Aerial bombing of cities

Only ruins left after the aerial Bombing of Guernica by the Condor Legion of Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe (1937).
The results of German bombardment in Warsaw, Poland (1939).
Frampol before (left) and after (right) the German Luftwaffe bombing raids in September 1939 during early World War II (the town was almost completely destroyed).[1]
The remains of German town of Wesel after intensive Allied area bombing in 1945 near the end of World War II (a destruction percentage of 97% of all buildings).

The aerial bombing of cities is an optional element of strategic bombing, which became widespread in warfare during World War I. The bombing of cities grew to a vast scale in World War II and is still practiced today. The development of aerial bombardment marked an increased capacity of armed forces to deliver ordnance from the air against combatants, military bases, and factories, with a greatly reduced risk to its ground forces. The killing of civilians and non-combatants in bombed cities has variously been a deliberate goal of strategic bombing, or unavoidable collateral damage resulting from intent and technology. A number of multilateral efforts have been made to restrict the use of aerial bombardment so as to protect non-combatants[2] and other civilians.

  1. ^ Daniel Blatman, Rachel Grossbaum-Pasternak, Abraham Kleban, Shmuel Levin, Wila Orbach, Abraham Wein (1999). translation Volume VII, Yad Vashem, pp. 406–07. Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "International Law on the Bombing of Civilians". Archived from the original on 2013-03-11.