The RAF's Road to D-Day: The Struggle to Exploit Air Superiority, 1943-1944

The Third Reich's fate was sealed in 1943, but the Allies needed to decide how to complete their victory. Greg Baughen examines the air and land battles in Italy, France, and Germany between September 1943 and September 1944, as well as the debates and arguments over how the war should be won. He charts the trials, tribulations, and successes of the bomber offensive and assesses whether it contributed to the success of the Normandy landings. He also discusses the revival of tactical air support and questions whether Eisenhower, Montgomery, or Tedder ever fully understood how to make best use of the massive aerial forces available.

Format: Hardback
Length: 312 pages
Publication date: 13 June 2023
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

The Third Reich's fate seemed sealed by the summer of 1943. The combined might of Britain and the Commonwealth nations, the United States and the Soviet Union had made a Germany victory impossible. All that remained to decide was how the Allies should complete their victory. Would strategic bombing decide the outcome or would ground and air forces working together play the more significant role? Greg Baughen follows the air and land battles in Italy, France, and Germany between September 1943 and September 1944, as well as the equally bitter battles behind the scenes as army and air commanders debated and argued over how the war should be won. He charts the trials, tribulations, and successes of the bomber offensive and assesses whether, in the final analysis, it made any contribution to the success of the Normandy landings. He explains how army air support went backwards after the successes of the Desert Air Force, and how this led to a failure to support the troops landing on the D-Day beaches in Normandy. He also describes the subsequent revival of tactical air support and how it went on to play a key role in the subsequent campaigns, but questions whether Eisenhower, Montgomery, or Tedder ever fully understood how to make best use of the massive aerial forces available to them. Drawing on archive documents and accounts written at the time, the author tackles some fundamental defense issues. Was RAF independence a benefit or a hindrance to the Allied cause? To what extent was the War Office to blame for shortcomings in army air support? Did Britain understand the way

The Air Ministry was interpreting the lessons being learned during the war. Were the defense policies of the twenties.

Weight: 592g
Dimension: 165 x 243 x 33 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399051804