The Long Road to Dresden

On the night of February 14th, 1945, a strong force of heavy bombers of Bomber Command, carried out a raid on the German city of Dresden. The next day, the raid was followed up by another by heavy bombers of the US 8th Army Air Force.
The damage was extremely heavy, as was the death toll: most likely around 35,000. It was a hideous and tragic event.
Yet it was only one hideous and tragic event in a catalogue of hideous and tragic events. It was not the bloodiest air raid launched against Germany. It was neither the first raid on Germany nor the last; not even the first against Dresden. Yet for some inexplicable reason, the February 14th raid has become a cause célèbre.
For the February 14th raid was no freak. It was one event in a long chain of events. Throughout the century, there was an increasing tendency to target enemy civilians. This is the story of that trend.