ON THIS DAY
14 February 1945: Thousands of bombs destroy Dresden. British and US bombers have dropped hundreds of thousands of explosives on the German city of Dresden. The city is reported to be a vital command centre for the German defence against Soviet forces approaching from the east. Last night, 800 RAF Bomber Command planes let loose 650,000 incendiaries and 8,000lb of high explosives and hundreds of 4,000lb bombs in two waves of attack. They faced very little anti-aircraft fire. As soon as one part of the city was alight, the bombers went for another until the whole of Dresden was ablaze. “There were fires everywhere with a terrific concentration in the centre of the city,” said one Pathfinder pilot. RAF crew reported smoke rising to a height of 15,000 ft (4,572 m). This was followed by another attack in daylight by 311 US heavy bombers. The Americans sent 450 B-17 Flying Fortress long-range bombers which arrived at 1230 local time. The pilots witnessed fires still blazing from the night before. The same number of bombers flew to the city of Chemnitz, south-west of Dresden, to attack railways and factories and yet more attacked Magdeburg. A major road bridge across the Rhine at Wesel was also hit. The Times newspaper reports 19 German planes destroyed along with 98 locomotives and 185 railway cars. Dresden is regarded by the Allies as the centre of its rail network linking eastern and southern Germany with Berlin, Prague and Vienna. Last night, the RAF also hit oil plants at Nuremberg, Bonn and Dortmund. Fighter Command Spitfires also pinpointed V weapons sites in the Netherlands that have launched hundreds of flying bombs against England in the last year. (Source: BBC)
15 February 1989: Soviet troops pull out of Afghanistan. Soviet troops are withdrawing from Afghanistan, nine years after they swept into the country. A convoy of Soviet armoured vehicles travelled the 260-mile (418km) journey to the USSR border while other soldiers left aboard an Ilyushin 76 transport aircraft. Earlier, the Soviet government had announced the departure of the last troops although snow had delayed a five-day airlift from the Afghan capital Kabul. The journey is especially dangerous on the Salang Pass through the Hindu Kush Mountains, where more than 10,000 mujahideen operate. The mujahideen – Afghan Islamic fighters – have been involved in heavy battles to try to force a Soviet retreat. Huge snow drifts are blocking the southern approaches to the pass, while the descent on the northern side is a wall of ice. Russian forces are not alone in leaving Afghanistan. Families of Afghan refugees have been crossing the border into Pakistan. Border guards have reported that a dozen families have crossed through the Khyber Pass in the last few hours. Over the past two months, up to 20,000 have fled heavy fighting between the mujahideen and Soviet troops. A handful of foreign correspondents have been allowed to join the Soviet convoy leaving Kabul, but only for the relatively safe last stretch of the journey, which has been secured by soldiers. President Sayid Mohammed Najibullah’s Soviet-backed Afghan government has acknowledged the complete withdrawal of soldiers with a brief statement. “I express my appreciation to the people and government of the Soviet Union for all-round assistance and continued solidarity in defending Afghanistan,” the president said. Ahead of the departure, the mujahideen fired four rockets at the capital, with three landing in the airport area and the fourth on shops. At Kabul’s airport, most international and domestic flights are arriving and departing as usual. According to latest BBC reports, Kabul is surrounded by a mujahideen force of around 30,000, with the city under artillery and rocket “bombardment”. Machine-gun and artillery fire could be heard during the night and this morning while a sign at the British Embassy reads “closing down temporarily”. The American embassy has put up a sign which says “extended h