precision bombing and with the issuing of the area bombing directive to the RAF, put most of their strategic bombing efforts into night time area bombardment and the "dehousing" of the German workforce. This strategy remained in place until the last month of the war in Europe, but as the electronic technology used to find targets improved later directives put more emphasis on the strategic precision bombing of targets such as oil, communications, u-boat, tank and aircraft factories, confining dehousing to raids when the weather made the primary targets hard to destroy. The Area bombing directive was an Air Ministry directive issued to Air Marshal Arthur Harris comander of RAF Bomber Command on 14 February 1942. ... 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. ... On on 30 March 1942 Lord Cherwell, the British governments leading scientific adviser, sent to the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill a memorandum which after it had become accepted by the Cabinet became known as the dehousing cabinet paper. ... U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ...

The United States Government entered the war intending to use strategic daylight precision bombing, which was used with mixed success in Europe and never officially abandoned as a policy. But the weather over Germany, particularly in the winter months, often caused primary targets to be obscured by cloud, in such instances the USAAF's secondary targets were often located in city centres and bombed using imprecise bombing methods such as H2X radar. For example on 15 February 1945 the centre of Dresden was bombed using H2X because the primary target, the synthetic oil plant near Leipzig, was obscured by cloud.^[5] When the USAAF anticipated cloudy conditions over the target they frequently used a mix of high explosive and incendiaries bombs that were closer to the RAF city busting mix than that usually used for precision attacks.^[6] Over Japan, because of the jetstream, strategic precision bombing proved to be impractical and the United States abandoned the policy in favour of a policy of area bombardment. The H2X radar, nicknamed the Mickey set, provided a ground mapping capability for both navigation and in daylight when overcast (and at night) for the USAAF during World War II. The H2X system replaced the British H2S radar. ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The bombing of Dresden, led by Royal Air Force (RAF) and followed by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) between February 13 and February 15, 1945, remains one of the more controversial Allied actions of World War II. The exact number of casualties is uncertain, but most historians agree... Jet streams are fast flowing, confined air currents found in the atmosphere at around 12 km above the surface of the Earth, just under the tropopause. ...

In World War II, strategic aerial bombardment claimed the lives of over 160,000 Allied airmen in the European theatre,^[7] 60,595 British civilians and between 305,000 and 600,000 German civilians, ^[8][9] while American precision bombing, fire bombing and atomic bombing in Japan killed between 330,000 and 500,000 Japanese civilians.^[10]

Conventional bombs from B-29s destroyed over 40% of the urban area in Japan's six greatest industrial cities.

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine heavy bomber propeller aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and other military organizations afterwards. ...

Europe

The September Campaign

Main article: Invasion of Poland

From the beginning of the war the Luftwaffe engaged in massive air raids against Polish cities, bombing civilians, hospitals, and refugees. Cities like Warsaw, Wieluń, Frampol and many others were devastated by indiscriminate German air bombardments, often targeting civilians. In the case of Frampol, the city was destroyed as a test case to determine the effects and accuracy of bombardment. For the Soviet Unions military action against Poland under the same alliance, see Soviet invasion of Poland (1939). ... The Deutsche Luftwaffe or   (German: air force, IPA: ) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ... For other uses, see Warsaw (disambiguation) and Warszawa (disambiguation). ... WieluÅ„ is a town in central Poland with 25,500 inhabitants (1995). ... Frampol is a town in Poland, in Lublin Voivodship, in BiÅ‚goraj County. ...

The first bombs released on Germany during World War II were dropped by a single Polish PZL.23 Karaś of the 21st squadron on a factory in the Silesian town of Ohlau, today Olawa. Even though the Polish Air Force had a small fleet of modern medium-range bombers such as the PZL.37 Łoś, before the full scale of German war atrocities became known, Polish officers were reluctant to order strategic bombardment of targets in Germany for humanitarian reasons. Shortly after, in a period of a few days, Luftwaffe numerical and technological superiority took its toll on the Polish Air Force and such operations were impossible. The PZL.23 KaraÅ› was a Polish light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft, designed in the mid-1930s by PZL in Warsaw. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Polish Air Force (SiÅ‚y Powietrzne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, SiÅ‚y Powietrzne RP). ... PZL.37 ŁoÅ› - the second prototype The PZL.37 ŁoÅ› (Polish: ) was a Polish twin-engine medium bomber, used in the Invasion of Poland in 1939. ... An officer is a member of a military, naval, or if applicable, other uniformed services who holds a position of responsibility. ... The Deutsche Luftwaffe or   (German: air force, IPA: ) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ...

The German attack (The Blitz)

Main article: The Blitz

The British had been deeply psychologically affected by the German strategic bombing campaign of World War I. It was the first time in hundreds of years that London had been successfully attacked by an enemy. In the interwar years, British calculations of the likely effect of a strategic bombing from the data gathered during the German campaign suggested a strategic attack on an enemy's cities using the latest generation of bombers would knock an enemy out of the war without the need for the stalemate of trench warfare. In addition, it was widely believed there was no defense against bombers (hence the famous statement by Sir Stanley Baldwin that "the bomber will always get through.") This, and the fact British bombers lacked the range and numbers to inflict a telling blow on Germany, had been important factors in the British adoption of appeasement of Adolf Hitler during the 1930s. The destruction to London from a strategic bombing campaign using conventional bombs and poison gas was expected to be catastrophic. ‹ The template below (Citations missing) is being considered for deletion. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... London — containing the City of London — is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England and a major world city. With over seven million inhabitants (Londoners) in Greater London area, it is amongst the most densely populated areas in Western Europe. ... For other uses, see Bomber (disambiguation). ... {{subst:empty template|}} {{Copyviocore |url= |month = {{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} |day = {{subst:CURRENTDAY}} |year = {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}} |time = {{subst:CURRENTTIME}} |timestamp = {{subst:CURRENTTIMESTAMP}}}} Trench warfare is a form of warfare where both combatants have fortified positions and fighting lines are static. ... The bomber will always get through is a phrase used by Stanley Baldwin in a speech to the British Parliament in 1932: I think that it is well for the man in the street to realize that there is no power on earth which can protect him from being bombed. ... Appeasement is a policy of accepting the imposed conditions of an aggressor in lieu of armed resistance, usually at the sacrifice of principles. ... Hitler redirects here. ...

When the war broke out in 1939, Britain's RAF had just 488 bombers of all kinds^{[citation needed]}, mostly obsolescent, with only about 60 of the capable new Vickers Wellington: many of the remainder had insufficient range to reach the Ruhr (let alone Berlin), had negligible defensive armament, and could not carry a useful payload. In any case, there were no effective bomb sights, very few bombs of a size that could cause significant damage, and even such obvious things as maps of Europe for navigating to and from the target were in very short supply. Furthermore, the sheer difficulty of navigating, by night, long distances to accurately attack small targets was severely underestimated. The Vickers Wellington was a twin-engine, medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs Chief Designer, R.K. Pierson. ... For the conurbation see Ruhr Area. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ...

Germany, in contrast, had abandoned plans to produce strategic bombers. With German technical resources already hard pressed to supply other needs, with Luftwaffe doctrine geared to close support of the army, and with the benefit of practical experience in Spain, German planners focused on tactical bombers to act as airborne artillery for the army, and fighters to protect them. When the fighting for Western Europe began in earnest, all three major powers (Britain, Germany and France) concentrated on daylight tactical bombing. German Stukas and medium bombers were highly effective in the military support role; the Armee de l'Air, torn by political intra-service conflict and a lack of logistical preparation, was largely unable to employ its large numbers of modern aircraft; and the British found bravery was no substitute for proper training, doctrine, and equipment— British bomber losses in the defense of France were catastrophic, and the results negligible. In that first year of the war, strategic bombing was almost forgotten. It was in a sense, however, the calm before the storm. The Deutsche Luftwaffe or   (German: air force, IPA: ) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ... For other uses, see Artillery (disambiguation). ... Junkers Ju 87 Dive-Bombers The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was the most famous Sturzkampfflugzeug (German dive bomber) in World War II, instantly recognisable by its inverted gull-wings and fixed undercarriage. ... The French Air Force is the air force branch of the French Armed Forces. ...

A German Heinkel 111 bomber over the Surrey Docks, London.

Due to mounting losses sustained in the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe began to use increasing numbers of bombers at night.^[11] In the week beginning 12 August the Luftwaffe flew less than a quarter of their bomber sorties at night, by the last week of August over half were flown at night. On 19 August Hermann Göring ordered a large night attack on Liverpool, and told his commanders they were free to decide on any targets apart from London and Liverpool.^[12] Despite this, London had already been bombed, over 60 civilians being killed in Croydon on 15 August. There were further minor attacks on London at night in August, on the 18/19, 22/23, 24/25, 25/26 and 28/29. It was in light of these attacks, and the heavier German bombing of other British cities that killed over 1,000 civilians in August, that RAF Bomber Command mounted its first raid on Berlin on the 25/26 August, with targets including Tempelhof airfield and the Siemens factories in Siemenstadt.^[13] This was politically embarrassing for Göring as he had boasted of the Luftwaffe ability to protect major German cities. Under pressure from his senior commanders, notably Kesselring, and believing the RAF to be much weaker than it was, Goering ordered the focus of the Luftwaffe campaign to switch to London, in the hope that the "last remaining" RAF fighters would be drawn in to a larger battle which the Luftwaffe could win with superior numbers. The heavy attacks on London began on 7 September, with more than 300 bombers in the afternoon, and another 250 in the night. By the morning of the 8 September, 430 Londoners had been killed. The Luftwaffe issued a press notice announcing they had dropped more than 1,000,000 kilograms of bombs on London in 24 hours. Many other British cities were hit in the 9 month Blitz, including Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Belfast, Cardiff, Kingston upon Hull and Coventry. The given aim was strategic—to destroy ports and industrial installations—but there is no room to doubt destroying the will of ordinary people to fight was a major factor, perhaps the major factor. ^[14] German photomontage of bomber over Surrey Docks, c. ... German photomontage of bomber over Surrey Docks, c. ... The Heinkel He 111 was the primary Luftwaffe medium bomber during the early stages of World War II, and is perhaps the most obvious symbol of the German side of the Battle of Britain. ... The Surrey Commercial Docks were a large group of docks in Rotherhithe on the south bank (the Surrey side) of the Thames in east London. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the World War Two battle. ...   (January 12, 1893 – October 15, 1946) was a German politician and military leader, a leading member of the Nazi Party, second in command of the Third Reich, designated successor to Adolf Hitler, and commander of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the British city. ... For other uses, see Liverpool (disambiguation). ... This article is about the English city. ... This article is about the city in Northern Ireland. ... This article is about the capital city of Wales. ... Hull or Kingston upon Hull is a British city situated on the north bank of the Humber estuary. ... For other uses, see Coventry (disambiguation). ...

Gradually, in the face of heavy losses to fighters, the Luftwaffe resorted to night bombing. Targeting had been a problem in daylight; by night, it was basically impossible, with accuracy being approximately "one city". British civilian casualties were heavy. The expected collapse in civilian morale, however, did not eventuate; indeed, it is widely believed the bombings had the opposite effect.

