Carpet bombing

Carpet bombing, or saturation bombing describes the bombardment of a given area with bombs destroying as much as possible in the given area.  Like a carpet that covers the floor, bombs should cover the area. Carpet bombing is usually done by dropping a large number of unguided bombs. 

Carpet bombing of cities, towns, villages, or other areas containing a concentration of protected civilians has been a war crime since 1977.  It is explained in Article 51 of Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions.

The term obliteration bombing is sometimes used to describe especially intensified bombing with the intention of destroying a city or a large part of the city. The term area bombing refers to indiscriminate bombing of an area and also encompasses cases of carpet bombing, including obliteration bombing. It was used in that sense especially during World War II and the Korean War.

The use of atomic weapons is automatically a case of carpet bombing in its effect, but there are no modern examples of their use. Their use against Japan in WWII was the last and only example of a real attack using an atomic weapon.

References

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 Other websites 

 "Bombs Over Cambodia" from The Walrus

Category:War