As early as January 1943, during the Inter-Allied Conference in Casablanca, Hitler’s army retreated on many fronts. Nevertheless, the American and British air forces proceeded to the “progressive destruction (…) of the German army, industry and economic system (…) to a point where their capacity for armed resistance would be fatally weakened” (extract from the Casablanca directive).
The USAAF (United States) and the RAF (United Kingdom) organized massive bombing campaigns on German industrial areas. The Ruhr Region was particularly affected. Cities such as Hamburg, Kassel, Pforzheim, Dresden, and Mainz were also attacked and almost completely destroyed.
Saarbrücken was also heavily bombed between 1942 and 1945, resulting in the almost total destruction of the old town. Nearly 1,200 people died, and about 11,0000 buildings were destroyed just in Saarbrücken.