Over the next year, an escalating war of electronic technology developed. German scientists improvised a series of radio navigation aids to help their navigators find targets in the dark and through overcast, while the British raced to develop countermeasures (most notably airborne radar, as well as highly effective deceptive beacons and jammers). The Battle of the Beams was a period in early World War II when Luftwaffe bombers started using radio navigation for night bombing. ... For other uses, see Radar (disambiguation). ...

Despite causing a great deal of damage and sorely trying the civilian population, the defenses gradually became more formidable, and the need to divert as many squadrons as possible to the Eastern Front saw the Blitz gradually fade away into mere nuisance raids. The Eastern Front was the theatre of combat between Nazi Germany and its allies against the Soviet Union during World War II. It was somewhat separate from the other theatres of the war, not only geographically, but also for its scale and ferocity. ...

The British attack

An Avro Lancaster over Hamburg.

Britain started with its own night strategic bombing campaign, which built up from Bomber Command's tiny beginnings in 1940 to truly massive strength by the end of the war. The effects of strategic bombing were very poorly understood at the time and grossly overrated. Particularly in the first two years of the campaign, few understood just how little damage was caused and how rapidly the Germans were able to replace lost production—despite the obvious lessons to be learned from the United Kingdom's own survival of the blitz. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x742, 276 KB)Lancaster over Hamburg. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (800x742, 276 KB)Lancaster over Hamburg. ... The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engine Second World War bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the British Royal Air Force (RAF). ... The large port city of Hamburg, Germany, was very heavily bombed many times by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. During one of the attacks in July 1943 a firestorm was created that caused tens of thousands of mostly... Bomber Command badge RAF Bomber Command was the organisation that controlled the RAFs bomber forces. ...

Mid-way through the air war, it slowly began to be realized the campaign was having very little effect. Despite an ever-increasing tonnage of bombs dispatched, the inaccuracy of delivery was such any bomb falling within five miles of the target was deemed a "hit" for statistical purposes, and even by this standard, as the Butt Report made clear many bombs missed.^[15] Indeed sometimes in post raid assessment the Germans could not decide which town (not the installation in the town) had been the intended target because the scattering of bomb craters was so wide. ...

These problems were dealt with in two ways: first the precision targeting of vital facilities (ball-bearing production in particular) was abandoned in favour of "area bombing" – This change of policy was agreed by the Cabinet in 1941 and in early 1942 a new directive was issued and Air Marshal Arthur Harris (commonly known as "Bomber" Harris) was appointed to carry out the task – second as the campaign developed, improvements in the accuracy of the RAF raids were joined by better crew training, electronic aids, and new tactics such as the creation of a "pathfinder" force to mark targets for the main force. Area bombardment is the policy of indiscriminate bombing of an enemys cities, for the purpose of destroying civilian morale. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Area bombing directive was an Air Ministry directive issued to Air Marshal Arthur Harris comander of RAF Bomber Command on 14 February 1942. ... Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet GCB OBE AFC RAF (April 13, 1892 - April 5, 1984), commonly known as Bomber Harris by the press, and often within the RAF as Butcher Harris[1], was commander of RAF Bomber Command and later a Marshal of... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ...

Burnt-out blocks of flats in Hamburg sometime in 1944-45.

"Bomber" Harris, who ran the bombing campaign, said "for want of a rapier, a bludgeon was used". He felt that as much as it would be far more desirable to deliver effective pin-point attacks, as the capacity to do so simply did not exist, and since it was war, it was necessary to attack with whatever was at hand. He accepted area bombing, knowing it would kill civilians, because it was a choice of area bombing or no bombing at all, and area bombing would mean dropping large quantities of bombs into an area full of activities and industries being harnessed for the German war effort. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (798x601, 352 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Bombing of Hamburg in World War II Strategic bombing during World War II Area bombardment during World War... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (798x601, 352 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Bombing of Hamburg in World War II Strategic bombing during World War II Area bombardment during World War... For other uses, see Hamburg (disambiguation). ...

During the first few months of the area bombing campaign, an internal debate within the British government about the most effective use of the nation's limited resources in waging war on Germany continued. Should the Royal Air Force (RAF) be scaled back to allow more resources to go to the British Army and Royal Navy or should the strategic bombing option be followed and expanded? An influential paper was presented to support the bombing campaign by Professor F.W. Lindemann, the British government's leading scientific adviser, justifying the use of area bombing to "dehouse" the German workforce as the most effective way of reducing their morale and affecting enemy war production. RAF redirects here. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... Strategic bombing during World War II was greater in scale than any wartime attack the world had previously witnessed. ... Professor Frederick Alexander Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell (April 5, 1886 - July 3, 1957) was a physicist who became an influential scientific adviser to the British government and a close associate of Winston Churchill. ... On on 30 March 1942 Lord Cherwell, the British governments leading scientific adviser, sent to the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill a memorandum which after it had become accepted by the Cabinet became known as the dehousing cabinet paper. ...

Mr. Justice Singleton, a High Court Judge, was asked by the Cabinet to look into the competing points of view. In his report, that was delivered on 20 May 1942, he concluded that "If Russia can hold Germany on land I doubt whether Germany will stand 12 or 18 months’ continuous, intensified and increased bombing, affecting, as it must, her war production, her power of resistance, her industries and her will to resist (by which I mean morale)".^[16][17][18] In the end, thanks in part to the dehousing paper, it was this view which prevailed and Bomber Command would remain an important component of the British war effort up to the end of World War II. A very large proportion of the industrial production of the United Kingdom was harnessed to the task of creating a vast fleet of heavy bombers—so much so other vital areas of war production were under-resourced. Until 1944, the effect on German production was remarkably small and raised doubts whether it was wise to divert so much effort – the response being there was no where else the effort could have been applied to greater effect. is the 140th day of the year (141st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The disruption of the German transportation system was extensive. Despite German efforts to minimize loss of industrial productivity through dispersal of production facilities, as well as the extensive use of slave labour, the Nazi regime experienced a decline in the ability to supply war materiél. Furthermore, the Luftwaffe had been significantly weakened in the course of their defensive efforts so that by mid 1944, the Allies experienced day-time air dominance for the balance of the war, which would be critical to the Allied success in the Normandy Campaign and subsequent operations to the end of the war. Slavery is any of a number of related conditions involving control of a person against his or her will, enforced by violence or other clear forms of coercion. ... The Deutsche Luftwaffe or   (German: air force, IPA: ) is the commonly used term for the German air force. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free France Poland Nazi Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (absent) (Heeresgruppe B) Friedrich Dollmann (7. ...

Summary of AAF and RAF bombing ^[19].

Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (591x953, 80 KB) Summary US Strategic Bombing Survey: Statistical Appendix to Overall report (European War) (Feb 1947) table 1 Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (591x953, 80 KB) Summary US Strategic Bombing Survey: Statistical Appendix to Overall report (European War) (Feb 1947) table 1 Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

US bombing in Europe

In mid 1942, the United States Army Air Forces arrived in the UK and carried out a few raids. In January 1943, at the Casablanca Conference, it was agreed that RAF Bomber Command operations against Germany would be reinforced by the USAAF in a Combined Operations Offensive plan called Operation Pointblank. MRAF Sir C Portal was charged with the "strategic direction" of both British and American bomber operations. The text of the directive read: "Your primary object will be the progressive destruction and dislocation of the German military, industrial and economic system and the undermining of the morale of the German people to the point where their capacity for armed resistance is fatally weakened." At the beginning of the combined strategic bombing offensive on March 4th 1943 669 RAF and 303 USAAF heavy bombers were available. The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was the aviation component of the United States Army primarily during World War II. The title of Army Air Forces succeeded the prior name of Army Air Corps in June 1941 during preparation for expected combat in what came to be known as... American president Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill Free French leaders Henri Giraud and Charles de Gaulle in front of Roosevelt and Churchill at the Casablanca Conference, January 14, 1943 The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco, then a French... Operation Pointblank was the code name for the Combined Bomber Offensive of the USAAF and the RAF during World War II. It ordered Arthur Bomber Harris, head of the RAF and Carl Spaatz, head of the U.S. 8th Air Force, to bomb specific targets in support of the run...

In Europe, the American Eighth Air Force conducted its raids in daylight and their heavy bombers carried smaller payloads than British aircraft in part because of their heavier (as needed) defensive armament. USAAF leaders firmly held to the claim of "precision" bombing of military targets for much of the war, and energetically refuted claims that they were simply bombing cities. In reality, the day bombing was "precision bombing" only in the sense that most bombs fell somewhere near a specific designated target such as a railway yard. Conventionally, the air forces designated as "the target area" a circle having a radius of 1000 feet around the aiming point of attack. While accuracy improved during the war, Survey studies show that, in the over-all, only about 20% of the bombs aimed at precision targets fell within this target area. .^[20]In the fall of 1944, only seven per cent of all bombs dropped by the Eighth Air Force hit within 1,000 feet of their aim point. The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force (NAF) of the major command (MAJCOM) of Air Combat Command of the United States Air Force and it is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. ...

Nevertheless, the sheer tonnage of explosive delivered by day and by night was eventually sufficient to cause widespread damage, and, more importantly from a military point of view, forced Germany to divert resources to counter it. This was to be the real significance of the Allied strategic bombing campaign—resource allocation.

U.S. operations began with 'Pointblank' attacks, designed to eliminate key features of the German economy. These attacks manifested themselves in the infamous Schweinfurt raids. Formations of unescorted bombers were no match for German fighters, which inflicted a deadly toll. In despair, the Eighth halted air operations over Germany until a long-range fighter could be found; it proved to be the P-51 Mustang, which had the range to fly to Berlin and back. The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range single-seat fighter aircraft that entered service with Allied air forces in the middle years of World War II. The P-51 became one of the conflicts most successful and recognizable aircraft. ...

