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

931 Pages·2006·13.08 MB·English

by  Horst Boog

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GERMANY AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR
VII
The Strategic Air War in Europe and the War in the West and
East Asia 1943–1944/5
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Germany
and the
Second World War
Edited by the
Milita¨rgeschichtliches Forschungsamt
(Research Institute for Military History),
Potsdam, Germany
VOLUME VII
The Strategic Air War in Europe and the War in the
West and East Asia 1943–1944/5
HORST BOOG
GERHARD KREBS
DETLEF VOGEL
Translated by
DERRY COOK-RADMORE
FRANCISCA GARVIE
EWALD OSERS
BARRY SMERIN
BARBARA WILSON
Translation editor
DERRY COOK-RADMORE
CLARENDON PRESS OXFORD
(cid:1)
2006
AC
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ISBN0–19–822889–9 978–0–19–822889–9
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
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
1
INTRODUCTION
PART I
The Strategic Air War in Europe and Air Defence of the Reich,
1943–1944
BY HORST BOOG 7
I. THEALLIEDCOMBINEDBOMBEROFFENSIVEAGAINST
GERMANY(POINTBLANK)FROMEARLY1943TOJULY1944 9
1. The‘CasablancaDirective’andthePlanforthePOINTBLANK
CombinedBomberOffensive 9
2. RAFBomberCommandNightRaidsuptoNovember1943 15
(a) Preparations 15
(b) TheBattleoftheRuhr 22
(c) PartlySuccessfulDayandNightPrecisionRaids,butNo
DeparturefromAreaBombing 29
(d) TheBattleofHamburg 43
3. DaylightRaidsbytheUS8thAirForce,1943 55
(a) FirstPenetrationintoGermanAirspace 55
(b) TheCostlyBombingofTargetsInsideGermany 60
4. ThePOINTBLANKCrisis:AlliedConcerns,andMeasurestoDeal
withThem,FollowingtheSchweinfurtDisaster 76
5. CrisisManagement,BadandBetter 88
(a) TheBattleofBerlin,andtheCrisisintheBritishNight-Bombing
Offensive 88
(b) TheStruggleforAirSuperiorityoverGermanybyDay,
Winter/Spring1943/4 102
vi Contents
6. FromPOINTBLANKtoOVERLORD.ArgumentsamongtheAllied
Leadership,theOpeningoftheFuelandTransportOffensive,
andSupporttotheInvasionTroops. 130
Excursus:TheBeginningsofaSovietStrategicBombingWar
againstGermany 153
II. DEFENDINGGERMANSKIES,PARTOFTHEOVERALL
AIR-WARPROBLEM:FROMEARLY1943TOTHEINVASION
IN1944 159
1. AirDefencein1943 159
(a) DaylightFighterOperations 164
(b) NightFightersandElectronicWarfare 183
(c) ForwardFighterDefence 211
(d) FlakDefences 216
(e) Air-raidProtection 235
(f) ReorganizationofReichAirDefenceandtheAircraftWarning
Service1943–1944 242
2. TheLuftwaffeSeniorCommandin1943 257
3. ReturntoaStrategicAirWarConcept,inAttackandDefence 269
4. ArmforDefenceorAttack?TheBombers-versus-Fighters
Argument,1943–1944 274
5. AirDefenceintheFirstHalfof1944 291
(a) DaylightFighterOperations 294
(b) Night-FighterOperations 305
(c) FlakDefences 316
(d) TheLuftwaffeandInvasion:TheFighterDefencesMisused 323
6. TheLuftwaffeandAirDefenceinMid-1944:TheMe262
‘SheetAnchor’ 334
III. ATTACKTHEBESTFORMOFDEFENCE?GERMANY
REACTSINKINDTOTHEALLIEDBOMBEROFFENSIVE 357
1. Reasons 357
(a) Prologue:TheLuftwaffeandTerror-Bombing 357
(b) TerrorandCounter-Terror:Anti-WesternFeelings 369
(c) ConstraintsintheEast 379
2. TheResumptionoftheStrategicBombingWarin1944 395
(a) DeploymentandEffortsintheEast 395
(b) The‘BabyBlitz’AgainstBritain 406
3. TheV-WeaponOffensive 420
(a) Hitler,V-weaponsandMiracle-weaponsRetaliationPropaganda 420
(b) PreparationsforUse,andtheOffensive 426
(i) TheV-1 426
(ii) TheV-2 438
(iii) Hochdruckpumpe 444
(iv) Rheinbote 445
(c) AlliedCountermeasures 446
(d) AssessmentoftheV-weaponOffensive 453
Contents vii
PART II
German and Allied Conduct of the War in the West
BY DETLEF VOGEL 459
I. THEGERMANSINTHEOCCUPIEDTERRITORIESOF
WESTERNANDNORTHERNEUROPEUPTOMID-1943 461
1. StrategicandIdeologicalFactors 461
2. FranceandGermany—UnequalPartners 463
3. TheBeginningsoftheResistanceMovement 466
4. TheGermanTroopsintheWest 468
II. THEALLIESINTHEWESTERNTHEATREUPTOMID-1943 478
1. TowardsaJointConceptforConductoftheWarAgainsttheAxis 478
2. InitialDifferencesofView 481
3. InvasionPlansDelayedbyOperationTORCH 486
4. TheAppointmentofCOSSAC 488
5. TheFirstConcretePlansforOperationOVERLORD 489
6. TheRoleofAlliedIntelligence 493
III. THEGERMANSAWAITANALLIEDINVASION 496
1. WesternEuropeandtheOverallWarSituation 496
2. TheSituationoftheEnemy 498
(a) InformationabouttheEnemyuptotheEndof1943 498
(b) TheEnemy’sSituationintheMonthsPrecedingtheLanding 502
3. DefensivePreparationsintheWest 508
(a) DefenceConcepts 508
(b) TheAtlanticWall 511
(c) CommandStructureandDivisionofResponsibilities 516
(d) StructureofGroundTroops 520
(e) PersonnelandEquipmentProblems 524
(f) AirPower 528
(g) SeaPower 531
(h) ImpactofInternalConditionsintheOccupiedCountrieson
DefencePreparations 533
4. DefensivePreparationsintheNorth 541
5. BehaviourandMoraleofGermanSoldiersintheWest 544
IV. ALLIEDPLANSANDPREPARATIONSFOROPERATION
OVERLORD,JULY1943TOTHEINVASION 548
1. TheQuebecConference(QUADRANT),August1943 548
2. DeliberationsandPlansuptoEisenhower’sArrivalinBritainin
mid-January1944 551
viii Contents
3. TheFinalPhaseofPreparations 556
4. TheRoleoftheAlliedSecretServices 565
5. TheFrenchandOVERLORD 570
6. FurtherConsiderationsonAlliedPreparationsforAttack(Supplies,
Leadership,andMorale) 575
Excursus:AlliedandGermanConductoftheWar—Similaritiesand
Differences 581
V. OPERATIONOVERLORD 585
1. FormingaBridgehead 585
(a) TheAlliedLanding 585
(b) GermanCommands’ReactiontotheAssault 593
(c) ChangeinAlliedTactics 596
(d) EffectsoftheSupplySituationonOBWestPlanning 598
(e) AlliedPreparationsforOperationCOBRA 600
(f) TheMilitarySituationbeforetheAlliedBreakoutinNormandy 602
2. BreakoutandPursuit 607
(a) TheAlliedAttackandFirstGermanReactions 607
(b) OperationLU¨TTICH 608
(c) TheBattlesforFalaiseandontheSeine 610
(d) TheSeizingofParis,andAlliedPlansforFurtherOperations 614
(e) LogisticalProblemsfortheAllies 620
(f) AlliedAdvancesinWesternEuropeuptoMid-September1944,
andGermanCounter-measures 624
VI. THELANDINGINTHESOUTHOFFRANCE 636
1. AlliedPreparationsfortheOperation 636
2. GermanDefensiveMeasures 643
3. OperationDRAGOON 653
VII. THEBATTLESONTHEWESTERNFRONTFROM
SEPTEMBER1944TOJANUARY1945 663
1. AlliedOffensivesintheFaceofIncreasingGermanResistance 663
(a) OperationMARKET-GARDEN 663
(b) TheBattlefortheScheldt 670
(c) AlliedOperationsuptotheStartoftheArdennesOffensive 674
2. TheArdennesOffensive(OperationWACHTAMRHEIN) 678
(a) GermanPlansandPreparations 678
(b) AlliedReconnaissanceFindings 683
(c) TheBattlesintheArdennesfromMid-December1944toEarly
January1945 687
(d) DisagreementAmongtheAllies,andImpactoftheArdennes
OffensiveOntheFurtherCourseoftheWar 694
VIII. SUMMARY 698