Germany and the Second World War Volume VII: The Strategic Air War in Europe and the War in the West and East Asia, 1943-1944/5

by Boog, Horst; Krebs, Gerhard; Vogel, Detlef

• ISBN13: 9780198228899
• ISBN10: 0198228899
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-06-29
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

By the spring of 1943, after the defeat at Stalingrad, the writing was on the wall. But while commanders close to the troops on Germany's various fronts were beginning to read it, those at the top were resolutely looking the other way. This seventh volume in the magisterial 10-volume series from the Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt [Research Institute for Military History] shows both Germany and her Japanese ally on the defensive, from 1943 into early 1945. It looks in depth at the strategic air war over the Reich and the mounting toll taken in the Battles of the Ruhr, Hamburg, and Berlin, and at the "Battle of the Radar Sets" so central to them all. The collapse of the Luftwaffe in its retaliatory role led to hopes being pinned on the revolutionary V-weapons, whose dramatic but ultimately fruitless achievements are chronicled. The Luftwaffe's weakness in defence is seen during the Normandy invasion, Operation overlord, an account of the planning, preparation and execution of which form the central part of this volume together with the landings in the south of France, the setback suffered at Arnhem, and the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes. The final part follows the fortunes of Germany's ally fighting in the Pacific, Burma, Thailand, and China, with American forces capturing islands ever closer to Japan's homeland, and culminates in her capitulation and the creation of a new postwar order in the Far East. The struggle between internal factions in the Japanese high command and imperial court is studied in detail, and highlights an interesting contrast with the intolerance of all dissent that typified the Nazi power structure. Based on meticulous research by MGFA's team of historians at Potsdam, this analysis of events is illustrated by a wealth of tables and maps covering aspects ranging from Germany's radar defence system and the targets of RAF Bomber Command and the US 8th Air Force, through the break-out from the Normandy beachhead, to the battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Author Biography

Horst Boog, Research Institute of Military History, Potsdam,Gerhard Krebs, Research Institute of Military History, Potsdam,Detlef Vogel, Research Institute of Military History, Potsdam

Project co-ordinated by the Militargeschichtliches Forschungsamt (Research Institute for Military History), Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Table of Contents

