Horror of Hamburg spreads
4th August 1943: As the sequence of bombing raids on Hamburg ends the traumatised survivors seek refuge around Germany
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcd895a29-ffbf-4702-81f4-dc0b01d5910e_1440x1118.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5a69f9e1-bc3d-4815-8ed1-8062f3f14595_783x557.jpeg)
The last bombing raid of Operation Gomorrah, the coordinated bombing of Hamburg, took place on the night of 2nd August. The bomber force hit a thunderstorm as it approached the target area, Pathfinder marking could not take place and the eventual bombing was widely dispersed. Yet a final attack was hardly needed after the series of attacks since 24th July and the firestorm of the night 27th-28th. Hamburg had been devastated in a shocking blow. The message to Germany had been delivered.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to World War II Today to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.