Talk:Carpet bombing

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[edit] Merge with Area bombing

There is an article area bombing. As here the words area bombing are bold in the intro the two articles need to be merged. Get-back-world-respect 02:08, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

Hmm, they don't seem to be the same thing, quite: area bombing is specifically wide-area bombing (and always of civilian targets?), whereas carpet-bombing con be on a very small area. Will try and clarify in the article ... quota 10:20, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

On second thoughts, after re-reading the article, it is almost all about area bombing, so a merge makes sense. Just needs a section on carpet-bombing in area bombing. quota 10:22, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

Carpet bombing is directly the opposite of Area Bombing. Area Bombing is bombing a City target from high altitude. The British used area night bombing to attack German Cities during World War II and measured it as accurate if the bomb fell within 5 miles of the target point, whereas Carpet Bombing is taking a relatively small box (for reference 700 yards deep by 2500 yards wide) and dropping enough bombs on precise points in the box to ensure that every single small area within the box is bombed thouroughly, it was used in Normandy during the British and Canadian attack on the city of Caen and as a prelude to the breakout from the normandy Beachhead for Operation Cobra. Please refer to any accounts of these battles for several references. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.6.197.163 (talk) 07:12, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

It's hard to see any firm definition for these terms. They certainly are not standardized in any sense, and different writers use them in different ways. Is 'bombing an area' different or the same as 'area bombing'? It depends on the context. (but I agree .. carpet bombing certainly does imply intense coverage of the target. mfc (talk) 17:31, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

I can certainly understand confusion on this point. My opinion is that over time and with the huge numbers of articles written on this subject, the term has become DILUTED. I have read many accounts of many battles, mostly from the 60's and 70's and I claim that in those eras there was no duplicity of the meaning of the term Carpet Bombing. If we must now accept the diluted meaning then so be it, but I know of no superior authority to the contemporary writers of the primary reference history. To me carpet bombing is the intensive saturation bombing of a very small space. Specifically NOT the area bombing or fire bombing of a city target. Carpet Bombing is a TACTICAL warfare method, not a strategic one. It is intended to destroy enemy military forces in the field, not INTENDED to destroy civilians, although this is frequently a secondary (in the military vise political sense - in the political sense it can be viewed as extremely reckless and inhumane owing to the utter pulverising of EVERYTHING in the target area), albeit possibly even more significant, effect.