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS	X
LIST OF TABLES	XIII
NOTES ON THE AUTHORS	XIV
NOTE ON THE TRANSLATION	XVI
ABBREVIATIONS	XVII
GLOSSARY OF FOREIGN TERMS	XXXV
GENERAL SYMBOLS	XXXVI
INTRODUCTION	1	(6)
PART I The Strategic Air War in Europe and Air Defence of the Reich, 1943-1944
BY HORST BOOG	7	(452)
I. THE ALLIED COMBINED BOMBER OFFENSIVE AGAINST GERMANY (POINTBLANK) FROM EARLY 1943 TO JULY 1944	9	(150)
1. The 'Casablanca Directive' and the Plan for the POINTBLANK Combined Bomber Offensive	9	(6)
2. RAF Bomber Command Night Raids up to November 1943	15	(40)
(a) Preparations	15	(7)
(b) The Battle of the Ruhr	22	(7)
(c) Partly Successful Day and Night Precision Raids, but No Departure from Area Bombing	29	(14)
(d) The Battle of Hamburg	43	(12)
3. Daylight Raids by the US 8th Air Force, 1943	55	(21)
(a) First Penetration into German Airspace	55	(21)
(b) The Costly Bombing of Targets Inside Germany 6o
4. The POINTBLANK Crisis: Allied Concerns, and Measures to Deal with Them, Following the Schweinfurt Disaster	76	(12)
5. Crisis Management, Bad and Better	88	(42)
(a) The Battle of Berlin, and the Crisis in the British Night-Bombing Offensive	88	(14)
(b) The Struggle for Air Superiority over Germany by Day, Winter/Spring 1943/4	102	(28)
6. From POINTBLANK to OVERLORD. Arguments among the Allied Leadership, the Opening of the Fuel and Transport Offensive, and Support to the Invasion Troops.	130	(29)
Excursus: The Beginnings of a Soviet Strategic Bombing War against Germany	153	(6)
II. DEFENDING GERMAN SKIES, PART OF THE OVERALL AIR-WAR PROBLEM: FROM EARLY 1943 TO THE INVASION IN 1944	159	(198)
1. Air Defence in 1943	159	(98)
(a) Daylight Fighter Operations	164	(19)
(b) Night Fighters and Electronic Warfare	183	(28)
(c) Forward Fighter Defence	211	(5)
(d) Flak Defences	216	(19)
(e) Air-raid Protection	235	(7)
(f) Reorganization of Reich Air Defence and the Aircraft Warning Service 1943-1944	242	(15)
2. The Luftwaffe Senior Command in 1943	257	(12)
3. Return to a Strategic Air War Concept, in Attack and Defence	269	(5)
4. Arm for Defence or Attack? The Bombers-versus-Fighters Argument, 1943-1944	274	(17)
5. Air Defence in the First Half of 1944	291	(43)
(a) Daylight Fighter Operations	294	(11)
(b) Night-Fighter Operations	305	(11)
(c) Flak Defences	316	(7)
(d) The Luftwaffe and Invasion: The Fighter Defences Misused	323	(11)
6. The Luftwaffe and Air Defence in Mid-1944: The Me 262 'Sheet Anchor'	334	(23)
III. ATTACK THE BEST FORM OF DEFENCE? GERMANY REACTS IN KIND TO THE ALLIED BOMBER OFFENSIVE	357	(102)
1. Reasons	357	(38)
(a) Prologue: The Luftwaffe and Terror-Bombing	357	(12)
(b) Terror and Counter-Terror: Anti-Western Feelings	369	(10)
(c) Constraints in the East	379	(16)
2. The Resumption of the Strategic Bombing War in 1944	395	(25)
(a) Deployment and Efforts in the East	395	(11)
(b) The 'Baby Blitz' Against Britain	406	(14)
3. The V-Weapon Offensive	420	(41)
(a) Hitler, V-weapons and Miracle-weapons Retaliation Propaganda	420	(6)
(b) Preparations for Use, and the Offensive	426	(1)
(i) The V-1	426	(1)
(ii) The V-2	438	(1)
(iii) Hochdruckpumpe	444	(1)
(iv) Rheinbote	445	(1)
(c) Allied Countermeasures	446	(7)
(d) Assessment of the V-weapon Offensive	453	(6)
PART II German and Allied Conduct of the War in the West
BY DETLEF VOGEL	459	(244)
I. THE GERMANS IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES OF WESTERN AND NORTHERN EUROPE UP TO MID-1943	461	(17)
1. Strategic and Ideological Factors	461	(2)
2. France and Germany—Unequal Partners	463	(3)
3. The Beginnings of the Resistance Movement	466	(2)
4. The German Troops in the West	468	(10)
II. THE ALLIES IN THE WESTERN THEATRE UP TO MID-1943	478	(18)
1. Towards a Joint Concept for Conduct of the War Against the Axis	478	(3)
2. Initial Differences of View	481	(5)
3. Invasion Plans Delayed by Operation TORCH	486	(2)
4. The Appointment of COSSAC	488	(1)
5. The First Concrete Plans for Operation OVERLORD	489	(4)
6. The Role of Allied Intelligence	493	(3)
III. THE GERMANS AWAIT AN ALLIED INVASION	496	(52)
1. Western Europe and the Overall War Situation	496	(2)
