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During World War II, the city of Lübeck was the first German city to be attacked in substantial numbers by the Royal Air Force. The attack on the night of 28 March 1942 created a firestorm that caused severe damage to the historic centre, with bombs destroying three of the main churches and large parts of the built-up area. It led to the retaliatory 'Baedeker' raids on historic British cities. Although a port, Lübeck was mainly a cultural centre and only lightly defended. The bombing on 28 March 1942 was the first major success for RAF Bomber Command against a German city, and followed the Area Bombing Directive issued to the RAF on 14 February 1942 which authorized the targeting of civilian areas. ==Main raid== Lübeck, a Hanseatic city and cultural centre on the shores of the Baltic Sea, was easy to find under the light of the full moon on the Saturday night of 28 March 1942 and the early hours of 29 March (Palm Sunday).〔The raid is locally commemorated on Palm Sunday, not on the exact calendar day of the raid. Palm Sunday is traditionally the day of confirmation, the most important day in the life of young Christians and their families〕 Because of the hoar frost there was clear visibility and the waters of the Trave, the Elbe-Lübeck Canal, ''Wakenitz'' and the Bay of Lübeck were reflecting the moonlight.〔 〕 234 Wellington and Stirling bombers dropped about 400 tons of bombs including 25,000 incendiary devices and a number of 1.8 tonne landmines. RAF Bomber Command lost twelve aircraft in the attack.〔 There were few defences,〔Five heavy anti aircraft batteries and four light ones.〕 so some crews attacked at 600 metres (2,000 feet) although the average bombing height was just over 10,000 feet. The attack took place in three waves, the first, which arrived over Lübeck at 23:18, consisting of experienced crews in aircraft fitted with Gee electronic navigation systems (Lübeck was beyond the range of Gee but it helped with preliminary navigation). The raid finished at 02:58 on Sunday morning.〔 191 crews claimed successful attacks.〔 Blockbuster bombs in the first wave of the raid opened the brick and copper roofs of the buildings and the following incendiaries set them afire.〔 1,468 (or 7.1%) of the buildings in Lübeck were destroyed, 2,180 (10.6%) were seriously damaged and 9,103 (44.3%) were lightly damaged; these represented 62 per cent of all buildings in Lübeck.〔 The bombing of Lübeck struck a corridor about 300 metres (330 yards) wide from Lübeck Cathedral to St. Peter's Church, the town hall and St. Mary's Church. There was another minor area of damage north of St. Giles (Aegidienkirche). St. Lorenz, a residential suburb in the west of the Holstentor, was severely damaged. The German police reported 301 people dead, three people missing, and 783 injured. More than 15,000 people lost their homes.〔〔.〕 Arthur "Bomber" Harris, Air Officer Commanding Bomber Command, described Lübeck as "built more like a fire-lighter than a human habitation." He wrote of the raid that "() went up in flames" because "it was a city of moderate size of some importance as a port, and with some submarine building yards of moderate size not far from it. It was not a vital target, but it seemed to me better to destroy an industrial town of moderate importance than to fail to destroy a large industrial city". He goes on to describe that the loss of 5.5% of the attacking force was no more than to be expected on a clear moonlit night, but if that loss rate was to continue for any length of time RAF Bomber Command would not be able to "operate at the fullest intensity of which it were capable".〔Harris, Arthur (1947); ''Bomber Offensive'', Pen & Swords, (Paperback 2005), ISBN 1-84415-210-3; pg. 105〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bombing of Lübeck in World War II」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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