Bombing Germany: the final phase : the destruction of Pforzheim and the closing months of Bomber Command's war

The stated objective of Bomber Command during WWII, according to the Casablanca Directive of 1943, was to ‘participate in the progressive destruction and dislocation of the German military, industrial and economic system’ as well as to ‘undermine the morale of the German people to the point where their capacity for armed resistance is fatally weakened’. Pondered from a moral perspective, these directives are wholly questionable, but during the allied bombing raid of Pforzheim in 1945, both objectives were emphatically met. Just 11 weeks after the event, Germany surrendered, signaling the end of the Second World War.

In this, the 70th anniversary year of the raid and the end of the war, Anthony Redding explores each facet of the offensive within its wider historic context, describing the buildup, the strategic reasons why Pforzheim was chosen as a target, the consequences of the raid in terms of human casualties and technological/aircraft losses, and its aftermath. The fate of a set of pilots downed during the offensive is given particular attention; their executions are described in stark terms, with firsthand accounts included from members of the Hitler Youth employed in the task. Redding does an admirable job of emphasizing the importance of understanding historical context when considering actions in times of extreme trauma, and his narrative account of the closing months of Bomber Command's war is sure to intrigue and engage a wide cross-section of readers.