75 years ago, on February 13-15, 1945, the Anglo-American aircraft dealt a terrible blow to Dresden. Tens of thousands of people died, the ancient cultural center of Germany was wiped off the face of the earth.
The monstrous cynicism of the West
Mikhail Myagkov, scientific director of the Russian Military Historical Society (RVIO), noted that the bombing of Dresden was "a manifestation of monstrous cynicism in order to intimidate the Soviet Union." At the same time, the allied command did not care about the mass death of the civilian population.
As noted by the scientific director of the RVIO, the bombing of Dresden and other German cities, which after the war were supposed to enter the Soviet zone of occupation, was carried out not so much for a military purpose (destruction of military facilities, damage to the enemy army), but in order “to show the Soviet Union, which would threaten the Red Army in the event that a conflict suddenly arose between the Western countries and the USSR. Thus, the RAF memorandum, which the British pilots were familiarized with on the night before the attack (February 13, 1945), reported:
"The purpose of the attack is to strike the enemy where he feels him most strongly, behind a partially collapsed front … and at the same time show the Russians when they arrive in the city what the RAF is capable of."
The result was appropriate: tens of thousands of civilians were killed (up to 200 thousand people); one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, "Florence on the Elbe", the cultural and historical center of Germany and Europe was destroyed, 80% of city buildings were destroyed, the process of restoring the city center took 40 years.
At the same time, Dresden was bombed two days after the end of the conference of the anti-Hitler coalition in Crimea. Where the "big three" agreed on the fate of post-war Germany and Europe. And almost immediately, London and Washington decided to show the USSR their air power - how the West is only capable of wiping entire cities and industrial areas off the face of the planet with the help of air strikes. In the future, Western aviation continued to strike at the cultural and historical centers of Germany, cities in Japan. The West launched the first atomic strikes against Japan. They had no clear military purpose. That is, they did not bring the end of the war closer. But they showed Moscow the future fate of Russian cities if the Soviet leadership showed stubbornness.
All this was within the framework of the concept of a new world war - the West against the USSR. Already in the spring of 1945, at the direction of Churchill, they prepared the "Unthinkable" plan - a plan for a war against the USSR. True, Operation Unthinkable remained on paper. The Anglo-Saxons never dared to go to war with the Russians. They were afraid to attack the USSR. The Russian army then possessed such combat power and morale that it could reach the English Channel and the Atlantic in one jerk, liberating the whole of Europe.
"Contactless" war
Among the great powers, two types can be distinguished: land and sea. England and the USA are the classic maritime powers belonging to the Atlantic civilization. Germany and Russia are classic land powers. Russians and Germans prefer to hit the enemy on land, meet and attack him head-on. These are the best warriors in the world. Japan, despite its maritime traditions (Russians also have them, remember the Varangians, Novgorodians and Pomors), is nevertheless closer to the land powers. Samurai prefer to settle matters on land. Although they also fight well at sea.
Hence the strategy of the wars of the naval powers. Anglo-Saxons are classic pirates, sea robbers. They prefer "contactless" wars. He came, saw, quickly plundered, burned and fled, until the locals woke up and beat him. They look for weak points, prefer not to fight head-on, do not take a blow and quickly lose their spirit with high losses. In some cases Russians are ready to perish completely, but to gain time and opportunities for others. The Germans and Japanese are also ready for high losses for the sake of the emperor (Kaiser, Fuhrer), homeland and honor.
With the help of the navy, the British created a world empire. They took advantage of the weaknesses of other countries, peoples and tribes. Divided, pitted and dominated. Plundered the entire planet. The same type of empire was created by the Americans. By the beginning of World War II, the development of aviation led to the fact that the Anglo-Saxons received a new weapon of "contactless" warfare. Massive bombing with the destruction of thousands and thousands of civilians, strikes on cultural and historical centers, that is, air terror, made it possible to break the enemy's will to resist. Break it down, force it to surrender without decisive defeat on land.
Aerial terror
During World War II, the North Atlantic world (USA and England) showed the planet a new weapon of world domination - aircraft carriers and "flying fortresses" (strategic aviation). Carpet bombing wiped out entire cities.
