Prague, the capital and largest city of the German-occupied Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, was bombed several times by the Allies during World War II. The first Allied aircraft to fly over Prague was a single bomber of the French Air Force in April 1940, but it dropped propaganda leaflets, not bombs. The first bombing mission was flown by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in October 1941. Prague was then bombed three times by the United States Army Air Forces between the fall of 1944 and spring of 1945. During the Prague uprising of 5–9 May 1945, the Luftwaffe made use of bombers against the rebels.The bombing of Prague cost 1,200 lives. Ten surviving high-quality reconnaissance photographs allow a detailed assessment of the damage caused by the raids. The first two USAAF raids were accidental. The raids were used for anti-American propaganda purposes, both by the Nazis and the subsequent Communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
1945Feb, 14
World War II: Navigational error leads to the mistaken bombing of Prague, Czechoslovakia by an American squadron of B-17s assisting in the Soviet's Vistula-Oder Offensive.
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Events on 1945
- 23Feb
History of Poland (1939-45)
World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces. - 25Feb
Turkey
World War II: Turkey declares war on Germany. - 9Mar
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
World War II: The first nocturnal incendiary attack on Tokyo inflicts damage comparable to that inflicted on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki five months later. - 6Aug
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
World War II: Hiroshima, Japan is devastated when the atomic bomb "Little Boy" is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning. - 30Aug
Douglas MacArthur
The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Douglas MacArthur lands at Atsugi Air Force Base.