Dresden casualties

G

grandguy

Guest
There was an interesting piece in yesterday's newspaper, it appears that the number dead from the bombing raid on Dresden has been concluded to be around 25000, not 135000, as was said at the time, that is only about ten times the number who were killed on 9/11, I'm sure that someone will take solace from this!
 
I don't know if it came from a British newspaper or not, But U.S. Army
claimed about 80,000 died in one night. ckissling
 
thats fkn spamming in my book:tgun2:

i never experienced such rudeness...ignorante and ....plain...plain...^?++**'dl!#%!!!!


grandguy he is young excuse him!!!
R
 
When you people say Dresden I think of Danzig for some reason. Isn't Danzig between what was Prussia and German before WWII?
 
Dresden was fire bombed by the British in a nighttime raid, they burnt the
the city to ground it one raid. I was the brainstorm of "Bomber Harris" who was in charge of British Bomber Command.ckissling
 
Squiffy, he's 14 according to him and i stongly suspect that he won't be with us much longer due to his use of language and lack of respect. Ordinarily I wouldn't publicly post about this stuff, but the kidd needs to learn a lesson about manners, and respect and he also needs to learn to think before specking, albeit virtually.
 
Lt. Heinz Becker said:
When you people say Dresden I think of Danzig for some reason. Isn't Danzig between what was Prussia and German before WWII?
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the city of Danzig (the German name) was a big problem between Poland and Germany in the days before WW2. It was situated in the so called Polish corridor separating Prussia from East Prussia. The Poles needed it to get access to the sea and the Germans wanted it as a bridge to link the eastern and western parts of Prussia. Today its a Polish city in the middle of Poland, now named Gdansk, and Prussia is gone.

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ckissling said:
Dresden was fire bombed by the British in a nighttime raid, they burnt the
the city to ground it one raid. I was the brainstorm of "Bomber Harris" who was in charge of British Bomber Command.ckissling
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...and just to make sure the 8th Airforce went over it agian that following morning.
Here's the intro from Wiki:

The Bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Army Air Force (USAAF) between 13 February and 15 February 1945, 12 weeks before the surrender of the Armed Forces (Wehrmacht) of Nazi Germany, remains one of the most controversial Allied actions of the Second World War. The raids saw 1,300 heavy bombers drop over 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices in four raids, destroying 13 square miles (34 km2) of the city, the baroque capital of the German state of Saxony, and causing a firestorm that consumed the city centre.[2] Estimates of civilian casualties vary greatly, but recent publications place the figure between 24,000 and 40,000.[3]
A USAAF report defended the operation as the justified bombing of a military and industrial target, which was a major rail transportation and communication centre, housing 110 factories and 50,000 workers in support of the German war effort.[4] Against this, several researchers have argued that not all of the communications infrastructure, such as the bridges, were in fact targeted, nor were the extensive industrial areas outside the city centre.[5]Dresden was a cultural landmark of little or no military significance, a "Florence on the Elbe," as it was known, and the attacks were indiscriminate area bombing and not proportional for the commensurate military gains.[6][7]
In the first few decades after the war, some death toll estimates were as high as 250,000. However, figures in the regions of hundreds of thousands are considered disproportionate.[8] Today's historians estimate a death toll of between 25,000 and 40,000, with an independent investigation commissioned by the city itself declaring the death total around 25,000.[9][10] Post-war discussion of the bombing includes debate by commentators and historians as to whether or not the bombing was justified, and whether or not its outcome constituted a war crime. Nonetheless, the raids continue to be included among the worst examples of civilian suffering caused by strategic bombing, and have become one of the moral causes célèbres of the Second World War.[11]

It was also on the list of targets discussed at the Allied conference at Yalta with the Soviets. Unfortunately many political parties have used this terrible event to their own ends. The far right are not adverse to using this (or other sensitive issues such as immigration) to further their own political careers.
:isadizzy:
OOps sorry chaps, fell off my soapbox there, promise I won't do that again.​

Beau​

Beau​
 
Grandguy - did you take part in the big raids such as this one? The whole business still stirs emotion and argument in the press. I'm sure we'd all very much like to hear of your experiences.

It's all to easy for folks to have an opinion stood 60 odd years on.

Thanks,

Clive :)
 
I have read a quite interesting piece on Dresden in the book 'Tail-End Charlies'. In this the author suggests that the official casualty figures at Dresden were a complete fabrication by Hitler's propaganda minister. The author then continues to make a case for Dresden as a perfectly legitmate target (ie. major rail junction, Dresden porcelain - insulators / semi-conductors for radar/radio). The final piece thrown in is that Dresden was bombed on request of the Russians - make of this what you will.

None of this should detract from the great loss of life at Dresden, but I presume the author is attempting to put this in perspective, while attempting - and suceeding (in my view) - to put forward the crews of Bomber Command and the 8th Air Force as un-honoured Heroes.

We should thank those who served our countries, not detract from the sacrifices they made.

Just my tuppence.
 
Bomber Crews

Without a doubt, that bomber command lost over 50,000 fliers is something we often forget. With a likelihood of only surviving 15-18 missions and needing 20 to finish was truly fighting the odds.

I have read 30-40 books on this subject and listening to the horror that flying at night was from the cold, lack of accurate navigation, and the relentless pursuit of the njg made this duty truly one that is unappreciated and often misunderstood.
 
NachtPiloten said:
Without a doubt, that bomber command lost over 50,000 fliers is something we often forget. With a likelihood of only surviving 15-18 missions and needing 20 to finish was truly fighting the odds.
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Ted me old fruit, a Tory with BC was 30 completed missions, a voluntary second tour was generally 20. If you were with Pathfinders then it was more arduous, as there was no question of volunteering, you had to do a second.

Beau
 
Out of interest, a former Lancaster tail gunner I talked to a couple of years ago told me he did 27 ops and then the end of the war in Europe brought his only tour to an end. When I asked him if he was relieved about that, he emphatically was!
 
BeauBrummie said:
Ted me old fruit, a Tory with BC was 30 completed missions, a voluntary second tour was generally 20. If you were with Pathfinders then it was more arduous, as there was no question of volunteering, you had to do a second.

Beau
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This old fruit is having a bad day!:costumes:
 
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