Hitler's invasion was terrible, but traditional, mostly overland. The main weapon of the Germans was a tank and a dive bomber (short-range). Hitler did not have an air fleet of long-range, strategic bombers. And the Anglo-Saxons created a new weapon of "non-contact", remote warfare - squadrons of air fortresses going to the target of thousands of kilometers, fighting in dense battle formations, where one aircraft covered the other (the "flying fortresses" had good defensive weapons). Conventional cannon fighters proved to be ineffective against these "air fortresses". I had to create air-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft missile systems.
The attack on Dresden became a classic act of air terror. The peaceful city turned into a huge fire and a burial ground for tens of thousands of civilians. Mostly civilians in the city and numerous refugees, women, old people and children. The soldiers and military equipment of the Reich were at the front. Therefore, it was a vile, extremely cruel and cynical bombardment of the city, where there were almost no air defense systems, the mass destruction of peaceful and defenseless people.
On February 26 and March 10, 1945, the Americans burned the Japanese capital Tokyo using the same scheme. The airstrike involved 334 B-29 strategic bombers, each of which dropped several tons of incendiary bombs and napalm. As a result of fires in residential areas, completely built up with wooden buildings, a fiery tornado was formed, which did not allow fighting the fire and led to massive loss of life. People tried to escape and threw themselves into the reservoirs in masses, but the water boiled in them, and the fire burned the air, suffocating the survivors. More than 100 thousand people died. Mostly civilians.
There was no military need for this and subsequent strikes against Japanese cities. The Japanese Empire continued to resist. She could still fight for a year or two on the Japanese islands and the mainland. The Americans and British would have lost millions of people. Japan was forced to surrender only by the entry into the war of the USSR. The Soviet army on land destroyed the Japanese Manchurian army, deprived the Japanese high command of the hope for the continuation of the war in China and Manchuria, where there was a "reserve airfield" of the Japanese elite.
The carpet bombing was a classic Western act of mass terror. The US Air Force general who planned and conducted the massive bombing of Japanese cities during World War II, Curtis LeMay, later stated, "I think if we lost the war, I would be tried as a war criminal."
Attempt to intimidate the Russians
The massive bombing raids on Germany (and partly on Japan) became a kind of huge psychological operations. First, the masters of London and Washington tried to break the fighting spirit of the warrior nations, the Germans and the Japanese. For generations to come, break the Germans and Japanese, make them slaves of the future world order led by the Anglo-Saxons. Therefore, the Westernizers completely destroyed small German towns like Ellingen, Bayreuth, Ulm, Aachen, Münster, etc. These were the centers of history, culture, art and German faith (Lutheranism). The "nerve knots" of historical memory, culture, religion, science and education were burned to the ground. Women, children and the elderly were massively sacrificed.
The military-industrial potential of Germany and Japan was practically not affected by these strikes. The Germans hid military factories under the ground, in the rocks. The war industry of the Reich worked properly until the very end, like the entire German war machine. After the main industrial centers of Germany were destroyed (enterprises were disguised, hid under the ground), the Anglo-American command drew up a new list of targets - cities that were almost not covered by fighter aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery. Those that could be bombed with virtually impunity. The air terror of the West was aimed at suppressing the spirit and will of the nation. From now on, there is no faith and magic, no military cults, only slavery and consumption (the victory of the “golden calf), the power of the owners of money. No more secret orders, the magic of the ancients, the cult of the warrior, honor and dignity, self-sacrifice in the name of the nation and the Motherland, only slave consumers, subordinate to the dollar and the masters of the United States. It was the murder of the "spirit of the nation."
Secondly, it was a demonstration for the Russians. Bloodless Russia was shown its future, if it does not show "flexibility". The West showed its terrible air power to the wounded Russia. Like, the same will happen with Russian cities. True, with Stalin, this trick did not work for the owners of London and Washington. Russia could respond with steel tank armadas and powerful fighter aircraft. On the way were the first Soviet jet fighters, anti-aircraft guided missiles and atomic weapons. The direct military "club" of Stalin was not impressed. The Russians knew about the terrible threat and worked day and night to have something to respond to the foe. Therefore, the West had to abandon direct aggression and start a cold war.
