Allied war crimes during World War II

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Allied war crimes were violations of the laws of war committed by the Allies of World War II against civilian populations or the soldiers of the Axis Armed Forces. Other incidents are alleged by certain historians to have been crimes under the law of war in operation at the time, but for a variety of reasons, were not investigated by the Allied powers during the war, or they were investigated and a decision was taken not to prosecute.

At the end of World War II, several trials of Axis war criminals took place, most famously were the Nuremberg Trials, leading to the deaths of 21 prominent Nazis. However, these tribunals were expressly prohibited from considering any allegations of war crimes committed by the Allied powers or their military forces. Instead, seperate investigations were conducted regarding Allied personnel and alleged war crimes. If charged, this led to court-martialing.

It should be noted that many things classified as a war crime in today's standards were not during World War II.

Incidents

Incidents that occurred during the involvement of the relevant nation in World War II include the following. Again, not all of these are agreed to be war crimes:

Canada

Leonforte, July 1943. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment allegedly killed captured German prisoners.

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada randomly burned houses in Friesoythe, northwestern Germany in April 1945 as a reprisal for the death of their commanding officer.

Free France

The "Marocchinate" of Cassino: (some reports are disputed. see the relevant page for details)

Soviet Union

Mass rape and other war crimes by Soviet troops: these happened during occupation of East Prussia, in parts of Pomerania (Danzig) and Silesia, and during the Battle of Berlin and the Battle of Budapest.
Katyn massacre
Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff.
The mistreatment and death of several hundred thousand German and German allied POW's: the Soviet Union did not sign the Geneva Conventions of 1929, but the Nuremberg Tribunal found the general principles of international law, in respect to Nazi war crimes, had bound all belligerent nations to the accord despite the lack of universal ratification.

United Kingdom

Area bombing and firebombing of German cities and towns, based on situational analysis and debatable intentions.(disputed, as opinions vary)

United States

Battle of the Bismarck Sea- On orders from U.S. Army Air Force General George Kenney, U.S. aircraft strafed and bombed unarmed survivors from Japanese warships and transports swimming in the ocean.
Strafing unarmed surivors from the sunken Japanese cruiser Nachi
Canicattì slaughter
Biscari massacre
Dachau massacre
Area bombing: (see the UK entry for information, disputed as well)
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, based on the judicial review in Ryuichi Shimoda et al. v. The State.

Yugoslav Communist Partisan Forces

Other Controversy

In the Nuremberg trial, German Admiral Karl Dönitz was tried (among other crimes) for issuing orders to engage in Unrestricted submarine warfare. He was found guilty, but the sentence was not assessed (i.e. he got no penalty) because the court discovered evidence that both the British Royal Navy and the United States Navy also issued similar orders.