On this day 1945
One tactic used by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force in the second World War was firestorms. This was achieved by dropping incendiary bombs, filled with chemicals such as magnesium, phosphorus or petroleum jelly (napalm), in clusters over a target.
After the area caught fire, the air above the bombed area, become extremely hot and rose rapidly. Cold air then rushed in at ground level from the outside and people were sucked into the fire.
In 1945, British Air Marshall Arthur Harris decided to firestorm the medieval city of Dresden. It had not been attacked during the war and was virtually undefended by anti-aircraft guns.
On the 13th February 1945, 773 Lancasters bombed Dresden. Then the Americans sent over 527 heavy bombers to follow up the RAF attack. Its thought that 35,000 were killed but some German sources say it was over 100,000.
In Hamburg, two years before Dresden, at least 40,000 died, other cities laid waste in such a fashion and though it cannot be excused Britain was fighting for its very existence and had suffered its own blitz's at the hands of the Germans.
Winston Churchill later re-thought the whole carpet bombing strategy and had decided it wasn't worth the destruction as resources were short and how can they rebuild Britain when Germany has nothing to give to them?
People are disgusted that so many civilians were targeted as they are with the bombings of Japan. The Blitz of towns and cities in the UK between 7th September 1940 and 16th May 1941 killed 43,000 if you don't stop yer enemy it would be more and civilians do help with the war effort.
Kill the man who makes the bullets so the soldiers have nothing to fire, so-called innocents get in the way and that is one of the many unfortunate things about war.
If we had pounded the fuck out of the Germans in the first World War instead of just letting the troops go home with their rifles there might not have been a second world war, not the Germans piss themselves if you even say the word 'Nazi'. Would the war in Iraq be unwinnable now if the allies had pressed on and removed Saddam during the Gulf war? pulling out half-way through and leaving potential allies to be slaughtered is one way to fuck up a war 12 years later.
Here is the problem, not wanting to hurt the feelings of the bad guys. The Germans shouldn't have tried to invade the world and the Japs shouldn't have helped them. The Palestinians and the Lebanese shouldn't support terrorists, just because it paid off for Sinn Fein doesn't mean a thing they are white and semi educated and civilised nations abhor killing white people with access to a legal team.
You know in films when the good guy only wounds the baddie then the baddie comes back half-way through and really fucks things up? well that's what life is like, you kill yer enemy twice if possible, leaving wounded is for the weak.
When political correctness infects people common sense gets thrown out the window and rapists are put into open prisons where they can play the lotto and win 7 million pounds. Good things happen to good people because not enough enemies of society are put to death, instead they are let out because someone double booked the jail cell or had a Good Friday agreement .
Well done Air Marshall Arthur 'Bomber' Harris you are a true national hero.
Terminator 4 'Rise of the polls' even Cyborgs from the future can feel a tightness in their chests. "I vant your clothes, motorcycle and to kiss your baby."
Going Commando, one mans quest to find unsoiled underwear.
Conan The Geriatric "Gah! vhere ist my sword und glasses?"