I’m not sure how one might categorise the bombing of Dresden or Tokyo as tactical but I agree entirely that at the time very few would have questioned it especially as both Axis regimes initiated war and were fanatically supported by the vast majority of their citizens.
I get the sense the series is alluding to the point as they make great play of the Americans’ initial strategy of daylight bombing to ensure accuracy (and at one point their refusal to drop their load over Germany) as against the British preference for night time bombing and “hitting anything German”. No idea if that difference of approach was true or fictional.
It was what they believed. The British deemed daylight bombing to involve too high a rate of losses, and believed they had ways of mitigating accuracy issues. The Americans thought they had ways of mitigating the danger, and had the means to maximise accuracy in day time. As it turned out, night time wasn't as safe as the British thought it was, but they could mitigate the loss of accuracy to some extent. As it turned out, for at least the first year or so the Americans didn't really have an answer to the danger, and their belief in the accuracy of their technology (given the circumstances) was misplaced. Eventually, they found solutions to their respective problems. But what you said above was what they believed at the time.
BTW, the Germans didn't think of Dresden as an atrocity. If you look at the wiki entry for that raid, you'll find a range of estimates for the death toll, with 25k being the lowest, and going into 6 figures for higher estimates. 25k was the estimate the Germans came up with, after thoroughly investigating it using all the records they had. It was the Allies, perhaps fearing being pulled up for their actions and regretting what they did, who came up with higher estimates. The highest estimates are from pro-German historians post-war who want to argue that both sides were the same and that the Germans didn't deserve especial condemnation.
Oh, and the likes of Dresden and Tokyo were strategic bombings. Strategic bombing aims for a target on a map and aims to disable the target. Tactical bombing aims to complement simultaneous operations on the ground. Strategic bombers are on level flight as they go over the target area. Tactical bombers aim for a more specific target, such as a convoy, a building, or an area where enemy are forming up. The two types generally use different aircraft types (think B-17 Flying Fortress versus Stuka), with the Mosquito possibly being the only common aircraft successful at both.
