Fighting The Bombers: The Luftwaffe's struggle against the Allied Bomber Offensive

by David Isby (Editor), Adolf Galland (Contributor), Josef Kammhuber (Contributor)

Fighting the Bombers is an unrivaled look at the Allied bombing campaign of the Second World War from the point of view of the Luftwaffe establishment and command.

The contributing authors were involved in all aspects of German attempts to stem the unrelenting bombardment from the RAF and the USAAF, from tactics in the sky to the long-term strategy and planning on the ground. Also examined is the development of the aircraft themselves and the use of sophisticated radio and radar equipment.

These reports were written immediately after the war, in 1945 and 1946, when most of the authors were prisoners of war and, for the most part, were prepared without the aid official documents and records. As such they represent a view not colored by reflection or clouded with postwar politics.

The reports show the development of the Luftwaffe, particularly the tactics and equipment used in night flying, as the war progressed, and they give a clear understanding of the efforts undertaken to defend the Reich from aerial attack.

Genres: Military Fiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2003

About the author

David Isby is an acclaimed author, attorney, and national defense consultant. In Washington, first as a congressional staff member and, subsequently, as a consultant on national security issues, Isby has worked for numerous firms with a range of governmental and private sector clients. He continues to write extensively on national security and military history topics, and is an author or editor of more than 20 books and 350 essays and articles in publications including International Defense Review, USA Today, Washington Times, Jane's Defense Weekly, Strategic Review, Comparative Strategy, Jamestown Terrorism Monitor, and Jane's Intelligence Review. He also has lectured at many staff colleges including National Defense University, US Army War College, US Army Command and General Staff College, Air Command & Staff College, US Marine Corps Command and General Staff College, Naval Postgraduate School, and other institutions.

Reviews

[Frank Minich]

Eye-opening interviews with German aviators after the war, the focus of which interviews is how the Germans tried to stop the day-time and night-time strategic bombing efforts (mostly from England).
At times, the discussion was a little too obscure for someone without prior exposure to the topic. There were a few maps, but of limited utility. For example, there were no charts of typical missions from England to Germany, nor of the resistance(s) they met.
There was little attempt to pull-in strategic logistics issues, such as fuel, aircraft, and personnel shortages, so I feel that I came away with less understanding of the evolution than I might have.
Also, the role of flak was underplayed.
Basically, it seems like Germany was not prepared to address the allies' strategic bombing campaign, and the resistance was formulated ad-hoc.