Big week : the biggest air battle of World War II / James Holland

Object Details

Notes
NASM copy Purchased with Adopt-a-Book funds.
Contents
Prologue: Dogfight over Germany -- Part I: Crisis. For the love of flying ; Flying for the Reich ; Black Thursday ; America's bomber men ; Learning the hard way ; The defence of the Reich ; The nub of the matter ; In the bleak midwinter ; Mustang ; New arrivals -- Part II: The turning point. Fighter boys ; Change at the top ; Berlin ; Spaatz and Doolittle take charge ; Thirty against one ; Dicing with death ; Little friends ; Waiting for a gap in the weather -- Part III: Big Week. Saturday, 19 February 1944 ; Sunday, 20 February 1944 ; Monday, 21 February 1944 ; Tuesday, 22 February 1944 ; Thursday, 24 February 1944 ; Friday, 25 February 1944 -- Postscript -- Glossary ; Appendices ; Timeline
Summary
During the third week of February 1944, the combined Allied air forces based in Britain and Italy launched their first round-the-clock bomber offensive against Germany. Their goal: to smash the main factories and production centers of the Luftwaffe while also drawing German planes into an aerial battle of attrition to neutralize the Luftwaffe as a fighting force prior to the cross-channel invasion, planned for a few months later. Officially called Operation ARGUMENT, this aerial offensive quickly became known as 'Big Week,' and it was one of the turning-point engagements of World War II
"During the third week of February 1944, the combined Allied air forces based in Britain and Italy launched their first round-the-clock bomber offensive against Germany. Their goal: to smash the main factories and production centers of the Luftwaffe while also drawing German planes into an aerial battle of attrition to neutralize the Luftwaffe as a fighting force prior to the cross-channel invasion, planned for a few months later. Officially called Operation ARGUMENT, this aerial offensive quickly became known as 'Big Week,' and it was one of the turning-point engagements of World War II. In [this book], acclaimed World War II historian James Holland chronicles the massive air battle through the experiences of those who lived and died during it. Prior to Big Week, the air forces on both sides were in crisis. Allied raids into Germany were being decimated, but German resources--fuel and pilots--were strained to the breaking point. Ultimately new Allied aircraft--especially the American long-range P-51 Mustang-and superior tactics won out during Big Week. Through interviews, oral histories, diaries, and official records, Holland follows the fortunes of pilots, crew and civilians and military leaders on both sides--from famed actor and bomber captain Jimmy Stewart to German ace Heinz Knoke to British Air Marshal Arthur "Bomber" Harris. Taking readers from strategic meetings at command headquarters to fighter cockpits during aerial dogfights to anti-aircraft positions and civilian chaos on the ground, Holland vividly recreates the campaign as it was conceived and unfolded. In the end, the six days of intense air battles largely cleared the skies of enemy aircraft when the invasion took place on June 6, 1944--D-Day. [This book] is both an original contribution to WWII literature and a brilliant piece of narrative history, recapturing a largely forgotten campaign that was one of the most critically important periods of the entire war."--Dust jacket
Data Source
Smithsonian Libraries
Date
2018
World War, 1939-1945
author
Holland, James 1970-
Subject
United States Army Air Forces History
Great Britain Royal Air Force History
Germany Luftwaffe History
Type
Books
History
Physical description
xxvii, 402 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
Place
Western Front
Topic
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations
World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns
Record ID
siris_sil_1106155
Usage
CC0