Bombing of Munich in World War II

Augsburg, 37 miles (60 km) to the west, was a main center of diesel engine production (and still is today),[as of?]

Although some considerable distance from the United Kingdom, Munich is not a difficult city to find from the air, mainly due to its size, and possibly[vague] its proximity to the Austrian Alps to the south-east as a visual reference point.

[2] Around 90% of the old part of the city (Altstadt) was severely damaged due to the policy of carpet bombing (Flächenbombardement).

Munich was considered a special target of allied bombings also for propaganda purposes, in that it was the "movement's capital city", the Nazi Party's birthplace.

At the start of the Greater Germanic Reich in 1939, Munich had a population of around 830,000, and was the fourth-largest city in Germany.