Firestorm: Allied Airpower and the Destruction of Dresden

On February 13 and 14, 1945, three waves of British and U.S. aircraft rained thousands of tons of incendiary bombs on the largely undefended German city of Dresden. Dresden was engulfed in a vast sea of flame, a firestorm that generated 1,500-degree temperatures and hurricane-force winds. Thousands suffocated in underground shelters, while the fierce winds pulled thousands more into the firestorm. By the time the fires burned out, days later, a great city, known as "the Florence on the Elbe," lay in ruins, and tens of thousands, mostly civilians and refugees, lay incinerated. Historian De Bruhl offers a cogent appraisal of the tactics, weapons, strategy, and rationale for the controversial attack. Using new research and contemporary reports, he directly addresses many long-unresolved questions. He also examines the evolution of Nazi and Allied philosophies of airpower, particularly the shift toward targeting population centers as a strategic objective.--From publisher description.