Bombings

Numerous bombings have occurred within Panem throughout its history.

First Rebellion

Capitol Air Raids

A few months into the war, the first major rebel air raid on the Capitol immobilized the city for several days. The Capitol's surveillance system relied on electricity, but rebel interference in District 5 rendered air raid sirens unreliable, so citizens were often caught off guard and forced to shelter in place.

Bombing of Rebel Forces in the Mountains

For much of the war, the rebel forces, backed up by District 13 and its military arsenal, decidedly had the upper hand, and were winning. In the final two years of the conflict, they had completely cut off the Capitol from outside support, causing drastic food shortages in the city and a massive decline in living standards. In an attempt to break the siege, the rebels attempted an invasion of the Capitol by scaling the mountains that surrounded the city. However, such a task proved to be extremely difficult and costly, as Capitol aircraft were able to locate them easily and kill off mass numbers of rebel soldiers, forcing them to retreat.

The massive losses in both equipment and manpower for the rebels presumably had a devastating effect, and was likely the catalyst for the war turning in favor of the Capitol.

First Bombing of District 13

Near the end of the First Rebellion, District 13 trained their nuclear weapons on the Capitol and forced a stalemate under the threat of mutually assured destruction. The district negotiated an agreement with the Capitol, promising to withdraw from the war in exchange for political independence. Following this agreement, the entire population of the district moved underground, while the Capitol bombed the surface, creating the impression that the district had been destroyed. District 13 was then used as a cautionary tale to the other districts.

The Hunger Games period

Bombing of the Capitol Arena

Rubble raining down on Capitol students and tributes

On Saturday, July 9th, the Capitol Arena suffered a major bombing prior to the 10th Hunger Games. All of the tributes for the Games were present, as well as their mentors, who were the 24 top-performing students from the Academy, as well as a number of Academy staff and Peacekeepers. The bombing horrified those from the Capitol in particular, as it brought back traumatic memories of the frequent bombings which happened during the First Rebellion.

Nobody was sure exactly who was responsible for the the bombing or even the exact timeline. Due to its dilapidated condition, the Capitol Arena was not considered a high security area, so anyone could have sneaked in at any time since the 9th Hunger Games and planted the bombs without anyone noticing. The first explosion was near the main gate, but there was later a secondary explosion in the stands. During the bombing, Coriolanus Snow was trapped and on fire when Lucy Gray Baird saved him. Lysistrata Vickers was also helped by her tribute, Jessup Diggs, who threw himself on top of her to protect her from the blast.

Known casualties

Deaths

• Apollo Ring
• Diana Ring
• Otto - District 6 - killed by shrapnel
• Ginnee - District 6 - killed by shrapnel
• Panlo - District 9 - succumbed to injuries after being denied adequate medical care
• Sheaf - District 9 - succumbed to injuries
• Gaius Breen - lost both his legs, succumbed to injuries twelve days later

In addition to deaths directly caused by the bombing, the tributes from Districts 1 and 2 attempted to escape amid the chaos. Facet and Velvereen were shot dead by Peacekeepers, and Sabyn fell to her death. Marcus successfully escaped, but he was later recaptured, brutalized, and then mercy-killed by Lamina in the arena nine days after the bombing. In The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Felix Ravinstill died in place of Gaius Breen.

Injuries

"Almost everyone" present had needed medical attention in the aftermath of the bombing, the degree of which varied from person to person. Tributes were only seen to by a veterinarian at the Capitol Zoo where they were being held.

• Androcles Anderson - hospitalized in critical condition, but survived
• Coriolanus Snow - hospitalized with burns and a "fairly mild" concussion
• Lucy Gray Baird - burnt hands, smoke inhalation
• Reaper Ash - was later seen with a bloody bandage wrapped around his head

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Bombing of the District 12 mines

Arlo Chance set off an explosion in the coal mines of District 12, apparently in an attempt to sabotage production and possibly get the rebellion going again. His attempt was not successful and he ended up killing three men: two District 12 bosses and a Peacekeeper. He was hung for his crime at the hanging tree, serving as the basis for "The Hanging Tree" song.

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Uprising of District 8

In District 8, rebels used their stop on the Victory Tour as a rehearsal, and they used Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark's televised engagement in the Capitol as an excuse to be on the streets after dark. At eight o'clock, groups of rebels donned masks and targeted centers of power such as the Justice Building, the Peacekeepers' Headquarters, and the Communication Center in the square. Other targets included the railroad, granary, power plant, and armory. Peacekeepers were overwhelmed, their weapons appropriated by rebels, but reinforcements arrived by the thousands. The heightened Peacekeeper response and suppressive bombing brought an end to the uprising within forty-eight hours.

After a week of martial law, the district resumed regular business. However, a Capitol bomb destroyed the primary textile factory where rebels had started planning the uprising. Bonnie and Twill's families were killed, but the two of them were presumed dead, allowing them to escape the district.

Known deaths

• Twill's husband
• Bonnie's family
• Factory workers
• Peacekeepers

Second Rebellion

Bombing of District 12 (Second Rebellion)

As a result of Katniss Everdeen's actions at the end of the 75th Hunger Games, the Capitol's air force launched a massive retaliatory bombing raid on District 12. The Peacekeeper forces in the district withdrew, and the power to the citizens' homes was cut. The entire district was completely silent for fifteen minutes until the bombers arrived. At this time, the bombers dropped their incendiary payloads indiscriminately, razing most of 12 to the ground. The only area spared from the bombs was the Victor's Village.

