BOMBED INTO SUBMISSION

The Allies bombing raids were a major break-through of defeating Hitler.

February 1942 RAF Air Commander Air Marshal Arthur Harris started an “area bombing” of Germany’s cities and industrial areas.

30/31 May, 1942 the first thousand bombers flew a raid on Cologne.

August, 1942 the US Army Air Force joined in with precision day raids.

1943 the RAF and USAAF bombed Hamburg, the Ruhr where Germany’s heavy industries were and the capital Berlin. The Luftwaffe’s fighters took heavy losses.

Under the armaments minister Albert Speer the production increased.

Long-rang escort fighters change the Allies bombing raids and succeeded in the destruction of Dresden in February 1945. The bombing raid caused a firestorm and till now it is not known how many people died but death-toll was massive. Mr Churchill declared Dresden a military-fee zone and refugees fled there thinking they are safe. Then he ordered one of the heaviest bombing raids.

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Allies’ losses were estimated around 100,000 British and US air crew died.

On 6 June, 1944, the Allies liberation began on Western Europe with the D-Day landing under the command of the American General Dwight Eisenhower. Over 156,000 Allied troops landed on the first day in Normandy.

Caen fell to the British and Canadian after a month of heavy fighting.

At the end July US troops broke through and went on to the east and south. Paris was liberated on 23 August and Brussels on 3 September.

Montgomery planned to break into Germany through Holland but was beating back and had to withdraw to Arnheim.

Hitler had a last offensive in December through the Ardennes but was beaten back. And in March 1945 the Allies crossed the Rhine.

The Western Allies stopped at the River Elbe because of the agreement at the Yalta Conference. It left the Russian to take Berlin on 2 May, 1945

Hitler committed suicide two days before. It is the official announcement but many rumours stated that he fled to Argentine. The Russians never gave his body, what was left of it because it was doused in petrol and set alight, to be examined.

On 4 May, 1945 German forces in the north-west Europe area surrendered to Montgomery.

Germany surrendered at Eisenhower’s headquarters in Reims, northern France.