With the arrival of the brand-new Fifteenth Air Force, based in Italy, command of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe was consolidated into the United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF). With the addition of the Mustang to its strength, the Combined Bomber Offensive was resumed. Planners targeted the Luftwaffe in an operation known as 'Big Week' (20 February - 25 February 1944) and succeeded brilliantly - losses were so heavy German planners were forced into a hasty dispersal of industry and the day fighter arm never fully recovered. Activated on November 1, 1943, the Fifteenth Air Force was established as part of the U.S. Army Air Force in the World War II Mediterranean Theater of Operations as a strategic air force and commenced combat operations the day after it was formed. ... The United States Strategic Air Forces was the command body of the American strategic bomber forces in Europe during World War II. It was formed on 22 February 1944 by the redesignation of the Eighth Air Force. ... Operation Pointblank was the code name for the Combined Bomber Offensive of the USAAF and the RAF during World War II. It ordered Arthur Bomber Harris, head of the RAF and Carl Spaatz, head of the U.S. 8th Air Force, to bomb specific targets in support of the run... The Big Week (20 February - 25 February 1944) was an American bombing campaign during World War II. On February 20, 1944, as part of the European strategic bombing campaign of the United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF) launched a series of missions against Third Reich that became known as Big... is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

1943 USAAF raid on ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany.

On 27 March 1944, the Combined Chiefs of Staff issued orders granting control of all the Allied air forces in Europe, including strategic bombers, to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, who delegated command to his deputy in SHAEF Air Chief Marshal Arthur Tedder. There was resistance to this order from some senior figures, including Spenser-Churchill, Harris, and Carl Spaatz, but after some debate, control passed to SHAEF on 1 April 1944. When the Combined Bomber Offensive officially ended on 1 April, Allied airmen were well on the way to achieving air superiority over all of Europe. While they continued some strategic bombing, the USAAF along with the RAF turned their attention to the tactical air battle in support of the Normandy Invasion. It was not until the middle of September that the strategic bombing campaign of Germany again became the priority for the USSTAF.^[21] 1943 United States Army Air Force strategic bombing raid on the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. ... 1943 United States Army Air Force strategic bombing raid on the ball bearing works at Schweinfurt, Germany. ... The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was the aviation component of the United States Army primarily during World War II. The title of Army Air Forces succeeded the prior name of Army Air Corps in June 1941 during preparation for expected combat in what came to be known as... Working principle for a ball bearing. ... Schweinfurt is a city in the Unterfranken region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km North-East of Würzburg. ... is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) was the supreme military command for the western Allies during World War II. It was a body constituted from the British Chiefs of Staff Committee and the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff. ... Dwight David Eisenhower, born David Dwight Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969), nicknamed Ike, was a five-star General in the United States Army and U.S. politician, who served as the thirty-fourth President of the United States (1953–1961). ... Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (abbreviated as SHAEF), was the command headquarters of the commander of Allied forces in North West Europe in 1944 and 1945. ... Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder (July 11, 1890–June 3, 1967) was a significant British Marshal of the Royal Air Force. ... Churchill redirects here. ... Carl Tooey Spaatz (June 28, 1891 – July 14, 1974) was an American general in World War II. Carl Andrew Spatz (Spaatz added the second a in 1937 at the request of his wife and daughters to clarify the pronunciation of the name) was born on June 28, 1891, in Boyertown... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Battle of Normandy was fought in 1944 between the German forces occupying Western Europe and the invading Allies. ...

The twin campaigns—the USAAF by day, the RAF by night—built up into massive bombing of German industrial areas, notably the Ruhr, followed by attacks directly on cities such as Hamburg, Kassel, Pforzheim, Mainz and the often-criticized bombing of Dresden. The figures for tons of bombs dropped by the USAAF in the summary table should be used with caution. They may refer to the global total. The tonnage dropped by the USAAF in Europe was far smaller than that dropped by the RAF, which had larger aircraft and was bombing for longer (see table below.) Ruhr Area within Germany Map of the Ruhr Area The Ruhr Area, also called simply Ruhr, (German Ruhrgebiet, colloquial Ruhrpott or Kohlenpott) is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, consisting of a number of large formerly industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to... The large port city of Hamburg, Germany, was very heavily bombed many times by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. During one of the attacks in July 1943 a firestorm was created that caused tens of thousands of mostly... The city of Kassel in Germany was severely bombed during World War II and more than 10,000 civilians died during these raids. ... During the latter stages of World War II Pforzheim, a town in south west Germany was bombed on a number of times. ... Mainz is a city in Germany and the capital of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. ... The bombing of Dresden, led by Royal Air Force (RAF) and followed by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) between February 13 and February 15, 1945, remains one of the more controversial Allied actions of World War II. The exact number of casualties is uncertain, but most historians agree...

Effectiveness

Despite its popularity with the military and politicians, strategic bombing has been criticized on practical grounds because it does not always work reliably, and on moral grounds because of the large civilian casualties that result.

For instance, the strategic bombing survey conducted by the United States in 1946 determined German industrial production in aircraft, steel, armor, and other sectors had risen hugely during the war despite strategic bombing. However, the increase in production was far less than German potential, and far less than increases in Britain and the United States. Furthermore, most of the supplies could not reach the battlefronts because of transportation failures caused by the bombing. The tanks that reached the western front in summer 1944 were drawn by oxen because their fuel supply was so limited. The term strategic bombing survey refers to a series of American examinations of many topics related to their involvement in World War II. Some areas covered were the effectiveness of strategic bombing, medical treatment of casualties, inelegance/counter inelegance, and munitions construction and distribution. ...

The attacks on oil production, oil refineries and tank farms was however extremely successful and made a very large contribution to the general collapse of Germany in 1945. Speer's major concern was the bombing of oil facilities; however, this occurred sufficiently late in the war that Germany would soon be defeated in any case. Nevertheless, it is fair to say the oil bombing campaign materially shortened the war, thereby saving large numbers of lives. View of Shell Oil Refinery in Martinez, California. ... For the son of Albert Speer, also an architect, see Albert Speer (the younger). ...

However, German insiders credit the Allied bombing offensive with severely handicapping them. Speer repeatedly said (both during and after the war) it caused crucial production problems. A particular example comes from Admiral Karl Dönitz, head of the U-Boat arm, who noted in his memoirs failure to get the revolutionary Type XXI U-boats (which could have completely altered the balance of power in the Battle of the Atlantic) into service was entirely the result of the bombing. The United States Strategic Bombing Survey, however, concluded the delays in deploying the new submarines cannot be attributed to air attack. Karl Dönitz (IPA pronunciation:  ) (born 16 September 1891; died 24 December 1980) was a German naval leader, who commanded the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) during the second half of World War II. Dönitz was also President of Germany for 23 days after Adolf Hitlers suicide. ... U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ... Type XXI U-boat U 3008, postwar photo Type XXI U-boats, also known as the Elektroboote, were the first submarines designed to operate entirely submerged, rather than as surface ships that could submerge as a temporary means to escape detection or launch an attack. ... U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ... Battle of the Atlantic can refer to either of two naval campaigns, depending on context: World War I - First Battle of the Atlantic World War II - Second Battle of the Atlantic A Third Battle of the Atlantic was envisioned to be be part of any Third World War that arose...

Much of the misunderstanding about the effectiveness of the bomber war comes from that oft-stated fact German industrial production increased throughout the war. While this is true, it fails to note production also increased in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Canada and Australia. And, in all of those countries, the rate of production increased much more rapidly than in Germany. Until late in the war, industry had not been geared for war and German factory workers only worked a single shift. Simply by going to three shifts, production could have been tripled with no change to the infrastructure. However, attacks on the infrastructure were taking place. The attacks on Germany's canals and railroads made transportation of materials difficult at best.

Effect on morale

Although designed to "break the enemy's will", the opposite often happened. The British did not crumble under the German Blitz and other air raids early in the war. British workers continued to work throughout the war and food and other basic supplies were available throughout. ‹ The template below (Citations missing) is being considered for deletion. ... Strategic bombing is a military strategem used in a total war style campaign that attempts to destroy the economic ability of a nation-state to wage war. ...

In Germany, morale did not effectively breakdown in the face of the bombing campaign, which was far more extensive and comprehensive in effect, scope and duration than that endured by Great Britain. Additionally, the Germans clearly differentiated between behavior and morale: behavior was more or less unchanged; as with Japan, there were no riots in Germany demanding national capitulation and German workers, with stoicism, maintained industrial production as high as they could; German civilian morale, too, was strained by the bombing but remained intact right to the end of the war. Many German civilians, mostly women and children, had evacuated the cities by the latter stages of the war. Those who were workers were replaced in some, but not all, factories by prisoners or forced laborers with low morale, who were severely punished by their SS guards if their work performance faltered; most surviving German industrial workers, however, continued to work at their factories and remained at their posts (while most forced laborers were confined to factories within the precincts or within the vicinity of the concentration camps that housed them).

Propaganda leaflet dropped by the RAF after a bombing raid on Essen.

Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 470 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1159 × 1478 pixel, file size: 946 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 470 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (1159 × 1478 pixel, file size: 946 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... RAF is an three letter acronym for: Royal Air Force -- the Air Force of the United Kingdom (see also Air Ministry) Red Army Faction (Rote Armee Fraktion) -- a German terror organisation Rigas Autobusu Fabrika -- a factory making buses in Riga, Latvia Rapid Action Force in India Računarski Fakultet RAF... Essen is a city in the center of the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ...

Allied bombing statistics 1939–45

Ref: War In The Air 1939–1945 by Richard Humble — Purnell — 1975

Asia

Japanese bombing

Casualties of a mass panic during a Japanese air raid in Chongqing.

The Japanese strategic bombing were done independently by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service. These were mostly done against large Chinese cities, such as Shanghai, Wuhan and Chonging, with around 5 000 raids from February 1938 to August 1943 in the later case. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service or Dai Nippon Teikoku Kaigun Koku Hombu was a major force in the Pacific War during World War II. The Japanese military acquired their first aircraft in 1910 and followed the development of air combat during World War I with great interest. ... The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, or more traditionally called the Japanese Army Air Force (陸軍航空本部 Rikugun Kōkū Hombu), was Imperial Japans land-based aviation force. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... For the brand of cymbal, see Wuhan cymbals. ... 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. ...

The bombing of Nanjing and Canton, which began on 22 and 23 September 1937, called forth widespread protests culminating in a resolution by the Far Eastern Advisory Committee of the League of Nations. Lord Cranborne, the British Under-Secretary of State For Foreign Affairs, expressed his indignation in his own declaration. «Words cannot express the feelings of profound horror with which the news of these raids had been received by the whole civilized world. They are often directed against places far from the actual area of hostilities. The military objective, where it exists, seems to take a completely second place. The main object seems to be to inspire terror by the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians...» ^[22] For other uses, see Nanjing (disambiguation). ... CITIC Plaza Guangzhou (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin:  ; jyutping : Gwong²zau¹) is the capital and a sub-provincial city of Guangdong Province in the southern part of the Peoples Republic of China. ... 1939–1941 semi-official emblem Anachronous world map in 1920–1945, showing the League of Nations and the world Capital Not applicable¹ Language(s) English, French and Spanish Political structure International organization Secretary-general  - 1920–1933 Sir James Eric Drummond  - 1933–1940 Joseph Avenol  - 1940–1946 Seán Lester Historical...

There were also air raids on Philippines and northern Australia (Bombing of Darwin, 19 February 1942). The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service used tactical bombing against enemy airfields and military positions, as at Pearl Harbor. The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service also attacked enemy ships and military installations. Belligerents Australia United States Empire of Japan Commanders David V. J. Blake Chuichi Nagumo Strength 30 planes 242 planes Casualties and losses 251 killed 23 planes destroyed 10 ships sunk one aircrew confirmed killed, several missing in action, six airmen taken prisoner; six Japanese aircraft confirmed destroyed, four probably destroyed. ... [[Media:Italic text]]{| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service or Dai Nippon Teikoku Kaigun Koku Hombu was a major force in the Pacific War during World War II. The Japanese military acquired their first aircraft in 1910 and followed the development of air combat during World War I with great interest. ... This article is about the actual attack. ... The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service, or more traditionally called the Japanese Army Air Force (陸軍航空本部 Rikugun Kōkū Hombu), was Imperial Japans land-based aviation force. ...

