My Life As A Historian: Sabaton History Talks Firebombing In WW2

If it's Thursday, it's time for Sabaton History.

At the end of July 1943, Hamburg burned. A fleet of British heavy bombers had dropped thousands of incendiaries over the city, turning it into a hearth of unprecedented dimensions. Numerous major fires merged together into a single storm of fire. Structures combusted under the immense heat, as strong winds drove the inferno through the streets at rapid speed. Craving for more oxygen, the firestorm sucked human bodies into the flames and immediately incinerated or mummified them. Thousands of others died slowly of carbon monoxide poisoning in their shelters. By the end of the raid, 60% of Hamburg had been burned out and more than 35,000 of its inhabitants were dead. But while the Germans were shocked to disbelief, for the British the firestorm has worked as intended. And this was just the beginning.

I am unconvinced that this firebombing--in Europe or in the Pacific--of urban centers was actually effective at anything but wanton slaughter and destruction. It didn't even do much to damage enemy morale. Folks adapted as they could to go about their lives, and otherwise fled into the countryside- and that was certainly an option at the time. The bombing that worked targeted strategic assets: industrial output, transportation hubs (ports, airfields, etc.), government headquarters, etc. and eschewed non-combatants otherwise. This was terror, nothing more, and more counterproductive than anything else.

In addition to the song and the events it covers, this video spent considerable time talking about what to do next now that all of the regular songs are covered. That's a lot of goofy talk, but after talking about firebombing that levity is needed.