Baedeker Blitz

Baedeker Blitz
	Part of the Western Front of World War II
	Exeter Bath Norwich York ; Canterbury Baedeker Blitz (England); Cities targeted
Date	April–May 1942
Location	England
Result	German strategic failure
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Sholto Douglas; Frederick Alfred Pile;	Hermann Göring; Hugo Sperrle;
Strength
RAF Fighter Command No. 11 Group RAF; No. 9 Group RAF; No. 10 Group RAF; No. 12 Group RAF; Anti-Aircraft Command;	Luftflotte 3 KG2; KG106; I/KG100;
Casualties and losses
1,637 civilians killed; c. 1,760 civilians injured; 50,000 homes destroyed or damaged;	40 bombers destroyed; 150 aircrew;

The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids was a series of bombing raids in April and May 1942 by the German Luftwaffe on English cities during World War II. The name derives from Baedeker, a series of German tourist guide books, including detailed maps, which were used to select targets for bombing.

Luftwaffe commanders planned the raids in response to the increasing effectiveness of the Royal Air Force's (RAF) area bombing offensive against German targets as a result of the area bombing directive, starting with the bombing of Lübeck in March 1942. The aim was to begin a tit-for-tat exchange with the hope of forcing the RAF to reduce their attacks. To increase the effect on British civilian morale, bombing targets were chosen by the Germans for their cultural and historical significance rather than for any military value.

The majority of the raids took place in late April and May of 1942, but British towns and cities continued to be targeted for their cultural value over the following two years. By any measure, the raids were a failure. In the year following the Blitz of 1940 and 1941, the RAF had dramatically improved its night fighter capability and introduced the AMES Type 7 radar specifically for night-fighting operations. The raids resulted in unsustainable bomber losses for the Luftwaffe, and for a variety of reasons the damage to the targeted cities was minimal compared to the Blitz or to the contemporaneous RAF bombing campaign against Germany. Nevertheless, the raids resulted in over 1,600 civilian deaths and tens of thousands of damaged homes.