On November 20, 1944, American planes bombed cities in Moravia and Silesia. The most destructive raid was conducted on Brno, where it claimed 410 victims. The cities of Opava, Hodonín, Břeclav, Zlín, Přerov and Kroměříž were also affected.
On the day in question, 476 American B-24 Liberator and Boeing B-17 bombers took off from a southern Italian base with the aim of destroying refineries for the production of synthetic gasoline in southern Poland. However, due to inclement weather, the two attacking parties were instructed to focus on secondary objectives. More than 280 airplanes thus aimed at selected cities, the first target being Opava, where four people died after the raid. Another target was the Moravian metropolis, where 410 people died and 6,000 residents of Brno lost their homes during a carpet raid on the city center.
Other towns attacked by Allied planes were Hodonín, where 179 people died, and nearby Břeclav, where 60 people died. The planes continued over Zlín, where 24 victims were registered. Historians later began to lean towards the opinion that the raid on Zlín was probably a mistake due to poor navigation, and the pilots thought they were over Ostrava. Přerov became the last Moravian city where attacks by American planes claimed lives. 13 people died here.
Source: www.tyden.cz
