Designed to give the German transportation system a critical blow, 1945’s Operation Clarion was an enormous series of raids along the entire German front with bombers and fighter/bombers. The object was also to demoralize the German population, and the raids were criticized after the war for affecting civilians.

The opportunity to launch Operation Clarion came on February 22, when most of Germany was expected to be vulnerable to visual-bombing attacks. The tactical air forces received assignments in western and northwestern Germany. The Fifteenth Air Force, based in Italy, was to operate over a wide area in southern Germany, Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command retained its semi-monopoly over the Ruhr, and the Eighth Air Force planned to bomb several dozen towns in the middle and north central part of Germany. The Eighth Air Force had to depart from its usual operating procedures in several respects. Most important of all, the heavy bombers were to attack from about 10,000 feet or even lower instead of the customary 20,000-25,000-foot altitudes. Also, they were to form small attacking units instead of organizing into the usual large formations. All the Eighth’s fighters were to go along, mainly for independent strafing and bombing operations.

Strikes included the Northeim rail yards at 4:30, Bamberg at 4:38, Stendal at 5:12, Wittenberge at the 5:36 mark, Ludwigslust at 6:00, Ulzen at 6:20, Luneberg at 7:00, Elligen at 7:50, Wurzburg at 8:45. Rail stations, yards, bridges, rail lines, and other infrastructure was targeted.

Two days of Operation Clarion dealt the German transportation system a heavy blow. Yet, it appeared in assessments that the rail traffic had been radically reduced for only three days and that the attacks did not prevent the Germans from continuing the movement of high priority traffic. As a result, no further Clarion operations were launched during the war in Europe.