The Luftwaffe over Germany · Defense of the Reich by Caldwell, Donald -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Title Page Copyright Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PREFACE MAP 1. GERMAN AIR DEFENSE: EARLY HISTORY AND THEORY (1914–1939)

Beginnings: The First World War, 1914–1918 The Weimar Years Air Defense under the National Socialists The Practice The Technology Devising a Command Structure On the Eve of War

2. REPELLING RAF BOMBER COMMAND’S DAYLIGHT ASSAULT (1939–1941)

Opening Rounds over the North Sea December 18, 1939—The Battle of Heligoland Bight Creating an Air Defense System A True Air Defense Command

3. AMERICA ENTERS THE WAR (1942)

The New Enemy Sizing Up the Adversary The Defenses Production and Pilot Training Early USAAF Attacks October 9—Lille December 20—Romilly-sur-Seine Lessons Learned

4. THE SLOW AMERICAN BUILD-UP (January–June 1943)

The Tide Ebbs: The War in Early 1943 German Air Defenses in Early 1943 Winter Doldrums January 27—Wilhelmshaven Early Sparring Matches Production, Training, Tactics and Reforms Arrival of the Thunderbolts April 17—Bremen The Race for Reinforcements The Balancing Act: The Relationship between the Air Fronts

5. HIGH TIDE FOR THE DEFENDERS (July–December 1943)

The Watershed: Summer 1943 July 24–30—Blitz Week The Great Defensive Build-Up August 17—Schweinfurt-Regensburg Korten Takes the Helm Priorities, Production, Training Centralization of the Defenses The October 1943 Air Defense Conference Wielding the Sword: Command and Control October 10—Minister October 14—Second Schweinfurt The Americans’Fall Crisis On the Receiving End: USAAF Perspectives

6. THE AIR WAR IS LOST (January–April 1944)

Optimism Fades in the New Year The Formation of Luftflotte Reich The War of Attrition February 20–25—Big Week The Fighter Staff and the Aircraft Production Miracle March 6—Berlin The Wastage Continues

7. THE OIL CAMPAIGN (May–August 1944)

A New Priority Target for the USAAF May 12—The First Attacks on the German Petroleum Industry German Training and Tactics in Response to the Oil Campaign The Invasion Front June 26—Vienna July 7—Leipzig: The Sturmgruppe Sees Action Motivation and Morale The Decline Continues

8. THE “BIG BLOW” THAT NEVER FELL (September–December 1944)

The Struggle to Rebuild the Defenses September 11—Petroleum Targets Market-Garden and its Aftermath Command and Control: Late War Developments November 2—Merseburg-Leuna The Battle of the Ardennes

9. THE FINAL DESPERATE EXPEDIENTS (1945)

Bodenplatte and the Battle in Berlin The Technological “Marvels” of 1945 The Me 262s Join the Defenders March 18—Berlin April 7—Sonderkommando Elbe The End Game Summing Up

NOTES APPENDICES

TABLE OF EQUIVALENT RANKS DAY FIGHTER ORDERS OF BATTLE Luftwaffenbefehlshaber Mitte—March 9, 1943 Luftwaffenbefehlshaber Mitte—December 31, 1943 Luftflotte Reich—May 24, 1944 Luftflotte Reich—June 10, 1944 Luftflotte Reich—September 5, 1944 320Luftflotte Reich—November 28, 1944 Luftflotte Reich—February 1, 1945

PUBLISHED SOURCES GLOSSARIES

Abbreviations Aviation Terms German Terms