2. The Situation of the Enemy	498	(10)
(a) Information about the Enemy up to the End of 1943	498	(4)
(b) The Enemy's Situation in the Months Preceding the Landing	502	(6)
3. Defensive Preparations in the West	508	(33)
(a) Defence Concepts	508	(3)
(b) The Atlantic Wall	511	(5)
(c) Command Structure and Division of Responsibilities	516	(4)
(d) Structure of Ground Troops	520	(4)
(e) Personnel and Equipment Problems	524	(4)
(f) Air Power	528	(3)
(g) Sea Power	531	(2)
(h) Impact of Internal Conditions in the Occupied Countries on Defence Preparations	533	(8)
4. Defensive Preparations in the North	541	(3)
5. Behaviour and Morale of German Soldiers in the West	544	(4)
IV. ALLIED PLANS AND PREPARATIONS FOR OPERATION OVERLORD, JULY 1943 TO THE INVASION	548	(37)
1. The Quebec Conference (QUADRANT), August 1943	548	(3)
2. Deliberations and Plans up to Eisenhower's Arrival in Britain in mid-January 1944	551	(5)
3. The Final Phase of Preparations	556	(9)
4. The Role of the Allied Secret Services	565	(5)
5. The French and OVERLORD	570	(5)
6. Further Considerations on Allied Preparations for Attack (Supplies, Leadership, and Morale)	575	(10)
Excursus: Allied and German Conduct of the War—Similarities and Differences	581	(4)
V. OPERATION OVERLORD	585	(118)
1. Forming a Bridgehead	585	(22)
(a) The Allied Landing	585	(8)
(b) German Commands' Reaction to the Assault	593	(3)
(c) Change in Allied Tactics	596	(2)
(d) Effects of the Supply Situation on OB West Planning	598	(2)
(e) Allied Preparations for Operation COBRA	600	(2)
(f) The Military Situation before the Allied Breakout in Normandy	602	(5)
2. Breakout and Pursuit	607	(29)
(a) The Allied Attack and First German Reactions	607	(3)
(b) Operation Le-rTicH 6o	o8
(c) The Battles for Falaise and on the Seine	610	(4)
(d) The Seizing of Paris, and Allied Plans for Further Operations	614	(6)
(e) Logistical Problems for the Allies	620	(4)
(f) Allied Advances in Western Europe up to Mid-September 1944, and German Counter-measures	624	(12)
VI. THE LANDING IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE	636	(27)
1. Allied Preparations for the Operation	636	(7)
2. German Defensive Measures	643	(10)
3. Operation DRAGOON	653	(10)
VII. THE BATTLES ON THE WESTERN FRONT FROM SEPTEMBER 1944 TO JANUARY 1945	663	(35)
1. Allied Offensives in the Face of Increasing German Resistance	663	(1)
(a) Operation MARKET-GARDEN	663	(1)
(b) The Battle for the Scheldt	670	(1)
(c) Allied Operations up to the Start of the Ardennes Offensive	674	(4)
2. The Ardennes Offensive (Operation WACHT AM RHEIN)	678	(1)
(a) German Plans and Preparations	678	(1)
(b) Allied Reconnaissance Findings	683	(1)
(c) The Battles in the Ardennes from Mid-December 1944 to Early January 1945	687	(1)
(d) Disagreement Among the Allies, and Impact of the Ardennes Offensive On the Further Course of the War	694	(4)
VIII. SUMMARY	698	(5)
PART III The War in the Pacific 1943-1945
BY GERHARD KREBS	703	(138)
I. STRATEGY AND POLICY AFTER THE REVERSAL OF FORTUNES EARLY IN 1943	705	(51)
1. Japan Switches to the Defensive	705	(8)
2. The Allied Offensive	713	(24)
(a) The Recapture of New Guinea	713	(16)
(b) India and Burma: the Japanese Offensive and Allied Counter-offensives	729	(8)
3. Japanese–German Cooperation and the Problem of a Separate Peace with the USSR	737	(10)
4. Japanese Occupation and the New Asia Policy	747	(9)
II. THE MAJOR AMERICAN OFFENSIVES OF 1944, AND THEIR REPERCUSSIONS FOR JAPAN	756	(54)
1. The Central Pacific	756	(7)
2. Opposition in Japan, and the Fall of the Tojo Cabinet	763	(18)
3. The Battle for the Philippines	781	(14)
4. Developments in Burma, Thailand, and French Indo-China	795	(9)
5. The War in China Boo
6. The US Landings on Iwo Jima and Okinawa	804	(6)
III. THE LAST LAP	810	(25)
1. Japanese Thoughts Turn to Peace	810	(6)
2. America's Plans for Ending the War, and its Occupation Policy	816	(6)
3. The End: From the Potsdam Conference to Japanese Surrender	822	(13)
IV. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: THE END OF THE PACIFIC WAR AND THE POST-WAR ORDER IN ASIA	835	(6)
BIBLIOGRAPHY	841	(44)
INDEX OF PERSONS	885