To what extent do we know that more bombs were dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War, than all the bombs dropped on Japan and Germany combined during WWII?

by treyday22
Baraga91

The question isn't entirely clear, but to answer in the way I think you intended: we know for sure.

The simple reasons are:

  1. WWII lasted for about half a decade, while the Vietnam war lasted a full decade.
  2. technological advances made it possible for planes to carry a bigger payload during the Vietnam war

An example:

Between 1964 and 1973, Laos was hit by over 2 million tons of US Bombs and is the most bombed/capita area of the world [http://legaciesofwar.org/about-laos/secret-war-laos/ ]

Over the entire war, Allied powers dropped 2,7 million tons in the ENTIRE European Theater, including the campaigns in Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, etc. (http://www.anesi.com/ussbs02.htm) and another 160 000 tons on Japan (http://www.anesi.com/ussbs01.htm#taaatjhi).

So even in the very unlikely case that half the bombs in Europe were dropped on Germany, it'd still be less than 1,5million tons.

Hope this helps!