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by Joseph T. Molyson jr.
Hardback (6.3×9.3 inches). 347 pages. 2025.
Subtitle: How Allied Airmen Crippled the Luftwaffe and German Army in France
The book covers aerial warfare on the Western Front from the start of WWII, although coverage intensifies the closer the Allies get to D-Day.
As the Western Allies stepped up bombing of the German industry as well as transportation lines across Europe, the Luftwaffe devoted more and more resources to the Western and Mediterranean Fronts. By early to mid 1943, only 27% of Luftwaffe fighter planes were on the Eastern Front and 40% of new builds were heading to the Mediterranean (p110).
Round the clock strategic bombing by the USAAF (day) and RAF (night) generated a level of attrition the Luftwaffe could not support. Pinpoint raids that destroyed bridges, railroads, marshaling yards, and river shipping outpaced repair efforts and slowed the flow of war material to the French coast.
The book contains 39 black and white photos, eight black and white illustrations, and 40 black and white maps.
One curious remark: German DFS 30 glider pilots were trained to fight with infantry after landing (p144). Having just reviewed a book about the DFS 230 (see the May 23, 2025 AAR), the pilots were not considered infantry, although they sometimes joined the infantry to get out of immediate danger.
Other than that, the workmanlike prose follows Allied air efforts and German counters in WWII up until D-Day. The events selected and analysis presented offer an overview of how the Allies slowly wrested air superiority from the Germans.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
