Initially, Bomber Command avoided targeting civilian populations, but such considerations were soon discarded after the German raid on Rotterdam and especially after the Battle of Britain. As a result of Nazi Germany’s aggression, England initiated such a strategic bombing campaign over the Third Reich. One of the countries embracing this idea was Great Britain, and this shaped the development of the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Bomber Command. Its proponents believed that such raids might have more than just a material effect of destruction: Many advocates believed that an aerial campaign against population centers might also affect the enemy’s home front morale. Intended to destroy an enemy nation’s ability to man, train, and equip a war effort, strategic bombing took aim at factories, infrastructure, and other economic engines. Strategic bombing was developed during the interwar years to avoid the bloody, stagnant trench warfare of World War I. Note the flares surrounding the bomber’s silhouette. A Royal Air Force Lancaster bomber over Hamburg during Operation Gomorrah.
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