HARROWING FOOTAGE from the Second World War showing the annihilation of the German city of Dresden by Allied forces has resurfaced today, on the anniversary of the beginning of three days of intensive bombing by British and American bombers.

Video from 1945, shown as part of an American news report, shows the night-time incendiary attacks undertaken by the RAF on the night of the 13th February. One shot from the footage also shows one of the RAF planes being struck by an anti-aircraft gun, which the narrator describes as a ‘scarecrow’ in his VoiceOver.

The second half of the clip shows American bombers moving over the city the following day, where they continued to drop a huge number of bombs on the city down below. At the time Dresden remained Germany’s largest city to not have been directly targeted by the allies.

As the war began to draw to a close and German forces began to retreat further and further toward Berlin, the allies adopted the sole aim of bringing the war to an end as quickly as possible. The best way to do this, it seemed, was to take Berlin, though there was much debate as to how the best way was to go about this.

With Soviet troops advancing from the east and some as close as 70 miles from Berlin at the start of February, the decision was made by both the British and the Americans to assist the Soviets in their drive forward. The best way to do this, it was agreed, was via aerial attacks on the German homeland, which would both disrupt efforts to move armaments to the Eastern front and cause a state of alarm and panic in the civilian population.

The decision to target Dresden in early February had been discussed for some time in the lead up to the night of February 13, with the goal of maximum destruction and disruption at the forefront of the allied commander’s minds. Despite sustained bombing over city’s such as Berlin and Liepzig, Dresden had been left untouched so far in the war. This was all about to change.

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