United States strategic bombing of Japan

The United States strategic bombing of Japan took place between 1942 and 1945. In the last seven months of the campaign, a change to firebombing tactics resulted in great destruction of 67 Japanese cities, as many as 500,000 Japanese deaths and some 5 million more made homeless. Emperor Hirohito's viewing of the destroyed areas of Tokyo in March 1945, is said to have been the beginning of his personal involvement in the peace process, culminating in Japan's surrender five months later.^[24] For the town of Yokohama in Aomori Prefecture, see Yokohama, Aomori. ... For other uses, see Tokyo (disambiguation). ... Toyama Castle in Spring Toyama (富山市; -shi) is the capital city of Toyama Prefecture, Japan. ... Nagoya ) is the fourth largest city in Japan. ... For other uses, see Osaka (disambiguation). ... Nishinomiya (西宮市; -shi) is a city located in Hyogo, Japan, between the cities of Osaka and Kobe. ... Shimonoseki (下関市; -shi) is a city located in Yamaguchi, Japan. ... Kure (呉市; -shi) is a city located in Hiroshima, Japan. ... This article is about the Japanese city. ... Ōmuta (大牟田市; -shi) is a city located in Fukuoka prefecture, Japan. ... Template:Wakayama infobox Wakayama (和歌山市; -shi) is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. ... This article is about the Japanese city. ... Okayama (岡山市; -shi) is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chugoku region of Japan. ... Yawata (八幡市; -shi) is a city located in Kyoto, Japan. ... Kagoshima (鹿児島市; -shi) the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture at the southwest tip of the Kyushu island of Japan. ... Amagasaki (尼崎市; -shi) is a city located in Hyogo, Japan. ... Illuminated by the Albuquerque Bridge, Japanese volunteers place candle lit lanterns into the Sasebo River during the Obon festival. ... Nobeoka (延岡市; -shi) is a city located in Miyazaki, Japan. ... Miyazaki (宮崎市; -shi) is the capital city of Miyazaki Prefecture on Kyushu island of Japan. ... Ube (宇部市; -shi) is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. ... , Saga (佐賀市;; -shi) is the capital of Saga Prefecture, located on the island of Kyushu, Japan. ... Imabari (今治市; -shi) is a city located in Ehime, Japan. ... See Matsuyama (disambiguation) for other places having a name Matsuyama. ... , Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Tokushima (徳島市; -shi) is the capital city of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku island of Japan. ... Sakai ) is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. ... Hachiōji (八王子市; -shi) is a city located in Tokyo, Japan, about 40 km west of the center of Tokyo. ... Categories: Cities in Kumamoto Prefecture | Japan geography stubs ... Isesaki (伊勢崎市; -shi) is a city located in Gunma, Japan. ... Takamatsu (高松市; -shi lit. ... Akashi (明石市; -shi) is a city located in southern Hyogo, Japan, on the Inland Sea west of Kobe. ... Fukuyama (福山市; -shi) is a city located in Hiroshima, Japan. ... Aomori (Japanese: ; Aomori-shi) is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture (青森県; Aomori-ken), the north end of HonshÅ«. The city faces Mutsu Bay connecting Tsugaru Channel and the Hakkoda Mountains lie in the southern part of Aomori. ... Okazaki ) is a city located in Aichi Prefecture on the main island of Japan. ... ÅŒita ) is the capital city of ÅŒita Prefecture on the Kyushu island of Japan. ... Hiratsuka (平塚市 Hiratsuka-shi) is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan. ... Tokuyama was one of two cities (the other being Shinnanyo, Yamaguchi) that merged in April 21, 2003 to become Shunan, Yamaguchi. ... Yokkaichi (四日市市; -shi) is a city located in Mie, Japan. ... This article is about the city in Mie Prefecture. ... ÅŒgaki (大垣市; -shi) is a city located in Gifu, Japan. ... The city of Gifu ) is located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. ... Shizuoka (静岡市; -shi) is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. ... Himeji city information Categories: Cities in Hyogo Prefecture | Japan geography stubs ... This article is about a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. ... Obiyamachi in downtown Kochi Kōchi (高知市 Kōchi-shi) is the capital city of Kochi Prefecture on the Shikoku island of Japan. ... Shimizu-ku (清水区) is a ward of Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan. ... Ōmura (大村市; -shi) is a city located in Nagasaki, Japan. ... Chiba (千葉市 Chiba-shi) is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. ... Ichinomiya is the supreme shrine in its old Japanese provinces, or the name of several places and shrines: Ichinomiya, Chiba (Kazusa) Ichinomiya, Yamanashi (Kai) Ichinomiya, Aichi (Owari) Ichinomiya, Aichi (Mikawa) Ichinomiya, Hyogo (Shiso) (Harima) Ichinomiya, Hyogo (Tsuna) (Awaji) Ichinomiya, Kumamoto (Higo) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which... Nara ) is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. ... Tsu (津市; -shi) is the capital of Mie Prefecture, Japan. ... Kuwana (桑名市; -shi) is a city located in Mie, Japan. ... Toyohashi (豊橋市; -shi) is a city located in Aichi, Japan. ... Numazu (沼津市; -shi) is a city located in Shizuoka, Japan. ... Chōshi (銚子市; -shi) is a city located in Chiba, Japan. ... Kōfu, or Koufu (甲府市; -shi) is the capital city of Yamanashi, Japan. ... Utsunomiya (Japanese: 宇都宮市; -shi) is a city located in Tochigi, Japan. ... Mito (水戸市; -shi) is the capital of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan and has a central location, moderately offset towards the coast in that prefecture. ... This April 2007 does not cite its references or sources. ... Tsuruga (敦賀市; -shi) is a city located in Fukui, Japan. ... Nagaoka (長岡市) is a city located in the central part of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. ... Hitachi (日立市; -shi) is a city located on the Pacific Ocean in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. ... Kumagaya (Japanese: 熊谷市; -shi) is a city located in Saitama, Japan and part of the Greater Tokyo Area. ... Hamamatsu (浜松市; -shi) is a city located in western Shizuoka, Japan. ... Maebashi (前橋市 Maebashi-shi) is the capital city of Gunma in Japan. ... Hirohito (裕仁), the Shōwa Emperor (昭和天皇), (April 29, 1901 - January 7, 1989) reigned over Japan from 1926 to 1989. ... The Japanese representatives, Mamoru Shigemitsu and Yoshijiro Umezu, on board USS Missouri during the surrender ceremonies on 2 September 1945. ...

Conventional bombing

Tokyo burns during a firebomb attack 26 May 1945.

The first U.S. raid on the Japanese main island was the Doolittle Raid of 18 April 1942 when sixteen B-25 Mitchells were launched from the USS Hornet (CV-8) to attack targets including Yokohama and Tokyo and then fly on to airfields in China. The raids were military pin-pricks, but a significant propaganda victory. Launched prematurely, none of the attacking aircraft reached the designated post mission airfields, either crashing or ditching (except for one aircraft, which landed in the Soviet Union, where the crew was interned). Two crews were captured by the Japanese. Some estimates put a death toll of 250,000 Chinese men, women and children who were slaughtered by Japanese Army troops in retaliation for aiding the downed American fliers.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3152x2932, 3999 KB) Tokyo burns under B-29 firebomb assault. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (3152x2932, 3999 KB) Tokyo burns under B-29 firebomb assault. ... is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Combatants  United States  Japan Commanders James H. Doolittle Hideki Tojo Strength 16 B-25 Mitchells Unknown number of troops and homeland defense Casualties 3 dead, 8 POWs (4 died in captivity); 5 interned in USSR all 16 B-25s About 50 dead, 400 injured Lt. ... is the 108th day of the year (109th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The North American B-25 Mitchell (NA-62) was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. ... The seventh USS Hornet (CV-8) of the United States Navy was an aircraft carrier of World War II, notable for launching the Doolittle Raid, as a participant in the Battle of Midway, and for action in the Solomons before being mortally wounded in the Battle of the Santa Cruz... For the town of Yokohama in Aomori Prefecture, see Yokohama, Aomori. ... For other uses, see Tokyo (disambiguation). ... 1967 Chinese propaganda poster from the Cultural Revolution. ...

The key development for the bombing of Japan was the B-29 Superfortress, which had an operational range of 1,500 miles (2,400 km); almost 90% of the bombs dropped on the home islands of Japan were delivered by this type of bomber (147,000 tons). The first raid by B-29s on Japan from China was on 15 June 1944. The planes took off from Chengdu, over 1,500 miles away. This first raid was also not particularly damaging to Japan. Only forty-seven of the sixty-eight B–29s that took off hit the target area; four aborted with mechanical problems, four crashed, six jettisoned their bombs because of mechanical difficulties, and others bombed secondary targets or targets of opportunity. Only one B–29 was lost to enemy aircraft. The first raid from the east was on 24 November 1944 when 88 aircraft bombed Tokyo. The bombs were dropped from around 30,000 feet (10,000 m) and it is estimated that only around 10% of the bombs hit designated targets. The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine heavy bomber propeller aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and other military organizations afterwards. ... is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Not to be confused with Chengde. ... is the 328th day of the year (329th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The initial raids were carried out by the Twentieth Air Force operating out of mainland China in Operation Matterhorn under XX Bomber Command. Initially the Twentieth Air Force was under the command of Hap Arnold, and later Curtis LeMay. This was never a satisfactory arrangement because not only were the Chinese airbases difficult to supply via - materiel being sent over "the Hump" from India, but the B-29s operating from them could only reach Japan if they traded some of their bomb load for extra fuel in tanks in the bomb-bays. When Admiral Chester Nimitz's island-hopping campaign captured islands close enough to Japan to be within the range of B-29s, the Twentieth Air Force was assigned to XXI Bomber Command which organized a much more effective bombing campaign of the Japanese home islands. Based in the Marianas (Guam and Tinian in particular) the B-29s were now able to carry their full bomb loads. Twentieth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force in Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). ... Operation Matterhorn was organised by U.S. XX Bomber Command during World War II to place USAAF B29 Bombers in China for use against Japan. ... The XX Bomber Command of the USAAF was established in November 1943 to oversee B_29 Superfortress training in the US. The XX, an operational unit under the Twentieth Air Force was then moved to India. ... Henry Harley Arnold (June 25, 1886 - January 15, 1950), often referred to by the nickname Hap, was an American pilot, commander of the US Army Air Corps from 1938, commander of the US Army Air Forces from 1941 until 1945 and the first General of the Air Force in 1949. ... Curtis Emerson LeMay (November 15, 1906–October 3, 1990) was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of independent candidate George C. Wallace in 1968. ... The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew from India to China to resupply the Flying Tigers and the Chinese Government of Chiang Kai-shek. ... Chester William Nimitz (February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was the Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces for the United States and Allied forces during World War II. He was the United States leading authority on submarines, as well as Chief of the Navys Bureau of Navigation in 1939. ... This image portrays the island hop of Christopher Columbuss second voyage to the Caribbean. ... Bomber Command is an organizational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. ... Mariana Islands (sometimes called The Marianas; up to the early 20th century sometimes called the Ladrone Islands) are a group of islands made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the Pacific Ocean. ... Saipan, Tinian & Aguiguan The atom bomb pit on Tinians North Field, where Little Boy was loaded aboard the Enola Gay Tinian Shinto shrine. ...

Unlike all other forces in theater, the Bomber Commands did not report to the commanders of the theaters but directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In March 1945, they were placed under the U.S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific which was commanded by General Carl Spaatz. Bomber Command is an organizational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. ... Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States of America symbol The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is a group comprising the Chiefs of service of each major branch of the armed services in the United States armed forces. ... Carl Tooey Spaatz (June 28, 1891 – July 14, 1974) was an American general in World War II. Carl Andrew Spatz (Spaatz added the second a in 1937 at the request of his wife and daughters to clarify the pronunciation of the name) was born on June 28, 1891, in Boyertown...

