Carpet bombing

The first carpet bombing from air in history was the Bombing of Barcelona. 1,300 people were killed in 3 days, March 16–18, 1938
On 14 May 1940 at 1:22 pm, in the Rotterdam Blitz, German bombers set the entire inner city on fire with incendiary bombs, killing 814 inhabitants
Wesel was 97% destroyed before it was finally taken by Allied troops in 1945

Carpet bombing, also known as saturation bombing, is a large area bombardment done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land.[1][2][3][4] The phrase evokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in the same way that a carpet covers a floor. Carpet bombing is usually achieved by dropping many unguided bombs.

Carpet bombing of cities, towns, villages, or other areas containing a concentration of protected civilians has been considered a war crime since 1977,[5] through Article 51 of Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions.[6][7][8]

The term obliteration bombing is sometimes used to describe especially intensified bombing with the intention of destroying a city or a large part of the city. The term area bombing refers to indiscriminate bombing of an area and also encompasses cases of carpet bombing, including obliteration bombing. It was used in that sense especially during World War II and the Korean War.[9]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference WordNet was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Keane was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dickson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Gooderson, Ian (1997). Air power at the battlefront: Allied Close Air Support in Europe, 1943–45 (1st ed.). London: F. Cass. p. 129. ISBN 0-7146-4680-6.
  5. ^ "Crimes of War – Carpet or Area Bombing". Archived from the original on 2 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Carpet bombing". Britannica.com. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Treaties, States parties, and Commentaries - Additional Protocol (I) to the Geneva Conventions, 1977 - 51 - Protection of the civilian population". International Committee of the Red Cross. 8 June 1977. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Treaties, States parties, and Commentaries - Additional Protocol (I) to the Geneva Conventions, 1977 - 51 - Protection of the civilian population - Commentary of 1987". Paragraph 5. International Committee of the Red Cross. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference p was invoked but never defined (see the help page).