Air raids on Wesel

Wesel 1945: the bombing of the British Royal Air Force destroyed the city almost completely

The Royal Air Force (RAF) carried out air raids on Wesel during World War II . The city of Wesel was bombed by British troops in support of the crossing of the Rhine . 97% of the city was destroyed in these attacks.

Background and process

Wesel became a target of the Allies , especially due to its strategic location as a city with a Rhine bridge and a Wehrmacht depot in the main British advance area . The city was attacked by the British Royal Air Force on February 16, 17, 18 and 19, 1945. After almost all bridges over the Rhine and Lippe had been blown up by the Wehrmacht and on March 10, 1945 only the Wesel railway bridge over the Rhine was in German hands on the Lower Rhine , Wesel came into focus.

On March 23, Wesel was attacked with over 3,000 artillery weapons in preparation for Operation Plunder . On that day, 80 Lancaster bombers of the 3rd bomber group of the RAF Wesel attacked during the day. During the night, another 195 Lancaster bombers and 23 mosquitos of the 5th bomber group of the RAF Bomber Command attacked in order to break the German resistance in the Wesel bridgehead before Wesel was finally captured. 97% of the city was destroyed. In May 1945, of the almost 25,000 inhabitants, only 1,900 were still living in the city.

Although the population had largely fled the attacks, the city suffered over 600 civilians dead . Field Marshal Montgomery said about the bombing of Wesel: "The bombing of Wesel was a masterpiece, and was a decisive factor in making possible our entry into the town before midnight." ( Bernard Montgomery , German: "The bombing of Wesel was a masterpiece, and was a key factor in conquering the city before midnight. ")

See also

• List of Allied air raids on the German Reich (1939–1945)

literature

• Horst Boog , Werner Rahn , Reinhard Stumpf, Bernd Wegner : The German Reich and the Second World War . Volume 6. The global war - the expansion to the world war and the change of initiative 1941 to 1943 . Edited by the Military History Research Office of the Bundeswehr, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-421-06233-1

Web links

• February 1945 - Bombing raids on Wesel. wesel.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ RAF campaign diary February 1945 ( Memento from November 1, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
2. ^ Chronology of World War II Ken Polsson
3. ↑ ^{a b} RAF campaign diary March 1945 ( Memento from November 1, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
4. ^ History of Wesel
5. ^ RAF History - Bomber Command 60th Anniversary ( Memento from November 1, 2006 in the Internet Archive )

Coordinates: 51 ° 40 ′  N , 6 ° 37 ′  E