As in Europe, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) tried daylight precision bombing. However, it proved to be impossible due to the weather around Japan, as bombs dropped from a great height were tossed about by high winds. General LeMay, commander of XXI Bomber Command, instead switched to mass firebombing night attacks from altitudes of around 7,000 feet (2,100 m) on the major conurbations of Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe. Despite limited early success, particularly against Nagoya, LeMay was determined to use such bombing tactics against the vulnerable Japanese cities. Attacks on strategic targets also continued in lower-level daylight raids. The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was the aviation component of the United States Army primarily during World War II. The title of Army Air Forces succeeded the prior name of Army Air Corps in June 1941 during preparation for expected combat in what came to be known as... Precision bombing is the desired skill of being able to bomb single buildings in a built up area, without causing any damage to the surrounding buildings, or the ability to place a bomb by air to within extremely accurate limits. ... A conurbation is an urban area comprising a number of cities, towns and villages which, through population growth and expansion, have physically merged to form one continuous built up area. ... For other uses, see Tokyo (disambiguation). ... Nagoya ) is the fourth largest city in Japan. ... For other uses, see Osaka (disambiguation). ... This article is about the Japanese city. ...

The first successful firebombing raid was on Kobe on 3 February 1945, and following its relative success the USAAF continued the tactic. Nearly half of the principal factories of the city were damaged, and production was reduced by more than half at one of the port's two shipyards. Firebombing is a bombing technique designed to damage a target, generally an urban area, through the use of fire rather than the blast effects of large bombs. ... On March 17th, 1945, three hundred and thirty-one American B-29 bombers launched a firebombing attack against the city of Kobe, Japan. ... is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was the aviation component of the United States Army primarily during World War II. The title of Army Air Forces succeeded the prior name of Army Air Corps in June 1941 during preparation for expected combat in what came to be known as...

Much of the armor and defensive weaponry of the bombers was removed to allow increased bomb loads; Japanese air defense in terms of night-fighters and anti-aircraft guns was so feeble it was hardly a risk. The first raid of this type on Tokyo was on the night of 23 February–24 when 174 B-29s destroyed around one square mile (3 km²) of the city. Following on that success 334 B-29s raided on the night of 9 March –10 March, dropping around 1,700 tons of bombs. Around 16 square miles (41 km²) of the city was destroyed and over 100,000 people are estimated to have died in the fire storm. The destruction and damage was at its worst in the city sections east of the Imperial Palace. It was the most destructive conventional raid in all of history. The city was made primarily of wood and paper, and Japanese firefighting methods were not up to the challenge. The fires burned out of control, boiling canal water and causing entire blocks of buildings to spontaneously combust from the heat. The effects of the Tokyo firebombing proved the fears expressed by Admiral Yamamoto in 1939: "Japanese cities, being made of wood and paper, would burn very easily. The Army talks big, but if war came and there were large-scale air raids, there's no telling what would happen."^[25] American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... B-29 bombers were used to drop hundreds of thousands of tons of explosives onto Japanese cities during the war. ... (Redirected from 23 February) February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (69th in Leap years). ... is the 69th day of the year (70th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the comic book superhero, see Firestorm (comics). ... In this Japanese name, the family name is Yamamoto Fleet Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ) (4 April 1884 – 18 April 1943) was Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II, graduate of Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and an alumnus of U.S. Naval War College and Harvard University (1919...

In the following two weeks, there were almost 1,600 further sorties against the four cities, destroying 31 square miles (80 km²) in total at a cost of 22 aircraft. By June, over forty percent of the urban area of Japan's largest six cities (Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe, Osaka, Yokohama, and Kawasaki) was devastated. LeMay's fleet of nearly 600 bombers destroyed tens of smaller cities and manufacturing centers in the following weeks and months. Sortie is a term for deployment of one military aircraft or a ship for the purposes of a specific mission, whether alone, or with other aircraft or vessels. ... For the town of Yokohama in Aomori Prefecture, see Yokohama, Aomori. ... This article is about the Japanese city. ...

Leaflets were dropped over cities before they were bombed, warning the people and urging them to escape the city. Though many, even within the Air Force, viewed this as a form of psychological warfare, a significant element in the decision to produce and drop them was the desire to assuage American anxieties about the extent of the destruction created by this new war tactic. The U.S. Department of Defense defines psychological warfare (PSYWAR) as: The planned use of propaganda and other psychological actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such a way as to support the achievement of national objectives. ...

A year after the war, the United States Army Air Forces's Strategic Bombing Survey (Pacific War) reported that they had underestimated the power of strategic bombing combined with naval blockade and previous military defeats to bring Japan to unconditional surrender without invasion. By July 1945, only a fraction of the planned strategic bombing force had been deployed yet there were few targets left worth the effort. In hindsight, it would have been more effective to use land-based and carrier-based air power to strike against merchant shipping and begin aerial mining at a much earlier date so as to link up with the effective Allied submarine anti-shipping campaign and completely isolate the island nation. This would have accelerated the strangulation of Japan and ended the war sooner.^[26] A postwar Naval Ordnance Laboratory survey agreed, finding that naval mines dropped by B-29s had accounted for 60% of all Japanese shipping losses in the last six months of the war.^[27] In October 1945, Prince Fumimaro Konoe said that the sinking of Japanese vessels by U.S. aircraft combined with the B-29 aerial mining campaign were just as effective as B-29 attacks on industry alone^[28], though he admitted that "the thing that brought about the determination to make peace was the prolonged bombing by the B-29s." Prime Minister Baron Kantarō Suzuki reported to U.S. military authorities that it "seemed to me unavoidable that in the long run Japan would be almost destroyed by air attack so that merely on the basis of the B-29s alone I was convinced that Japan should sue for peace."^[29] The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was the aviation component of the United States Army primarily during World War II. The title of Army Air Forces succeeded the prior name of Army Air Corps in June 1941 during preparation for expected combat in what came to be known as... The Strategic bombing survey (Pacific War) was a U.S. Army report on the impact of strategic bombing in World War II in the Pacific Campaign. ... For other uses, see Pacific War (disambiguation). ... The Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL), now disestablished, formerly located in White Oak, Maryland was the site of considerable work that had practical impact upon world technology. ... Fumimaro Konoe Prince Fumimaro Konoe (è¿‘è¡ž{è¡› in Shinjitai} 文麿 Konoe Fumimaro) (sometimes Konoye, October 12, 1891–December 16, 1945) was a Japanese politician and the 34th (June 4, 1937–January 5, 1939), 38th (July 22, 1940–July 18, 1941) and 39th (July 18, 1941–October 18, 1941) Prime Minister of Japan. ... This is a Japanese name; the family name is Suzuki Baron Kantarō Suzuki , 18 January 1868 - 17 April 1948) was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and 42nd Prime Minister of Japan from 7 April 1945 to 17 August 1945. ...

Nuclear bombing

Main article: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the hypocenter.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks during World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States under US President Harry S. Truman. After six months of intense firebombing of 67 other Japanese cities, on 6 August 1945, the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" enriched uranium bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, followed on 9 August 1945 by the detonation of the "Fat Man" plutonium core nuclear bomb over Nagasaki. These are the only uses of nuclear weapons in warfare. The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima after the dropping of Little Boy. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1246x1468, 760 KB) if you look closely, you can see a japanese person in the bottom right corner TITLE: Mushroom cloud CALL NUMBER: POS 6 - U.S., no. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1246x1468, 760 KB) if you look closely, you can see a japanese person in the bottom right corner TITLE: Mushroom cloud CALL NUMBER: POS 6 - U.S., no. ... The atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945 A mushroom cloud is a distinctive mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke, flame, or debris resulting from a very large explosion. ... The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima after the dropping of Little Boy. ... The hypocenter or hypocentre (literally: below the center from the Greek υπόκεντρον), may refer to the site of an earthquake or to that of a nuclear explosion. ... The Titan II ICBM carried a 9 Mt W53 warhead, making it one of the most powerful nuclear weapons fielded by the United States during the Cold War. ... Anthem Kimi ga Yo Imperial Reign Capital Tokyo Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1868–1912 Emperor Meiji  - 1912–1926 Emperor Taishō  - 1926–1989 Emperor Shōwa Prime Minister  - 1885-1888, 1892-1896, 1898, 1900-1901 Itō Hirobumi  - 1888-1889 Kuroda Kiyotaka  - 1889-1891 Yamagata Aritomo  - 1906-1908, 1911-1912 Saionji Kinmochi... For the pop band, see Presidents of the United States of America. ... For other persons named Harry Truman, see Harry Truman (disambiguation). ... Strategic bombing during World War II was greater in scale than any wartime attack the world had previously witnessed. ... is the 218th day of the year (219th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter A nuclear weapon derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions of fusion or fission. ... Little Boy was the codename of the atomic bomb which was dropped on Hiroshima, on August 6, 1945 by the 12-man crew of the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets (Tibbets, age 92, died Nov. ... For other uses, see Hiroshima (disambiguation). ... is the 221st day of the year (222nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... This article is about the nuclear weapon used in World War II. For other uses, see Fat Man (disambiguation). ... Megane-bashi (Spectacles Bridge) Nagasaki   listen? (長崎市; -shi, literally long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture located at the south-western coast of Kyushu, Japan. ...

As many as 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki may have died from the bombings by the end of 1945^[30], roughly half on the days of the bombings. Since then, thousands more have died from injuries or illness due to radiation.^[31] In both cities, the overwhelming majority of the dead were civilians.^[32][33] Radiation poisoning, also called radiation sickness or a creeping dose, is a form of damage to organ tissue due to excessive exposure to ionizing radiation. ...

On 15 August 1945, Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers, signing the Instrument of Surrender on 2 September which officially ended World War II. Furthermore, the experience of bombing led post-war Japan to adopt Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which forbid Japan from nuclear armament. This article is about the day of the year. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... The Japanese representatives, Mamoru Shigemitsu and Yoshijiro Umezu, on board USS Missouri during the surrender ceremonies on 2 September 1945. ... Representatives of Japan stand aboard the USS Missouri prior to signing of the Instrument of Surrender. ... is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Japans Three Non-Nuclear Principles ) are a parliamentary resolution (never adopted into law) that have guided Japanese nuclear policy since their inception in the late 1960s, and reflect general public sentiment and national policy since the end of World War II. The tenets state that Japan shall neither possess...

