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Encyclopedia entry: Dresden, raid on
- Article from:
- The Oxford Companion to World War II
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Copyright© The Oxford Companion to World War II 2001, originally published by Oxford University Press 2001. (Hide copyright information)
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Dresden, raid on.
This historic German city was the scene of what was perhaps the most controversial episode in the
strategic air offensive
against Germany. Capital of Saxony and situated on the River Elbe, Dresden was particularly noted for its splendid architecture and its manufacture of fine china. It had little heavy industry and up until early 1945 had only been attacked once from the air, a small raid by the Eighth US Army Air Force in October 1944.
In January 1945 the British air ministry drew up a plan THUNDERCLAP for attacks on Berlin and population centres in eastern Germany. This was to take advantage of the recently launched Soviet offensive westwards from the Vistula (see
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