What is carpet bombing?

Under the term "carpet bombing" ("carpet bombing") is understood as a continuous, long-term, consistent bombing with the defeat of significant areas.

This method is used both to destroy the enemy's material part, together with its personnel, and to wipe out settlements, railway junctions, enterprises or large forest tracts from the face of the earth . For more complete destruction of the selected object to conventional bombs, incendiary, stuffed with phosphorus, napalm, etc. are often added.

History of the appearance of carpet bombing

Carpet bombing was predicted long before they appeared. For example, the famous science fiction writer Herbert Wells in his novel "Appearance of the Future" described the destruction of the city when attacked by aircraft. The assumption that in future wars the parties will certainly attack the enemy's cities with the aim of maximum destruction, expressed in 1921 the famous Italian military theorist Giulio Douay.

The first carpet bombing was carried out with the participation of a large number of bombers. For example, when the German aviation destroyed the city of Guernica (1937, Spain), it took a whole legion. More than 100 civilians are considered dead.

As this strategy evolved, the Germans learned to simultaneously use an increasing number of aircraft, continuing the operation for as long as possible. Do you know, for example, how many days the carpet bombing of Stalingrad lasted And how many planes participated in it?

Stalingrad

This happened on August 23, 1942. On this day, by the forces of the 4th Air Fleet, the Germans carried out the longest and most destructive carpet bombing in history. It lasted almost three days. At that time, fighting was on the outskirts of the city, and its inhabitants lived a completely peaceful life: factories, factories, shops, even schools and kindergartens worked in the usual way.

The first planes appeared at 18.00. According to the Stavka order, almost all antiaircraft guns were involved in repulsing tank attacks, the next of which at that time was just conducted by the 169th Panzer Division of the Germans, seeking to seize the northern outskirts of the city. The Zenitches were forbidden to open fire on aircraft, so that the tanks received more shells. This circumstance also decided to take advantage of the enemy.

The planes flew in groups of 30-40 bombers. Each of the cars was able to make several departures in a day. After the raid, more than half of the city's housing stock was destroyed. The pre-war city was turned into burning ruins. Everything burned. In addition to buildings and structures, the earth, grass and water were blazing - the Germans destroyed the tanks with crude oil, and it spilled into the river. In the street there was such a heat that clothes fluttered in panic-stricken people. Since the water pipe was interrupted, there was no water, so there was simply nothing to extinguish the fires. On that day, about 40 thousand people died.

The bombing of Germany

As a method of intimidation and in order to suppress the will of the German civilian population to resist, carpet bombing was used by the Royal Air Force of Britain and the US Air Force.

In order to create the effect of a fiery tornado, the planes were lined up in several echelons, each of which carried cars in its belly with different types of bombs: fugaski, concrete, fragmentation, etc.

The bombing targets declared by the British

The Allied Carpet Bombing of Germany Had different goals. British airplanes bombed mainly the residential quarters of German cities in order to suppress the morale of the civilian population, especially industrial workers. By September 22, 1941 at the headquarters of the British Air Force had adopted a number of plans to destroy 43 German cities.

According to the estimates of the British, the activity of the population should be completely broken after six bombings with the use of 1 ton of bombs per 800 inhabitants. To keep the population in constant fear, it is necessary to repeat every 6 months.

Actually

It should be noted, while the German "Luftwaffe" fought its best against the advancing Red Army, the British struck practically without opposition. The intensity of British air strikes has constantly increased. It is believed that some of the cities were destroyed, as under the Yalta agreement after the war they were to fall under the Soviet occupation.

An example is the carpet bombing of Dresden. However, in addition to it, there were also Magdeburg (destroyed to 90% of the territory), Stuttgart, Cologne (65%), Hamburg (45%), etc. Quite often the English washed away small towns that did not have any defensive significance. One of those can be considered Würzburg.

The bombing targets declared by the Americans

Unlike the British, American aviation was used mainly to destroy industrial facilities and transport communications. The choice of objects was determined according to the principles: the most vulnerable place in the economy, the relationship between opportunities and needs, the location of enterprises, the percentage of products produced, etc. As a result, the list of objects intended for bombing was agreed upon. It consisted of 76 objects.

The Americans were not as zealous in bombing as the British. And it's not about philanthropy or something like that. Simply during the carpet bombing of industrial sites in Darmstadt, Schweinfurt and Regensburg, they received such a rebuff that they lost a third of their aircraft, as a result of which the crews of the remaining vehicles declared a real strike.

The main purpose of the bombing of cities and enterprises in Germany was to create the most favorable conditions for the subsequent invasion of allies into Europe.

Carpet bombing after World War II

The Americans continued to use the established practice even after the Second World War. As an example, you can bring carpet bombing of the cities of North Vietnam, such as Hanoi and Haiphong. With the development of aviation and the destructiveness of bombs, the consequences of such operations became increasingly monstrous. According to the report on the bombing of Indochina, which American President B. Clinton provided to Vietnam in 2000, only 3 million (three million) tons of various bombs were dropped on Cambodia alone. Approximately 500 kg per inhabitant of the country.

The Americans have not forgotten about carpet bombing today. In particular, Washington is sending B-52 aircraft to the Middle East to fight against IGIL. They will have to carry out carpet bombing in Syria and Iraq. They will be replaced by the strategic bombers B-1, located there at the present time.

Carpet bombing in Russia

It is known about several cases of carpet bombing in Afghanistan. The initiator and developer of this strategy in Soviet aviation was Dzhokhar Dudayev. It should be noted that in mountainous Afghanistan it proved to be ineffective. Duskmen picked up planes from afar and managed to hide in various caves and other folds of the terrain.

In the last years of the war, a certain replacement has shown great efficiency - point bombardment with large-caliber bombs. Their use literally shatters the gorges, preventing the mujahideen from a chance of escape.

There were also Carpet bombing in Chechnya . The skills developed in Afghanistan were also useful in their native land. In particular, the fact of carpet bombing from the great height of the village of Elistanzhi on October 7, 1999 is known. 34 people died, mostly women and children.

The strategy of carpet bombing continues to improve. Where it will be applied next time, while remains a question.