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Bombing of Japan in World War II

Notes

is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sir John Keegan OBE (born 1934) is a British military historian, lecturer and journalist. ... Tower Hill Memorial, corridor The Tower Hill Memorial is a national war memorial on the south side of Trinity Square Gardens, just to the north of the Tower of London. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The term strategic bombing survey refers to a series of American examinations of many topics related to their involvement in World War II. Some areas covered were the effectiveness of strategic bombing, medical treatment of casualties, inelegance/counter inelegance, and munitions construction and distribution. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Democide is a term coined by political scientist R. J. Rummel for the murder of any person or people by a government, including genocide, politicide, and mass murder. Rummel created the term as an extended concept to include forms of government murder that are not covered by the legal definition... Sir John Keegan OBE (born 1934) is a British military historian, lecturer and journalist. ... Paul Johnson (born Paul Bede Johnson on 2 November 1928 in Manchester, England) is a British Roman Catholic journalist, historian, speechwriter and author. ... Sir John Keegan OBE (born 1934) is a British military historian, lecturer and journalist. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Democide is a term coined by political scientist R. J. Rummel for the murder of any person or people by a government, including genocide, politicide, and mass murder. Rummel created the term as an extended concept to include forms of government murder that are not covered by the legal definition... Paul Johnson (born Paul Bede Johnson on 2 November 1928 in Manchester, England) is a British Roman Catholic journalist, historian, speechwriter and author. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy and nuclear safety. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Bradley, F. J. No Strategic Targets Left. "Contribution of Major Fire Raids Toward Ending WWII", Turner Publishing Company, limited edition. ISBN 1563114836.
• Caidin, Martin. A Torch to the Enemy: The Fire Raid on Tokyo, Bantam War Books, 1960. ISBN 0553299263
• Copp, Terry; The Bomber Command Offensive , originally published in the Legion Magazine September/October 1996
• Davis, Richard G. Bombing the European Axis Powers. A Historical Digest of the Combined Bomber Offensive 1939–1945 PDF. Alabama: Air University Press, 2006
• Grafton, Brian. Bomber Command on the website Military History Online
• Grayling, A. C. (2006). Among the Dead Cities. London: Bloomsbury,. ISBN 0-745-7671-8. 
• Hallion, Richard P. . Decisive Air Power Prior to 1950 United States Air Force History and Museums Program.
• Longmate, Norman. The Bombers. Hutchins & Co, 1983. ISBN 0-09-151508-7.
• Nelson, Hank. A different war: Australians in Bomber Command a paper presented at the 2003 History Conference - Air War Europe
• Overy, Richard J. The Air War New York: Stein and Day, 1980.
• Ray, John. The Night Blitz
• Spector, Ronald (1985). Eagle Against the Sun. New York: Vintage Books.
• Taylor, Frederick. (2004) Dresden: Tuesday, 13 February, 1945. London: Bloomsbury, Paperback 2006 ISBN 0-7475-7074-1.
• Saward, Dudley. Bomber Harris. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1985.
• United States Strategic Bombing Survey. Summary Report(Pacific War) July 1, 1946
• United States Strategic Bombing Survey. Summary Report(European War) September 30, 1945
• United States Strategic Bombing Survey. The Defeat of the German Air Force. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1947; The Effects of Strategic Bombing on German Transportation. 1947; The Effects of Strategic Bombing on the German War Economy. 1945.
• Wood & Dempster The Narrow Margin Chapter "Second Phase"

PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... Anthony Clifford Grayling MA, DPhil (Oxon) FRSA (born 3 April 1949) is a British philosopher and author. ...

Further reading

• Alan J. Levine, The Strategic Bombing of Germany, 1940-1945 (1992)
• [British] Air Ministry. The Rise and Fall of the German Air Force. New York: St. Martin's, 1983. official RAF history
• Thomas Coffey. Decision over Schweinfurt. New York: Doubleday, 1977.
• Thomas Coffey. Hap. New York: Viking Press, 1982. biography of Hap Arnold AAF
• Wesley F. Craven and Cate James Lea. The Army Air Forces in World War II. 8 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948- 1958. official AAF history
• Arthur Harris. Bomber Offensive. London: Collins, 1947, memoir
• Max Hastings. Bomber Command. New York: Dial, 1979.
• Lee Kennett . A History of Strategic Bombing. New York: Scribner's, 1982.
• Martin Middlebrook and Everitt Chris. eds. The Bomber Command War Diaries. London: Penguin, 1990.
• Alfred Mierzejewski. The Collapse of the German War Economy, 1944-1945. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987.
• Alan Milward. The German Economy at War. London: University of London Press, 1965
• Stewart Halsey Ross, 2003. Strategic Bombing by the United States in World War II. The Myths and the Facts.. Jefferson, North Carolina/London: McFarland & Co, Inc.
• Anthony Verrier. The Bomber Offensive. New York: Macmillan, 1968.
• Charless Webster and Frankland Noble. The Strategic Air Offensive against Germany. 4 vols. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1961. official British history
• Russell Weigley . Eisenhower's Lieutenants. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981.

