War crime or part of a necessary effort to end a World War? The 7th largest German City had previously been untouched by bombing. That changed on Valentines Day 1945. Kurt Vonnegut, as a prisoner of war, would later write about his experiences in Slaughterhouse Five-- after surviving the bombing in a slaughterhouse.

1. 14 February 1945
The Dresden Firebombing

2. The Fire-Bombing of Dresden, during
World War II, went from February 13–
15, 1945. The raids almost completely
destroyed the German city of Dresden,
the 7th largest in the country. The raids
became a symbol of the “terror
bombing” campaign against Germany,
which was one of the most
controversial Allied actions of the war.
The Dresden Firebombing

3. Travel back in time to Dresden, Germany
on 14 February 1945.
The day Dresden is firebombed.
Doc’s Mission: Valentines Day

4. The attack on a city with few
militarily significant targets has been
questioned ever since, with some
calling it a war crime.
On the other side, there were those
who pointed to Dresden as a
transportation hub.
The Dresden Firebombing

5. In accordance with their usual
procedures, British bombers
attacked at night, while American
bombers dropped their ordnance
during the day.
The Dresden Firebombing

6. The pattern was for Mosquito planes to
fly over first, dropping target indicator
flares.
Then the bombing was a mixture of
incendiary bombs and “cookies”: 4,000
pound, high explosives also known as
blockbusters. These were designed to
blow out windows and doors to make
buildings more susceptible to fire. And
destroy water mains.
The Dresden Firebombing

7. “And, as if the Devil himself had
decided their torments were
insufficient, above the wind's howl
and the inferno's roar came the
interminable, agonized screams of
the victims being roasted alive.”
—Victor Gregg, survivor Dresden
Firebombing

8. The Dresden Firebombing

9. The necessity for the raid is
constantly questioned. Numbers of
casualties ranged from 20,000 to
200,000 although the figure has
generally been agreed upon at
25,000.
The Dresden Firebombing

10. Kurt Vonnegut survived the raid as
a POW (he’d been captured during
the Battle of the Bulge) and went on
to write Slaughterhouse Five. It
contains scenes set in Dresden. He
described the bombing as ‘carnage
unfathomable.’ He was assigned a
detail burying the bodies.

12. “The Dresden atrocity, tremendously
expensive and meticulously planned, was
so meaningless, finally, that only one
person on the entire planet got any
benefit from it. I am that person. I wrote
this book, which earned a lot of money
for me and made my reputation, such as
it is. One way or another, I got two or
three dollars for every person killed.
Some business I'm in.” Kurt Vonnegut
reference the Dresden bombing and his
book Slaughterhouse Five

13. Vonnegut survived the raid by
hiding in the lower levels of a
slaughterhouse.
The Dresden Firebombing

14. “If I had to have the same time
again, I would do the same again,
but I would hope I wouldn’t have to.”
—Air Marshall Arthur ‘Bomber’
Harris regarding the Dresden
mission.
The Dresden Firebombing

15. What if the firebombing didn’t take
place?
Or what if Vonnegut was killed in it?
These are the what-if’s the Time
Patrol deals with.
The Dresden Firebombing

17. Click on Image for links

18. Free audiobook shorts on Soundcloud from the
Time Patrol series.
Roland’s complete mission from Independence Day.
4 July 1865, at Gettysburg. HERE
Mac’s complete mission from D-Day.
6 June 1944. HERE
Moms mission from Ides of March.
15 March 44 BC. HERE

19. Print
Book
Free downloadable Powerpoint
slideshows on survival, history
writing, and interesting information
are available HERE

20. New York Times bestselling author, graduate of West Point and
former Green Beret. He’s had over 75 books published, including the
#1 bestselling series Green Berets, Time Patrol, Area 51, and Atlantis.
He’s sold over 5 million books. He was born in the Bronx and traveled
the world. He’s lived on an island off the east coast, an island off the
west coast, in the Rocky Mountains, the Smoky Mountains and other
places, including time in East Asia studying martial arts.
He now lives peacefully with his wife and dogs.
www.bobmayer.com