Bombing of Rome in World War II

Bombing of Rome
Part of the Winter Line and the battle for Rome
Date 16 May 1943 – 5 June 1944 (1 year, 2 weeks, 6 days) Location Rome, Italy Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom  United States	Germany  Italy
Commanders and leaders
Arthur Harris Arthur Tedder Jimmy Doolittle Henry H. Arnold	Albert Kesselring Renato Sandalli
Casualties and losses
600 aircraft shot down 3,600 air crew	40,000 civilians[citation needed]
Location within Italy

The bombing of Rome in World War II took place on several occasions in 1943 and 1944, primarily by Allied and to a smaller degree by Axis aircraft, before the city was invaded by the Allies on June 4, 1944. Pope Pius XII was initially unsuccessful in attempting to have Rome declared an open city, through negotiations with President Roosevelt via Archbishop (later Cardinal) Francis Spellman. Rome was eventually declared an open city on August 14, 1943 (a day after the last Allied bombing) by the defending forces.^[1]

The bombings of the "Eternal City" were controversial for several reasons. Rome had been the capital city of Italy for around 70 years, but large parts of the city were more than 2,500 years old. The neutral Vatican City sat within Rome, and the Vatican also owned many churches and other buildings outside its territory but within Rome city limits. Many Americans were against a major destruction of Rome. However, the British War Cabinet refused to see bombing Rome as a crime against humanity. The first bombardment occurred on July 19, 1943 and was carried out by 500 American bombers which dropped 1,168 tons of bombs. The entire working class district of San Lorenzo was destroyed, and 3,000 Italian civilians were killed in the raids over five residential/railway districts. The military targets were few, the largest Stazione Termini contained a marshaling yard, railways and industries that manufactured steel, textile products and glass. Winston Churchill approved the bombardment by the words "I agree, W.S.C. 16.7.43."^[2]

In the 110,000 sorties that comprised the Allied Rome air campaign, 600 aircraft were lost and 3,600 air crew members died; 60,000 tons of bombs were dropped in the 78 days before Rome was captured by the Allies on June 4, 1944.^[3]

Correspondences between Pius XII and Roosevelt[]

Following the first Allied bombing of Rome on May 16, 1943 (three months before the German Army occupied the city), Pius XII wrote Roosevelt asking that Rome "be spared as far as possible further pain and devastation, and their many treasured shrines… from irreparable ruin."^[4]

On June 16, 1943, Roosevelt replied:

Attacks against Italy are limited, to the extent humanly possible, to military objectives. We have not and will not make warfare on civilians or against nonmilitary objectives. In the event it should be found necessary for Allied planes to operate over Rome, our aviators are thoroughly informed as to the location of the Vatican and have been specifically instructed to prevent bombs from falling within Vatican City.^[5]

Bombing of Rome was controversial, and General Henry H. Arnold described Vatican City as a "hot potato" because of the importance of Catholics in the U.S. Armed Forces.^[6] British public opinion, however, was more aligned towards the bombing of the city, due to the participation of Italian planes in The Blitz over London.^[6] H.G. Wells was a particularly vocal proponent of doing so.^[7]

Notable raids[]

July 19, 1943[]

On July 19, 1943, Rome was bombed again, more heavily, by 521 Allied planes, with three targets, causing thousands of civilian casualties (estimates range between 1,600 and 3,200 victims).^[8] After the raid, Pius XII, along with Msgr. Montini (the future Pope Paul VI), travelled to the Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls, which had been badly damaged, and distributed 2 million lire to the crowds.^[9][10] Between 11 a.m. and 12 noon, 150 Allied B-17 Flying Fortresses attacked the San Lorenzo freight yard and steel factory. In the afternoon, the second target was the "Scalo del Littorio" on the northern side of Rome. The third target was the Ciampino airport, on south-east side of Rome.

August 13, 1943[]

Three weeks later, on August 13, 1943, 310 Allied bombers again bombed the city, targeting San Lorenzo and Scalo del Littorio.^[11] The surrounding urban districts were also badly hit, and 502 civilians were killed.^[8]

September 17, 1943[]

55 USAAF bombers attacked the Ciampino Airport.^[8]

September 18, 1943[]

Ciampino was attacked again, this time by 35 bombers.^[8]

October 23, 1943[]

73 RAF bombers attacked the Guidonia air base.^[8]

November 22, 1943[]

Ciampino was bombed by 39 RAF aircraft.^[8]

November 28, 1943[]

Ciampino was bombed again, by 55 RAF aircraft.^[8]

December 28, 1943[]

Ciampino and Guidonia were bombed by the 12th USAAF.^[8]

January 13, 1944[]

USAAF bombers attacked the Guidonia and Centocelle airfields.^[12]

January 19, 1944[]

147 USAAF bombers attacked the Guidonia and Centocelle airfields, but the surrounding city was also hit.^[12]

January 20, 1944[]

197 USAAF bombers attacked the Guidonia and Centocelle airfields, but the surrounding city was also hit.^[12]

March 3, 1944[]

206 USAAF bombers attacked the Tiburtino, Littorio and Ostiense marshalling yards; these were hit but so were the surrounding urban districts, with 400 civilian deaths.^[12]

March 7, 1944[]

149 USAAF bombers bombed the Littorio and Ostiense marshalling yards, hitting both their objectives and the city.^[12]

March 10, 1944[]

The 12th USAAF bombed the Littorio and Tiburtino marshalling yards, but bombs fell also on the city, killing 200 civilians.^[12]

March 14, 1944[]

112 USAAF bombers attacked the Prenestino marshalling yard; the objective was hit, but the surrounding districts also suffered damage, with 150 civilian casualties.^[12]

March 18, 1944[]

The 12th USAAF bombed Rome, causing 100 civilian casualties.^[12] This was the last major air raid over Rome.

Bombing of Vatican City[]

Vatican City maintained an official policy of neutrality during the war.^[13] Both Allied and Axis bombers made some effort not to attack the Vatican when bombing Rome. However, Vatican City was bombed on at least two occasions, once by the British and once by the Germans.

November 5, 1943

On November 5, 1943, a single plane dropped four bombs on the Vatican, destroying a mosaic studio near the Vatican railway station and breaking the windows of the high cupola of St. Peter's, and nearly destroying Vatican Radio.^[14] There were no fatalities.^[14] Damage from the raid is still visible.^[15][16]

March 1, 1944

There is no obscurity about the identity of the British plane that dropped bombs on the edge of Vatican City on 1 March 1944 as this was explicitly acknowledged, at least in private, by the British Air Ministry as an accidental bombing when one of its aircraft on a bombing raid over Rome dropped its bombs too close to the Vatican wall. Who Bombed the Vatican?: The Argentinean Connection

Notes[]

References[]

Further reading[]

• Carli, Maddalena; Gentiloni Silveri, Umberto. Bombardare Roma: gli alleati e la città aperta, 1940-1944 (in Italian). (Bologna: Il Mulino, 2007)

External links[]

• Bombing of Rome documents at FDR presidential library
• Collection of documents related to Australian bishops and the bombing of Rome