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v • d • e World War II
Western Europe · Eastern Europe · Africa · Mediterranean · Asia and the Pacific · Atlantic Combatants  United Kingdom  Canada  United States(1941–5)  Norway Poland Free French Navy  Germany  Italy (1940–3) Commanders  Sir Percy Noble  Sir Max K. Horton  Percy W. Nelles  Leonard W. Murray  Ernest J. King  Erich Raeder  Karl Dönitz Casualties 30,248 merchant sailors 3,500 merchant vessels 175 warships... Attacks on North America during World War II by the Axis Powers were rare, mainly due to the continents geographical separation from the central theaters of conflict in Europe and Asia. ... Belligerents Nationalist Party of China Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War... Combatants Soviet Union Mongolian Peoples Republic Empire of Japan Manchukuo Commanders Georgy Zhukov Michitaro Komatsubara Strength 57,000 30,000 (initially), 60,000 (as positions reinforced) Casualties Archival research 7,974 killed, 15,251 wounded[1] Japanese government claim 8,440 killed, 8,766 wounded Soviet claim 60,000... Combatants Vichy France Thailand Commanders Jean Decoux Plaek Phibunsongkhram Strength 50,000 men, 20 tanks, ~100 aircraft 60,000 men, 134 tanks, 140 aircraft, 18 vessels Casualties 321 KIA and WIA, 178 MIA, 222 captured, 22 aircraft 54 KIA, 307 WIA, 21 captured, 8-13 aircraft The French-Thai War... Combatants Kingdom of Iraq United Kingdom India Commanders Rashid Ali General Sir Edward Quinan Strength five divisions about two divisions Casualties 2,500 KIA, about 6,000 POWs 1,200 (KIA, MIA, WIA) The Anglo-Iraqi War is the name of hostilities between the United Kingdom and the Iraqi nationalist... Combatants Allies (UK, India and USSR) Persia/ Iran The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia was the invasion of Iran by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, codenamed Operation Countenance, from August 25 to September 17 of 1941. ... Belligerents China United States1 Empire of Japan Collaborationist Chinese Army2 Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, Li Zongren, Xue Yue, Bai Chongxi, Peng Dehuai, Joseph Stilwell, Claire Chennault, Albert Wedemeyer Hirohito, Fumimaro Konoe, Hideki Tojo, Kotohito Kanin, Matsui Iwane, Hajime Sugiyama, Shunroku Hata, Toshizo Nishio... Combatants Republic of Peru Republic of Ecuador Commanders Gen. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Combatants  United Kingdom  United States Poland  France Canada Free France  Netherlands  Belgium Germany Italy Commanders Winston Churchill, Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Harold Alexander, Bertram Ramsay, Bernard Montgomery, Lord Gort, Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Franklin Roosevelt,, George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Jacob Devers, WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Anders, WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Sikorski, Stanis... Combatants Soviet Union,[1] Poland, Tannu Tuva (until 1944 incorporation with USSR), Mongolia Germany,[2] Italy (to 1943), Romania (to 1944), Finland (to 1944), Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Spain (to 1943, unofficial) Commanders Joseph Stalin, Aleksei Antonov, Ivan Konev, Rodion Malinovsky, Ivan Bagramyan, Kirill Meretskov, Ivan Petrov, Alexander Rodimtsev, Konstantin Rokossovsky... 219. ... The Mediterranean region. ... For other uses, see Pacific War (disambiguation). ... Combatants  United Kingdom  Canada  United States(1941–5)  Norway Poland Free French Navy  Germany  Italy (1940–3) Commanders  Sir Percy Noble  Sir Max K. Horton  Percy W. Nelles  Leonard W. Murray  Ernest J. King  Erich Raeder  Karl Dönitz Casualties 30,248 merchant sailors 3,500 merchant vessels 175 warships...
Major participants Map of the World with the Participants in World War II. The western allies are shown in blue, the eastern allies in red, the Axis Powers in black, and neutral countries in grey. ...			Timeline For events preceding September 1, 1939, see the timeline of events preceding World War II. This is a timeline of events that stretched over the period of World War II. // 1: The Invasion of Poland begins at 4:30 a. ...		Aspects
To 1945 unless otherwise indicated. Principal co-belligerents in italics.			Prelude • Causes • in Asia • in Europe This article is concerned with the events that preceded World War II in Asia. ... In Europe, the origins of the war are closely tied to the rise of fascism, especially in Nazi Germany. ... 1937 • Invasion of China Belligerents China United States1 Empire of Japan Collaborationist Chinese Army2 Commanders Chiang Kai-shek, Chen Cheng, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, Li Zongren, Xue Yue, Bai Chongxi, Peng Dehuai, Joseph Stilwell, Claire Chennault, Albert Wedemeyer Hirohito, Fumimaro Konoe, Hideki Tojo, Kotohito Kanin, Matsui Iwane, Hajime Sugiyama, Shunroku Hata, Toshizo Nishio... 1938 • Annexation of Austria • Occupation of Czechoslovakia German troops march into Austria on 12 March 1938. ... The Munich Agreement and the first Vienna Award After the Austrian Anschluss, Czechoslovakia was to become Hitlers next target. ... 1939 • Invasion of Poland • Phoney War • Winter War • Battle of the Atlantic5 For the Soviet Unions military action against Poland under the same alliance, see Soviet invasion of Poland (1939). ... British Ministry of Home Security Poster of a type that was common during the Phony War The Phony War or the Bore War, also called Sitzkrieg, was a phase in early World War II from September 1939 until May 1940 marked by few military operations in Continental Europe, in the... Combatants Finland Soviet Union Commanders Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Kliment Voroshilov Semyon Timoshenko Strength 250,000 men 30 tanks 130 aircraft[1][2] 1,000,000 men 6,541 tanks [3] 3,800 aircraft[4][5] Casualties 26,662 dead 39,886 wounded 1,000 captured[6] 126,875 dead... Combatants Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy United States Navy (1941–5) Kriegsmarine Regia Marina (1940–3) Commanders Sir Percy Noble Sir Max K. Horton Percy W. Nelles Leonard W. Murray Ernest J. King Erich Raeder Karl Dönitz Casualties 30,248 merchant sailors 3,500 merchant vessels 175 warships 28... 1940 • Denmark and Norway • Battle of France • Battle of Britain • Libya and Egypt • British Somaliland • Baltic Occupation • Bessarabia and Bukovina • Invasion of Indochina • Invasion of Greece Combatants Germany Denmark Norway Operation Weserübung was the German codename for Nazi Germanys assault on Denmark and Norway during World War II and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. ... Belligerents France United Kingdom Canada Czechoslovakia Poland Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg Germany Italy Commanders Maurice Gamelin, Maxime Weygand Lord Gort (British Expeditionary Force) Leopold III H.G. Winkelman WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Sikorski Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Fedor von Bock (Army Group B) Wilhelm von Leeb (Army Group C) H... This article is about the World War Two battle. ... Combatants  Australia Free France  New Zealand  Poland South Africa  United Kingdom India Italy Germany Commanders to June 22 1941: Archibald Wavell to August 8 1942: Claude Auchinleck to February 1943: Harold Alexander Ugo Cavallero Rodolfo Graziani Erwin Rommel The Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War was the... Belligerents United Kingdom British India British Somaliland Northern Rhodesia British East Africa Italy Italian East Africa Commanders Reade Godwin-Austen Arthur Chater Guglielmo Nasi Carlo De Simone Luigi Frusci Strength 4,000 24,000 Casualties and losses 38 killed[1] 71 wounded[1] 49 missing[1] Total:205[2] Destroyed... Molotov signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact The occupation of Baltic states refers to the occupation of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) first by the Soviet Union under the provisions of the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany, by Nazi Germany from 1941-1944, and again by... On June 28, 1940 Bessarabia and northern Bukovina were occupied by the Soviet Union. ... Combatants Empire of Japan Vichy France Commanders Akihito Nakamura Takuma Nishimura Maurice Martin Strength 34,000 men 2,000 men Casualties  ? 800 The Invasion of French Indochina ), also known as the Vietnam Expedition, the Japanese Invasion of Vietnam, was an attempt by the Empire of Japan, during the Second Sino... Belligerents Italy Albania Greece Commanders Sebastiano Visconti Prasca Ubaldo Soddu Ugo Cavallero Giovanni Messe Alexander Papagos Strength 529,000 men, 463 aircraft[1] Under 300,000 men, 77 aircraft[1] Casualties and losses 63,000[2][3][4] dead, 100,000+[2] wounded, 25,067 missing, 12,368 incapacitated by... 1941 • East Africa Campaign • Invasion of Yugoslavia • Invasion of the USSR • Middle East Campaign • Siege of Leningrad • Attack on Pearl Harbor Combatants United Kingdom Anglo-Egyptian Sudan British Somaliland British East Africa British India Gold Coast Nigeria N. Rhodesia S. Rhodesia Union of S. Africa Belgium Belgian Congo Free France Ethiopian irregulars Italy Italian East Africa German Motorized Company Commanders Archibald Wavell William Platt Alan Cunningham Duke of Aosta Guglielmo Nasi... “April War” redirects here. ... Combatants Germany Romania Finland Italy Hungary Slovakia  Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Fedor von Bock Gerd von Rundstedt Heinz Guderian Günther von Kluge Franz Halder Ion Antonescu C.G.E. Mannerheim Giovanni Messe, CSIR Italo Garibaldi, ARMIR Iosef Stalin Kliment Voroshilov Semyon Timoshenko Fyodor Kuznetsov... The Middle East Campaign was a part of the Middle East Theatre of World War II. // This campaign included: The British police actions in Palestine. ... Combatants Germany Spanish Blue Division Soviet Union Commanders Wilhelm von Leeb Georg von Küchler Agustín Muñoz Grandes Kliment Voroshilov Georgiy Zhukov Strength 725,000 930,000 Casualties Unknown Red Army: 332,059 KIA 24,324 non-combat dead 111,142 missing 16,470 civilians 1 million civilians... This article is about the actual attack. ... 1942 • Battle of Midway • Battle of Stalingrad • 2nd Battle of El Alamein • Operation Torch • Guadalcanal campaign Belligerents United States Imperial Japanese Navy Commanders Chester W. Nimitz Frank J. Fletcher Raymond A. Spruance Isoroku Yamamoto Chuichi Nagumo Tamon Yamaguchi† Strength 3 carriers, ~50 support ships, 233 carrier aircraft, 127 land-based aircraft 4 carriers, 7 battleships, ~150 support ships, 264 carrier aircraft,[1] 16 floatplanes Casualties and... Belligerents Germany Romania Italy Hungary Soviet Union Commanders Adolf Hitler Friedrich Paulus # Erich von Manstein Wolfram von Richthofen Petre Dumitrescu Constantin Constantinescu Italo Gariboldi Gusztáv Vitéz Jány Josef Stalin Vasiliy Chuikov Aleksandr Vasilyevskiy Georgiy Zhukov Semyon Timoshenko Konstantin Rokossovskiy Rodion Malinovskiy Andrei Yeremenko Strength Army Group B... Belligerents Australia Free French Greece New Zealand South Africa United Kingdom Indian Empire Germany Italy Commanders Harold Alexander Bernard Montgomery Erwin Rommel Georg Stumme Ettore Bastico Strength 220,000 men 1,029 tanks[1] 750 aircraft (530 serviceable) 900 medium and field artillery guns[2] 1,401 Anti Tank Guns... Combatants United States United Kingdom Free French Forces Vichy France Commanders Dwight Eisenhower Andrew Cunningham François Darlan Strength 73,500 60,000 Casualties 479+ dead 720 wounded 1,346+ dead 1,997 wounded Operation Torch (initially called Operation Gymnast) was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in... Combatants Allied forces including: United States Australia New Zealand British Solomon Is. ...	1943 • End in Africa • Battle of Kursk • Solomon Islands • Invasion of Sicily • Invasion of Italy5 • Gilbert and Marshall Islands Combatants United Kingdom United States France Germany Italy Commanders Dwight D. Eisenhower Harold Alexander Keneth Anderson Bernard Montgomery Albert Kesselring Erwin Rommel Hans-Jürgen von Arnim Giovanni Messe The Tunisia Campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia), was a series of World War II battles that took place... Belligerents Nazi Germany Soviet Union Commanders Erich von Manstein Günther von Kluge Hermann Hoth Walther Model Hans Seidemann Robert Ritter von Greim Georgiy Zhukov Konstantin Rokossovskiy Nikolay Vatutin Ivan Konyev Strength 2,700 tanks 800,000 infantry 2,109 aircraft[1] 3,600 tanks 20,000 guns[2] 1... Belligerents United States United Kingdom Canada Australia South Africa Free French Germany Italy Commanders Dwight D. Eisenhower Harold Alexander Bernard Montgomery George S. Patton Albert Kesselring Alfredo Guzzoni Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin Strength 160,000 personnel 14,000 vehicles 600 tanks 1,800 guns 300,000 Italian personnel 40... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... In the Pacific Theater of World War II, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaigns, from November 1943 through February 1944, were the first offensive operations of the United States Navy and Marine Corps in the Central Pacific. ... 1944 • Cassino and Anzio • Invasion of Normandy • Mariana and Palau Islands • Belorussia and Ukraine • Warsaw Uprising • Iassy-Kishinev Operation • Liberation of Paris • Operation Market Garden • Operation Crossbow • Operation Pointblank • Battle of Leyte Gulf Combatants United Kingdom United States Poland New Zealand Canada Free France India and others Germany Commanders Harold Alexander Mark Clark Oliver Leese Albert Kesselring Heinrich von Vietinghoff Frido von Senger Strength 105,000 80,000 Casualties 54,000 20,000 The Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the Battle... Combatants United States, United Kingdom Germany Commanders Harold Alexander Mark W. Clark John P. Lucas Lucian Truscott Albert Kesselring Eberhard von Mackensen Strength 22 Jan 1944: 36,000 soldiers and 2,300 vehicles End May:150,000 soldiers and 1,500 guns 22 Jan 1944: 20,000 soldiers End May... This article is about the first few weeks of the Invasion of Normandy. ... In the Pacific theater of World War II, the American Marianas Campaign, known as Operation Forager, pushed westward from the Marshall Islands in the summer of 1944 to capture the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. ... Combatants Germany Soviet Union Commanders Ernst Busch (to 28 June), Walter Model (Army Group Centre) Georg-Hans Reinhardt (Third Panzer Army) Hans Jordan (Ninth Army) Kurt von Tippelskirch (Fourth Army) Walter Weiss (Second Army) Georgy Zhukov Konstantin Rokossovsky (3rd Belorussian Front) Hovhannes Bagramyan (1st Baltic Front) Ivan Chernyakhovsky (1st Belorussian... For other uses, see Warsaw Uprising (disambiguation). ... Combatants Soviet Union Germany Romania Commanders Rodion Malinovsky Fyodor Tolbukhin Johannes Friessner Ion Antonescu Strength 1,341,200, 1,874 tanks and assault guns ca. ... Belligerents Free French Forces Germany Commanders Philippe Leclerc Raymond Dronne Henri Rol-Tanguy Jacques Chaban-Delmas Dietrich von Choltitz # Strength 2nd Armoured Division, French resistance 5,000 Inside Paris, 15,000 At outskirts Casualties and losses 1,500 dead French resistance 71 dead, 225 wounded Free French Forces[1] 3... Belligerents Poland United Kingdom United States Germany Commanders Field Marshal Montgomery Lieutenant-General Dempsey Lieutenant-General Horrocks Major-General Urquhart Major General Taylor Brigadier General Gavin Walter Model Wilhelm Bittrich Kurt Student Strength 35,000 (airborne only) 20,000 Casualties and losses Poland: 1st Polish Brigade: 378 Casualties[1] United... Similar to Operation Pointblank against the WWII German aircraft industry, Operation Crossbow specialized in offensive and defensive countermeasures against the Bodyline[1] and Peenemünde 20,[2] the British code names for the 40 ft x 7 ft object with blunt nose and three fins and the small winged aircraft... Operation Pointblank was the code name for the Combined Bomber Offensive of the USAAF and the RAF during World War II. It ordered Arthur Bomber Harris, head of the RAF and Carl Spaatz, head of the U.S. 8th Air Force, to bomb specific targets in support of the run... Combatants  United States  Australia Empire of Japan Commanders William Halsey, Jr (3rd Fleet) Thomas C. Kinkaid (7th Fleet) Takeo Kurita (Centre Force) Shoji Nishimura â€  (Southern Force) Kiyohide Shima (Southern Force) Jisaburo Ozawa (Northern Force) Strength 17 aircraft carriers 18 escort carriers 12 battleships 24 cruisers 141 destroyers and destroyer escorts... 