World War II calendar
What happened on February 13 during World War II? This date brings together 2 events from 1944 and 1945, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.
A revised directive placed the destruction of the German fighter force first, with installations supporting it second. Berlin and other industrial areas remained lower-priority targets when conditions did not suit the principal mission. The wording aligned the air campaign more directly with the requirement to secure the invasion area.
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RAF Bomber Command attacked Dresden in two waves on the night of 13–14 February 1945, followed by American daylight attacks. The city contained rail communications, industry, military installations and a large civilian population swollen by people displaced from the east. The British night attack used the area-bombing methods developed over Germany, and a major fire developed across the centre. The American missions were planned within a daylight system that identified transport and industrial objectives, but the physical result of bombing an urban railway and industrial centre cannot be separated from…
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