Operation Gomorrah was the military codename for the Allied bombing of Hamburg (Battle of Hamburg) during World War II (24 July 1943 – 2 August 1943). The attacks during the last week of July in 1943, created one of the largest firestorms raised by the RAF and USAAF in World War II, killing at least 42,600 civilians (other sources account for up to 125,000 deaths) and wounding 37,000 more. 180,000 to 200,000 people in Hamburg were now shelterless, the terror bombers (de) had practically destroyed the entire city. Some one million German civilians fled the city.
