Boog H., Krebs G., Vogel D. Germany and the Second World War. Volume 7. The Strategic Air War in Europe and the War in the West and East Asia, 1943-1944/5

New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. — 931 p.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 Milit?rgeschichtliches 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.The Strategic Air War in Europe and Air Defence of the Reich, 1943–1944.
The ‘Casablanca Directive’ and the Plan for the POINTBLANK Combined Bomber Offensive.
RAF Bomber Command Night Raids up to November 1943.
Daylight Raids by the US 8th Air Force, 1943.
The POINTBLANK Crisis: Allied Concerns, and Measures to Deal with Them, Following the Schweinfurt Disaster.
Crisis Management, Bad and Better.
From POINTBLANK to OVERLORD. Arguments among the Allied Leadership, the Opening of the Fuel and Transport Offensive, and Support to the Invasion Troops.
Excursus: The Beginnings of a Soviet Strategic Bombing War against Germany.
Air Defence in 1943.
The Luftwaffe Senior Command in 1943.
Return to a Strategic Air War Concept, in Attack and Defence.
Arm for Defence or Attack? The Bombers-versus-Fighters Argument, 1943–1944.
Air Defence in the First Half of 1944.
The Luftwaffe and Air Defence in Mid-1944: The Me 262 ‘Sheet Anchor’.
Reasons.
The Resumption of the Strategic Bombing War in 1944.
The V-Weapon Offensive.
German and Allied Conduct of the War in the West.
Strategic and Ideological Factors.
France and Germany—Unequal Partners.
The Beginnings of the Resistance Movement.
The German Troops in the West.
Towards a Joint Concept for Conduct of the War Against the Axis.
Initial Differences of View.
Invasion Plans Delayed by Operation TORCH.
The Appointment of COSSAC.
The First Concrete Plans for Operation OVERLORD.
The Role of Allied Intelligence.
Western Europe and the Overall War Situation.
The Situation of the Enemy.
Defensive Preparations in the West.
Defensive Preparations in the North.
Behaviour and Morale of German Soldiers in the West.
The Quebec Conference (QUADRANT), August 1943.
Deliberations and Plans up to Eisenhower’s Arrival in Britain in mid-January 1944.
The Final Phase of Preparations.
The Role of the Allied Secret Services.
The French and OVERLORD.
Further Considerations on Allied Preparations for Attack (Supplies, Leadership, and Morale).
Excursus: Allied and German Conduct of the War—Similarities and Differences.
Forming a Bridgehead.
Breakout and Pursuit.
Allied Preparations for the Operation.
German Defensive Measures.
Operation DRAGOON.
Allied Offensives in the Face of Increasing German Resistance.
The Ardennes Offensive (Operation WACHT AM RHEIN).The War in the Pacific 1943–1945.
Japan Switches to the Defensive.
The Allied Offensive.
Japanese–German Cooperation and the Problem of a Separate Peace with the USSR.
Japanese Occupation and the New Asia Policy.
The Central Pacific.
Opposition in Japan, and the Fall of the Tojo Cabinet.
The Battle for the Philippines.
Developments in Burma, Thailand, and French Indo-China.
The War in China.
The US Landings on Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Japanese Thoughts Turn to Peace.
America’s Plans for Ending the War, and its Occupation Policy.
The End: From the Potsdam Conference to Japanese Surrender.
Looking to the Future: the End of the Pacific War and Post-war Order in Asia.Volume I
Volume II
Volume III
Volume IV
Volume V
Volume VI
Volume VIII
Volume IX-I
Volume IX-II