Please answer the following question: Extract the answer to the question from the following context. Question: What caused the city to be so badly damaged? Context: Pockets of Georgian architecture survived the war, but much of the city was levelled. There has been extensive redevelopment since World War II. Increasing traffic congestion in the 1920s led to partial demolition of medieval walls around the Bargate in 1932 and 1938. However a large portion of those walls remain.
Answer:
the war