10 March 1945, Operation Meetinghouse: 334 B-29 bombers drop incendiary bombs, destroying ~267.000 buildings or ~25% of the city. 100.000 people died in this airraid. In this picture you can see 2 victims of this bombing, a mother with her child. ----------------------- Evillittlekenny
Thank you very much Neutral, very glad to be here and your point is very well said…along the same lines, the Pacific was one heck of a brutal theater, with very little quarter given on either side…considering the general practices of the Japanese towards combatants and POW’s, it would be hard to yell foul towards the Allied reluctance to take prisoners at times…(view the recent post of a Japanese soldier murdering a Chinese POW)…
Back to the above picture, and our general discussion - had, by the advent of WWII, the civilian population of warring nations, become a legitamate military factor, and thus target for destruction to ultimately win and cease hostilities? - or do you feel that the picture posted is representative of a war crime?..as awful as the image is, I say it does not represent a war crime…but the terrible price of total war…the past debate I believe with Dresden was it was a viewed a “choke point” of German military traffic, and destroyed (at a terrible price) in order to aid the east…it’s been awhile, so I’ll need to research this further…
What is your native country, ygg? If you don’t mind my asking. And no, I am not asking for any nefarious reason, just curious is all. And Bongox3, you are right, I have no idea how I would react in those situations, until I had been placed in them, so saying what I would or would not do is wishful thinking. I did all of my time in during peacetime, 78-86, years ago I actually was disapointed that I never had the chance ‘to prove myself’ in combat. But as the years passed those feelings of disapointment were replaced with another feeling, relief. My younger brother and four nephews are currently on active duty, two of the nephews are in Afghanistan, so I have intimate knowledge of what is happening over there. I say that not in any way as trying to brag, whats there to brag about? But only to give credence too what I am going to say now; Im am glad that I am not there! Because all of those ideals I said I would or would not do, would be put too the test constantly. But on the other hand,in having such close relatives serving over there, I see that war thru their eyes, which at times makes me sensitive too certain things that I normally wouldn’t be.