The air raids ceased on April 11 th , , the city will then be taken by the 7 th US Army on April 20 th , Through this HQ, the Commanding General Air Force Services Command can administer his command and closely communicate with other commands operating on the Continent; this arrangement functions until April 29 th , when it is relieved by the 5 th Strategic Air Depot at Merville, France.
Source 8 th AFHS. February 14 th , , the Allies bomb Dresden in Eastern Germany. The bombing and the resulting firestorm destroyed more than 1, acres 6. An estimated 22, to 25, people were killed in the firestorms that engulf the city. Three more USAAF air raids followed, two occurring on 2 March aimed at the city's railway marshalling yard and one smaller raid on 17 April aimed at industrial areas.
Explosion after explosion. It was beyond belief, worse than the blackest nightmare. So many people were horribly burnt and injured. It became more and more difficult to breathe.
It was dark and all of us tried to leave this cellar with inconceivable panic. Dead and dying people were trampled upon, luggage was left or snatched up out of our hands by rescuers. The basket with our twins covered with wet cloths was snatched up out of my mother's hands and we were pushed upstairs by the people behind us. We saw the burning street, the falling ruins and the terrible firestorm.
My mother covered us with wet blankets and coats she found in a water tub. We saw terrible things: cremated adults shrunk to the size of small children, pieces of arms and legs, dead people, whole families burnt to death, burning people ran to and fro, burnt coaches filled with civilian refugees, dead rescuers and soldiers, many were calling and looking for their children and families, and fire everywhere, everywhere fire, and all the time the hot wind of the firestorm threw people back into the burning houses they were trying to escape from.
