8. Coventry, United Kingdom
On November 14, 1940, Coventry endured a devastating air raid known as Operation Moonlight Sonata. Over 500 German bombers dropped approximately 500 tons of high-explosive bombs and 30,000 incendiaries, resulting in the destruction of 43,000 homes and the historic St Michael’s Cathedral. The term ‘coventrieren’ was coined to describe such total devastation (coventry.gov.uk).
