page_title: Bombing of Obersalzberg
section_title: Planning
hierarchical_section_title: Bombing of Obersalzberg / Planning
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Bunkereingang Obersalzberg, nahe dem Hotel zum TürkenThis is a photograph of an architectural monument.It is on the list of cultural monuments of Bayern, no. D-1-72-116-290
context_page_description: The bombing of Obersalzberg was an air raid carried out by the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command on 25 April 1945 during the last days of World War II in Europe. The operation targeted Obersalzberg, a complex of residences and bunkers in Bavaria which had been built for Adolf Hitler and other key members of Germany's leadership. Many buildings in the complex were destroyed, though Hitler's residence and the bunker network were only slightly damaged. Two Allied bombers were shot down with the loss of four airmen, and 31 Germans were killed.
  Historians have identified several motives for the attack on Obersalzberg. These include supporting Allied ground forces, demonstrating the effectiveness of the British heavy bomber force, convincing die-hard Germans that the war was lost and obscuring the memory of pre-war appeasement policies. The attack was conducted by a large force of 359 heavy bombers in an attempt to destroy the bunkers located below Obersalzberg, from which the Allies feared that senior members of the German Government would command an Alpine Fortress. After difficulties locating and marking the targets were overcome, the bombers attacked in two waves.
context_section_description: As the war in Europe neared its end in 1945, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) became concerned over intelligence reports that indicated senior members of the German Government as well as Waffen-SS units would assemble at Berchtesgaden to prolong the fighting from an "Alpine Fortress". This was an intelligence failure, as the Germans made few attempts to prepare defensive positions in the Alps until the last weeks of the war. Hitler sent most of his personal staff to Berchtesgaden in April, but remained in Berlin. Most of the other senior ministers fled to other parts of Germany. The former Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring was the only highly-ranked member of the government at Obersalzberg at the time of the attack. Göring had been stripped of all his positions and was being held under house arrest on Hitler's orders as punishment for sending a telegram on 23 April seeking permission to assume Germany's leadership.
  The decision to conduct an air raid on Obersalzberg was made in April 1945. The attack was proposed by the head of Bomber Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris, and approved by SHAEF. Harris specified that the goal of the raid was to support the United States Army's XV Corps, which was rapidly advancing towards Munich from whence it would attack Berchtesgaden. The US Army opposed the attack, however, due to concerns that the complex's rubble would be easier for the Germans to defend than undamaged buildings. Two historians have stated that other factors motivated the raid. Oliver Haller has written the real reason Bomber Command conducted the attack was that Harris wanted to demonstrate that his forces could conduct precision bombing after he was criticised for terror bombing attacks on cities in early 1945. Despina Stratigakos has stated that the Allies hoped that the destruction of the Berghof would convince fanatical Nazis that the war was lost. She has also suggested that the attack aimed to "wipe from memory" the humiliation of the pre-war appeasement policies, including the Munich Agreement, which were associated with the Berghof.
  The Berghof and the Kehlsteinhaus pavilion, which Hitler had occasionally used to host guests, were the raid's primary targets. Several other buildings were in the area which was to be bombed. These included the houses of other senior Nazis, a barracks used by the Waffen-SS units assigned to defend Obersalzberg and a hospital. Several secondary targets, including bridges in the city of Salzburg, were selected for the crews of aircraft which were unable to bomb Obersalzberg.
caption: The entrance to a World War II bunker at Obersalzberg, photographed in 2016
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