Abstract
Both historians and military veterans have argued passionately about the 1945 Allied airstrike in Dresden, Germany. The Allied air raid on Dresden was an unnecessary act of violence that should have been avoided (Webb, 2022). The Allies possessed intelligence suggesting that the bombing would cause numerous civilian casualties, but they decided to ignore this information and continue with their plans. The paragraph below will examine the issue of whether or not the bombing of Dresden should have been prevented, and it will make the case that it was unnecessary.
Event Context
On February 13 and 14, 1945, the city of Dresden in Germany was the target of Operation Thunderclap, an Allied air raid. The mission aimed to destroy the city’s industrial, military, and cultural targets to reduce the motivation Germans had and speed up the war’s conclusion. The raid’s effects, however, were disastrous (Webb, 2022). The bombardment of Dresden, a city with negligible strategic significance, resulted in numerous innocent civilian deaths and the destruction of a large portion of the city’s historical and cultural legacy (Webb, 2022). It was possible to prevent the bombing of Dresden because it was an unnecessary act of violence.
Alternative Actions
The Allied forces had other choices that would have achieved a similar result, resulting in such devastation and casualties. To lower Germany’s morale and speed up the war’s completion, the Allies might have, for instance, applied fiscal deductions or diplomatic compulsion (Webb, 2022). They may have, alternatively, concentrated their bombing operations on military and industrial objectives outside of Dresden, which would have had a comparable result with fewer losses among civilians (Webb, 2022). Furthermore, the mission was carried out, although the Allies had access to intelligence that warned the Dresden bombing would cause many civilian casualties. This demonstrates that the Allied troops were prepared to disregard possible outcomes of their actions to accomplish their goal, and this disregard for the lives of innocent civilians is unacceptable.
Reference
Webb, M. B. (2022). The bombing of Dresden: Was the attack fully justified? Warfare Network. Web.