Civilian casualties of strategic bombing

B-24 "Sandman" on a bomb run over the Astra Romana refinery in Ploieşti, Romania, during Operation Tidal Wave.[1]
Residential building in Uman (Cherkasy Oblast of Ukraine) after Russian missile strike on 28 April 2023.

Strategic bombing is the use of airpower to destroy industrial and economic infrastructure—such as factories, oil refineries, railroads, or power stations—rather than just directly targeting military bases, supply depots, or enemy combatants. Strategic bombing may also include the intent to dehouse, demoralize, or inflict civilian casualties, and thus hinders them from supporting the enemy's war effort.[2] The bombing can be utilized by strategic bombers or missiles, and may use general-purpose bombs, guided bombs, incendiary devices, chemical weapons, biological weapons, or nuclear weapons.

This article is currently not comprehensive, but lists strategic bombing of cities and towns, and human death tolls starting from before World War II.

  1. ^ Duga, James; Stewart, Carroll (2002). Ploesti. Brassey's. ISBN 978-1-57488-510-1. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
  2. ^ Brauer, Jurgen. Castles, Battles, and Bombs: How Economics Explains Military History. p 199. University of Chicago Press; Reprint edition (2008) ISBN 0-2260-7164-2.