1945 • Battle of Iwo Jima • Battle of Okinawa • Battle of Berlin • Germany surrenders • Hiroshima and Nagasaki • Japan surrenders Belligerents United States Empire of Japan Commanders Holland Smith Tadamichi Kuribayashi â€  Strength 110,000 21,000 Casualties and losses 6,821 dead 19,189 wounded,[1] 494 missing[1] Total: 26,504 20,703 dead,[1] 216 captured[1] Total: 20,919 The Battle of Iwo Jima took place between... Combatants  United States  United Kingdom  Canada  Australia  New Zealand Empire of Japan Commanders Simon B. Buckner â€  Joseph W. Stilwell Ray Spruance Mitsuru Ushijima â€  Isamu Cho â€  Strength 548,000 soldiers, 1,300 ships,  ? aircraft 100,000 regulars and militia,  ? ships,  ? aircraft Casualties 12,513 dead or missing, 38,916 wounded, 33... Combatants Soviet Union Poland Nazi Germany Commanders 1st Belorussian Front – Georgiy Zhukov 2nd Belorussian Front – Konstantin Rokossovskiy 1st Ukrainian Front – Ivan Konev Army Group Vistula – Gotthard Heinrici then Kurt von Tippelskirch[2] Army Group Centre – Ferdinand Schörner Berlin Defense Area – Helmuth Reymann then Helmuth Weidling #[3] Strength 2,500... During the Battle for Berlin, the Red Flag was raised over the Reichstag, May 1945. ... The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima after the dropping of Little Boy. ... The Japanese representatives, Mamoru Shigemitsu and Yoshijiro Umezu, on board USS Missouri during the surrender ceremonies on 2 September 1945. ... • List of military engagements of World War II USS Lexington explodes during the Battle of the Coral Sea. ... Aftermath and Consequences • Effects/Casualties • Expulsion of Germans • Operation Paperclip • Occupation of Germany • Morgenthau plan • Territorial changes • Occupation of Japan • Franco-Vietnamese War • Cold War • in contemporary culture The bumsItalic textBold text effects of World War II had far-reaching implications for the international community. ... Military and civilian deaths during World War II for the Allied and the Axis Powers. ... Germans expelled from the Sudetenland // The expulsion of Germans after World War II refers to the forced migration of people considered Germans (Reichsdeutsche and some Volksdeutsche) from various European states and territories during 1945 and in the first three years after World War II 1946-48. ... Operation Paperclip scientists pose together. ... The C-Pennant Occupation zones in Germany (1945) Capital Berlin (de jure) Political structure Military occupation Governors (1945)  - UK zone F.M. Montgomery  - French zone Gen. ... The Morgenthau Plan showing the planned partitioning of Germany into a North State, a South State, and an International zone. ... The Oder-Neisse line (Polish: , German: ) marked the border between German Democratic Republic and Poland between 1950 and 1990. ... Capital Tokyo Language(s) Japanese Political structure Military occupation Military Governor  - 1945-1951 Douglas MacArthur  - 1951-1952 Matthew Ridgway Emperor  - 1926-1989 Hirohito Historical era Post-WWII  - Surrender of Japan August 15, 1945  - San Francisco Treaty April 28, 1952 At the end of the Second World War, Japan was occupied... Combatants France French Indochina Việt Minh Strength 500,000 at least 63,000, but estimates 100,000-950,000 Casualties 94,581 dead 78,127 wounded 40,000 captured 300,000+ dead 500,000+ wounded 100,000 captured The First Indochina War (also known as the French Indochina War... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... The influence of World War II has been profound and diverse, having an impact on many parts of life. ...	• Attacks on North America • Blitzkrieg • Comparative military ranks • Cryptography • Home front • Military awards • Military equipment • Military production • Nazi plunder • Resistance • Technology • Total war Attacks on North America during World War II by the Axis Powers were rare, mainly due to the continents geographical separation from the central theaters of conflict in Europe and Asia. ... This article is about the military term. ... The following table shows comparative officer ranks of major Allied and Axis powers during World War II. For modern ranks refer to Comparative military ranks. ... Cryptography was used extensively during World War II, with a plethora of code and cipher systems fielded by the nations involved. ... Publicity photo of American machine tool worker in Texas. ... Military awards of World War II were presented by most of the combatants. ... // Aircraft List of aircraft of World War II List of World War II military aircraft of Germany List of aircraft of the Armée de lAir, World War II List of aircraft of the USAAF, World War II List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force, World War II... During World War II women worked in factories throughout much of the Western and Eastern United States. ... Nazi plunder stored in a church at Elligen, Germany, 1945 Nazi plunder refers to art theft and other items stolen as a result of the organized spoliation of European countries during the time of the Third Reich by agents acting on behalf of the ruling Nazi Party of Germany. ... Members of the Dutch Eindhoven Resistance with troops of the US 101st Airborne Division in front of the Eindhoven cathedral during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. ... Technology during World War II played a crucial role in determining the outcome of the war. ... Total war is a military conflict in which nations mobilize all available resources in order to destroy another nations ability to engage in war. ... Civilian impact and atrocities • Allied war crimes • German war crimes • Italian war crimes • Japanese war crimes • Soviet war crimes • USA war crimes • The Holocaust • Bombing of civilians Allied war crimes were violations of the laws of war committed by the Allies of World War II against civilian populations or military personnel of the Axis Armed Forces. ... Germany committed war crimes in both World War I and World War II. The most notable of these is the Holocaust, where millions of people, about half of which were Jews, were murdered. ... This article needs a complete rewrite for the reasons listed on the talk page. ... Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism. ... Soviet war crimes gives a short overview about serious crimes committed by the Red Armys (1918-1946, later Soviet Army) leadership and an unknown number of single members of the Soviet armed forces from 1919 to 1990 inclusive including those in Eastern Europe in late 1944 and early 1945... “Shoah” redirects here. ...
Allies		Axis
at war from 1937  China This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. ... Black: Zenith of the Axis Powers Capital Not applicable Political structure Military alliance Historical era World War II  - Tripartite Pact September 27, 1940  - Anti-Comintern Pact November 25, 1936  - Pact of Steel May 22, 1939  - Dissolved 1945 This article is about the independent countries (states) that comprised the Axis powers. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Republic_of_China. ... entered 1939  Poland  UK  India  France  Australia  New Zealand  South Africa  Canada Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links British_Raj_Red_Ensign. ... The Indian National Congress led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was opposed to Fascism, Nazism and colonialism. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa_1928-1994. ... entered 1940  Norway  Belgium  Netherlands  Greece Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ...	entered 1941  Yugoslavia  USSR  USA  Czechoslovakia Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in the Latin alphabet, Југославија in Cyrillic; English: South Slavia, or literary The Land of South Slavs) describes three political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links US_flag_48_stars. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Czechoslovakia. ... entered 1942  Mexico  Brazil Image File history File links Flag_of_Mexico_(1934-1968). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... // Depression, coffee oligarchs, and the Revolution of 1930 The Great Depression The tenente rebellion (See History of Brazil (1889-1930)) did not mark the revolutionary breakthrough of Brazils bourgeois social reformers. ... entered 1943  Italy Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy_(1861-1946). ... entered 1944  Romania  Bulgaria  Finland Image File history File links Flag_of_Romania. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland. ... Combatants Germany Finland Commanders Lothar Rendulic Hjalmar Siilasvuo Strength 200,000 60,000 Casualties 950 killed 2,000 wounded 1,300 captured 774 killed 3,000 wounded 262 missing The Lapland War (Finnish: ; German: ; Swedish: ) is a name used for the hostilities between Finland and Germany between September 1944 and... • others This article is about the independent states that comprised the Allies. ...	at war from 1937  Japan  Manchukuo Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan_-_variant. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Manchukuo. ... Flag Anthem National Anthem of Manchukuo Map of Manchukuo Capital Hsinking Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1932 - 1934 Datong (Chief Executive) (Aisingioro Puyi)  - 1934 - 1945 Kangde-Emperor (Aisingioro Puyi) Prime Minister  - 1932 - 1935 Zheng Xiaoxu  - 1935 - 1945 Zhang Jinghui Historical era World War II  - Established 1932  - Disestablished 1945 Manchukuo (, State of... entered 1939  Germany  Slovakia Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... entered 1940  Italy  (to 1943) Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy_(1861-1946). ... entered 1941  Bulgaria  (to 1944) Croatia Finland  (to 1944)  Hungary  Iraq  (to 1941)  Romania  (to 1944) Image File history File links Flag_of_Bulgaria_(1878-1944). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Croatia_Ustasa. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland. ... Belligerents Finland Germany Italy1 Soviet Union  United Kingdom2 Commanders C.G.E. Mannerheim Kirill Meretskov Leonid Govorov Strength 530,000 Finns[1] 220,000 Germans 900,000–1,500,000 Soviets[2] Casualties and losses 58,715 dead or missing 158,000 wounded 1,500 civilian deaths[3] 3401 captured... Image File history File links Flag_of_Hungary_1940. ... // In Hungary, the Great Depression induced a drop in the standard of living and the political mood of the country shifted further toward the right. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Iraq_1924. ... Combatants Kingdom of Iraq United Kingdom India Commanders Rashid Ali General Sir Edward Quinan Strength five divisions about two divisions Casualties 2,500 KIA, about 6,000 POWs 1,200 (KIA, MIA, WIA) The Anglo-Iraqi War is the name of hostilities between the United Kingdom and the Iraqi nationalist... Image File history File links Flag_of_Romania. ... entered 1942  Thailand Image File history File links Flag_of_Thailand. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... entered 1943  RSI Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Anthem Giovinezza (The Youth)¹ Capital Salò Language(s) Italian Religion Roman Catholicism Government Republic Head of State Benito Mussolini Historical era World War II  - Established September 23, 1943  - Disestablished April 25, 1945 ¹ External link The Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana or RSI) was a Nazi puppet state led by... • others Black: Zenith of the Axis Powers Capital Not applicable Political structure Military alliance Historical era World War II  - Tripartite Pact September 27, 1940  - Anti-Comintern Pact November 25, 1936  - Pact of Steel May 22, 1939  - Dissolved 1945 This article is about the independent countries (states) that comprised the Axis powers. ...
• Allied Leaders • Axis Leaders • Commanders This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Axis leaders of World War II were the important political and military figures during the war. ... The Commanders of World War II were for the most part career officers. ...
Resistance movements Austria · Baltic1 · Bessarabia1 · Czech lands · Denmark · Ethiopia · France · Germany · Greece · Italy · Jewish · Korea · Netherlands · Moldavia1 · Norway · Poland · Thailand · USSR · Slovakia4 · Ukraine3 · Vietnam · Yugoslavia · others Members of the Dutch Eindhoven Resistance with troops of the US 101st Airborne Division in front of the Eindhoven cathedral during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. ... The Forest Brothers (also: Brothers of the Forest, Forest Brethren; Forest Brotherhood; in Estonian: metsavennad, in Latvian meža brāļi, in Lithuanian miÅ¡ko broliai) were Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian partisans who waged guerrilla warfare against Soviet rule and for German Nazis during the Soviet invasion and occupation of... Czech resistance to Nazi occupation during World War II is a scarcely documented subject, by and large a result of little formal resistance and an effective German policy that deterred acts of resistance or annihilated organizations of resistance. ... The Jewish resistance during the Holocaust was the resistance of the Jewish people against Nazi Germany leading up to and through World War II. Due to the careful organization and overwhelming military might of the Nazi German State and its supporters, many Jews were unable to resist the killings. ... The Korean Liberation Army was the armed force of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, and was created on September 17, 1941 in Chongqing, China. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in the Latin alphabet, Југославија in Cyrillic; English: South Slavia, or literary The Land of South Slavs) describes three political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... Members of the Dutch Eindhoven Resistance with troops of the US 101st Airborne Division in front of the Eindhoven cathedral during Operation Market Garden in September 1944. ...
			Lists
			Category · Topics · Conferences // Military engagements For military topics (land, naval, and air engagements as well as campaigns, operations, defensive lines and sieges), please see List of military engagements of World War II. Political and social aspects of the war Causes of World War II Appeasement Occupation of Denmark Netherlands in World War II... List of World War II conferences of the Allied forces In total Churchill attended 14 meetings, Roosevelt 12, Stalin 5. ...
1 Anti-Soviet. 2 Anti-Soviet and anti-Nazi. 3 Anti-Nazi, anti-Polish, and anti-Soviet. 4 Anti-Magyar, anti-Nazi, and anti-Soviet. 5 Lasted to May 1945. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...		World War II at Wiktionary  WWII textbooks at Wikibooks      WWII quotes at Wikiquote  WWII source texts at Wikisource        WWII media at Commons  WWII news stories at Wikinews