Bombing of Würzburg in World War II

The Frankonian city of Würzburg was one of the German towns bombed in the last weeks of the Second World War. The most serious attack occurred on the evening of March 16, 1945 when British Royal Air Force bombers killed approximately 5000 civilians and almost completely destroyed the historic old town. The author Detlef Siebert wrote that "Some ... like Würzburg or Pforzheim were primarily selected because they were easy for the bombers to find and destroy. Because they had a medieval centre, they were expected to be particularly vulnerable to fire attack".

The decision to bomb the town was made by RAF Command in High Wycombe, west of London due to favorable weather conditions predicted for the sixteenth of March. The target had been relatively undamaged and was on the way to other targets including Nuremberg. The half-timber buildings and cramped old city promised the release of a firestorm. Commencing the attack would be the No. 5 group, which also executed the heaviest raid on Dresden from February 13–14. The small town of Würzburg experienced an even higher proportion of death and destruction.

Avro Lancaster bombers of No 5 bomber group launched at 17:00 hours and met at a collection point west of London. The formation took a winding route in order to deceive German air defenses, passing over the mouth of the Somme, Reims, and the Vosges mountains in order to reach their target. They crossed the Rhine at south of Rastatt. At around 21:00 225 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of the No. 5 group crossed their target from the south.

On the ground, a low-grade air raid alarm sounded at 19:00 hours, and was raised to a high alarm at 20:00. Because of a message from the command center of the Franconian command in Limburg an der Lahn, the full alarm was given to the Würzburg population at 21:07.

The first bombs dropped at 21:25, with an attack hour over Würzberg set for 21:35 (H). The formation passed over the entire city for the target marker H + 7 minutes (21:42). For this the attack had been preceded at H-9 min. (21:26) with the 627th squadron of Mosquito twin-engined bombers marked with green flares. These illuminated the target area, marking them out by flares on Green parachutes, which the German population called "Christmas Trees." As a marker for the bombers, the sport field on Mergentheimer Straße was used as a measuring guide. This point was identified at 21:28 with red target marker bombs. The bombing was then accomplished with a time lag in sectors ("sector bombing"). The bombers had to fly over the read marker, take a specially assigned altitude and flight path, and trigger their bombs and different times. the target area was marked out like a fan, and the bombers flew in with different release times to ensure a carpetlike coverage. Monitoring the situation was a "master bomber" (At a cruising speed of 350 km/h, each bomber would fly over the entire target area in less than a minute).

The bombing proceeded in three waves from 21:25 to 21:42. First the roofs and windows of the old town were destroyed with 256 heavy bombs and areal mines (396 tons). This prepared the way for 300,000 incendiary bombs (582 tons). Within a very short time isolated pockets of fire emerged, and this developed into a single area-wide firestorm with temperatures from 1500-2000°C. The population had only minimal warning and fortified bunkers were seldom available. For most, the best option was only a provisionally prepared basement shelter. To facilitate locating these shelters, buildings were marked on their walls SR/LSR for shelter, NA for emergency exit, and KSR for no shelter. These markers may still be found today scattered among the buildings. To avoid being caught in the firestorm or suffocating, many people ran for their lives and tried to reach the bank of the Main river or the edge of town. The fire department was faced with a hopeless battle and tried to contain it with water lanes (Wassergasse). On the approach to Würzburg one Lancaster was shot down by a German Night fighter and five more RAF Lancasters were lost during or after the attack. In the ruins of the city in the following days 3000 dead were recovered or identified, and an additional 2000 unregistered refugees are believed to have perished under the rubble.

From a distance of 240 km away the departing bomber crews could see the glare of the burning city. Around 02:00 in the morning on March 17, 1945, the last bombers returned to base.

The final report of the No. 5 bomber group on April 10, 145 gave the destruction of the city at 89%, and for the suburbs at 68%. This was above average, as was the Würzburg district of Heidingsfeld, which some bomber crews targeted before reaching their primary target. The British report accounted for a total of 1207 tons of bombs. The only part of Würzburg unaffected was the Versbach neighborhood and the Veitshöchheim. Accounting for all neighborhoods, the average destruction of Würzburg stood at 82%. Specifically this meant 21,062 homes destroyed and 35 churches. Among the destroyed monuments were the Würzburg Cathedral and parts of the Würzburg Residence including its hall of Mirrors. The Staircase with the famous fresco by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo survived due to an exceptionally bold ceiling construction for the 18th century. The American occupation forces immediately after the war secured the dilapidated building monuments in an exemplary manner.

2.7 million cubic meters of rubble was only cleared completely in 1964.

Before the war, the population of Würzburg was about 108,000, and in early 1945 it held 75-85000 people due to attrition due to war service. On the day of its capture by American troops (April 6, 1945), 36,850 city residents registered, and the population rose again to 53,000 by the end of 1945. Left at the main entrance to the main cemetery is a mass grave for the 3000 recovered bombing victims. The cemetery itself has fallen into disrepair.

On 6 April 1945, the city surrendered to American forces.