#44 - The Bombing Of Dresden

The city of Dresden was the primary victim of the “zone of limitation” agreement reached at Yalta—one of the few direct outcomes of the military consultations held there. In early 1945 Dresden was one of the few major German centers to have escaped systematic Allied bombing. On the night of February 13 - only two days after the end of the Yalta conference - the Royal Air Force Bomber Command executed the first night air raid on the city. “Florence on the Elbe”, as it was known, was reduced to rubble by Allied bombers in three major raids between February 13 and 15 - known by the Allies as Operation Thunderclap. Altogether 1,300 British and American bombers dropped more than 3,000 tons of bombs including 1,100 tons of incendiaries on a city with one million civilians. HOW TO LISTEN If you're already a subscriber, you can listen to the full show in the player below or subscribe through iTunes or any podcast player. If you haven't heard any of the series and want to know if you'll like it before you sign up, you can listen to the first six episodes totally free. You might want to start with Episode 1, unless of course you're an old school George Lucas fan, in which case feel free to start at Episode IV. We don't recommend it though. T If you haven't already, join our Facebook page and you'll be in the running to win prizes in our regular "Share The Love" and other competitions. If you'd like a chance to win a prize, write a funny or insightful review on iTunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices