Bombing of Munich in World War II

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The Bombing of Munich took place mainly in the later stages of World War II. Munich was, and is, a significant German city, as much culturally as industrially. Augsburg, 37 miles (60 km) to the west, was a main center of diesel engine production (and still is today), and was also heavily bombed during the war. Although some considerable distance from the United Kingdom, Munich is not a difficult city to find from the air due to both its size and proximity to the Austrian Alps to the south-east, which was used as a visual reference point. Munich was protected initially by its distance from the United Kingdom. After a small air raid in November 1940 the city got little attention from bombers until 1944. Munich was bombed by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). There were 74 air raids on Munich, with 6,632 people killed and 15,800 wounded. Around 90% of the old part of the city (Altstadt) was severely damaged due to the policy of carpet bombing (Flächenbombardement...

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