Mannheim and Ludwigshafen, facing each other across the Rhine, formed a major industrial area dominated by large chemical works, including the IG Farben/BASF complex. Allied bombing targeted these industrial facilities as well as the surrounding urban districts.
The area was attacked from an early stage of the war, particularly on:
17 December 1940,
10 May 1941,
7 December 1942,
17 April 1943,
9/10 August 1943,
5/6 September 1943,
23/24 September 1943,
12 May 1944,
19 October 1944,
16 December 1944
Particularly heavy raids took place on 9–10 August 1943, when 432 aircraft dropped about 1,700 tons of bombs, and on 5–6 September, when 546 aircraft dropped around 1,463 tons.
The raid of 23–24 September 1943 was of similar intensity and focused especially on industrial targets.
Overall, more than 50 per cent of the housing stock in Mannheim and Ludwigshafen was destroyed by bombing.
3,500 dead
