Bombing raids devastate Hamburg, Germany: The residents of Hamburg, Germany, had suffered through many British and American air raids since British planes began bombing runs in mid-November 1940. They were not prepared, however, for the payload that the Allies dropped on July 27-29, 1943. High-explosive and incendiary bombs dropped on those two nights unleashed firestorms that consumed nine square miles of the city in fire. The attacks killed more than 45,000 civilians and soldiers and left more than a million residents homeless.