Gale Hawthorne herded refugees to the Meadow, and they worked together to tear down a portion of the fence and escape into the woods. Gale then led the survivors to a lake several hours from the district on foot. The bombing was over by dawn. Once they settled at the lake, the refugees tended to their wounded, hunting and fishing to sustain themselves for three days. Then they were discovered and evacuated to District 13. Of District 12's original population of approximately 8,000, only about 800 survived the raid. Fewer than a dozen of the district's merchant class survived. In the films, the total was 915 survivors out of 10,000.

Known deaths

• Most of District 12's merchants
  • Mr. Mellark, Mrs. Mellark, first Mellark son, and second Mellark son
  • Parents of Delly Cartwright
• Madge Undersee, Mayor Undersee, Mrs. Undersee, and "the two people who worked for them"

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Katniss in District 8 in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

Bombing of District 8 (Second Rebellion)

"I want to tell the rebels that I am alive. That I'm right here in District Eight, where the Capitol has just bombed a hospital full of unarmed men, women, and children. There will be no survivors. I want to tell people that if you think for second that the Capitol will treat us fairly if there's a cease-fire, you're deluding yourself. Because you know who they are and what they do. This is what they do! And we must fight back! President Snow says he's sending us a message? Well, I have one for him. You can torture us and bomb us and burn our districts to the ground, but do you see that? Fire is catching! And if we burn, you burn with us!"

—Katniss Everdeen

About a month into the war, District 8 was heavily bombed one morning, and Katniss, Gale, Boggs, Cressida, and other District 13 citizens and camera crews were sent to film a propo. Katniss met injured rebel soldiers and civilians in the field hospital, many of whom were excited to see her. However, after exiting, a second wave of Capitol bombers came in to kill the patients and medics inside. Katniss and Gale took down the hovercraft with explosive arrows, using the same technique they used to hunt geese. Then Katniss filmed a stirring propo in front of the burning wreckage.

Known deaths

• Eddy and Eddy's sister
• Numerous medics, soldiers, and civilians

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Second Bombing of District 13

During a live broadcast from the Capitol, Peeta Mellark issued a warning of an imminent strike on District 13. Despite dissent from higher-up rebels, President Alma Coin issued an air raid alarm. Katniss Everdeen, as the rebels' propaganda figurehead, was ordered to remain calm to provide a role model for the citizens of District 13. Bunker missiles, designed to penetrate deep into the earth before detonating, were launched at the district over the course of three days. Peeta's warning came ten minutes before District 13's own systems would have detected the oncoming assault, at which point everyone in District 13 was already evacuated into a bunker deep underground. Anyone on the first ten levels of the complex would have been killed, but due to the timely warning, no lives were lost.

In Mockingjay - Part 1, Capitol bombers damaged an aquifer in the northwest quadrant, causing District 13 to lose a transport corridor. A surface-to-air launcher in section 3 took a direct hit because Coin's order to fire had revealed its location. Another twelve bombers approached section 3. In order to secure their remaining assets, Coin ordered that they hold their fire. The next hit to section 3 hit bedrock, sending debris into the ventilation shaft, so Coin ordered the concealment of 13's remaining anti-aircraft guns, and the sealing of all launching pads and ventilation corridors. She also had oxygen reduced to 14% to conserve it for the duration of the assault. Peeta's warning gave them eight extra minutes to evacuate civilians.

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Bombing of the Nut

Due to the better living conditions experienced under the Capitol's rule, there was mixed support for the uprising in District 2, and for several weeks, the Capitol and the rebels fought, with no victory in sight. The biggest hurdle for the rebels' was the Nut, the command center for the Capitol's military. Several attempts to capture the Nut were unsuccessful, leading to only more casualties among the rebels.

Gale Hawthorne and Beetee Latier put forth the idea of bombing seismic weaknesses in the mountains with hovercrafts, triggering avalanches which would bury the military base. This plan proved to be a success, leading to the destruction of the Nut and the surrender of loyalist forces in District 2.

The bombing of the Nut disabled the Capitol's war effort, decimating their air fleet and killing large numbers of Peacekeepers. This was the turning point where the war turned decisively in favor of the rebellion.

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City Circle bombing

During the final weeks of the invasion of the Capitol, the rebel forces marked four pathways which led to the City Circle. As rebel forces advanced, President Coriolanus Snow surrounded the presidential mansion with the Capitol's refugee children as a last-ditch defense. A hovercraft with a Capitol insignia dropped silver parachutes into the crowd, reminiscent of sponsor gifts delivered to tributes in the Hunger Games. However, rather than aid parcels, these were actually twice-detonating bombs. After the first explosion, rebel medics and Peacekeepers united to assist the wounded, and a second explosion killed the aid workers. This strategy was devised by Gale Hawthorne and Beetee Latier.

This event turned public opinion against the Capitol, and the country was seized for the rebels, ending the war. It was later discovered that District 13's President Alma Coin ordered this bombing to shatter what little remaining loyalty anyone had for President Snow.

Known casualties

Deaths

• Capitol children, Peacekeepers, and District 13 medics
• Primrose Everdeen

Injuries

• Capitol children, Peacekeepers, and District 13 medics (presumed)
• Katniss Everdeen - hospitalized with burns
• Peeta Mellark - hospitalized with burns