Map Size: Medium

Gametypes: DM,TDM,SD,HQ,DOM,SAB,CTF

In the early afternoon of Tuesday 22 February 1944, Nijmegen was heavily bombed by planes of the American 8th Army Air Force. The resultant fires took until noon the next day to bring under control. Massive damage was done to the historic City centre. Nearly 800 Dutch civilians were killed and over 1,200 buildings were either destroyed or badly damaged. The railway station and a primary school received direct hits.

The bombing was a mistake caused by poor navigation. When low cloud led to their mission to bomb industrial targets in Germany being abandoned, the aircrews selected what they took to be another German target. They may have thought they were over the German city of Kleve 20 kilometers to the east.

The German military authorities in Nijmegen claimed that the bombing was a deliberate act by the allies. They produced posters asking the Dutch ‘Now you know who your true friends are!’ and attending the mass funeral of those killed.

However, the occupation had become increasingly oppressive and this campaign had little effect. When American soldiers arrived seven months later, they were warmly welcomed as liberators.

Post war research by Dutch historians has found no evidence that Nijmegen was the deliberate target of the raid.

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