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Translation into English powered by Google
Soviet Air Force flew many strafing and dive-bombing missions to prevent German troops from surrending to U. S. Army in western Bohemia on May 8 and 9, 1945. They also tried to hit roads and communication hubs. Unfortunately, many errors due to various reasons occurred... I estimate that at least 1200 people were killed – most of them Czech and German civilians.
The most notorious raids were aimed at towns of Melnik and Mlada Boleslav in the central part of Bohemia on May 9, 1945. In Mlada Boleslav, where a plant the Czech Skoda car manufacturer is located, bombing left 500 people dead. The attack against retreating German columns in Zdirec nad Doubravou on the same day cost lives of 23 residents and 80 per cent of houses were either destroyed or damaged. A bomb accidentially was dropped on the town square in Hrotovice on May 8, 1945 where a crowd was welcoming a Soviet unit that had just arrived – 150 people (including 36 Soviet soldiers) were slaughtered...
