Steven J. Zaloga

The Oil Campaign 1944-45 (eBook, PDF)

Draining the Wehrmacht's lifeblood
Illustrator: Groult, Edouard A.

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

A new illustrated history of one of the key air campaigns of late World War II - the American effort to cripple Germany's oil production, and grind its armed forces to a halt.

With retreating German forces losing their oilfields on the Eastern Front, Germany was reliant on its own facilities, particularly for producing synthetic oil from coal. However, these were within range of the increasingly mighty Allied air forces. In 1944 the head of the US Strategic Air Forces, General Carl Spaatz was intent on a new campaign that aimed to cripple the German war machine by depriving it of fuel.

The USAAF's Oil Campaign built up momentum during the summer of 1944 and targeted these refineries and plants with its daylight heavy bombers. Decrypted German communications made it clear that the Oil Campaign was having an effect against the Wehrmacht. Fuel shortages in the autumn of 1944 forced the Luftwaffe to ground most of its combat units except for fighters involved in the defense of the Reich. Fuel shortages also forced the Kriegsmarine to place most of its warships in harbor except for the U-boats and greatly hampered German army campaigns such as the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944-45.

This fascinating book packed with key photos and illustrations examines the controversies and debates over the focus of the US bombing campaign in the final year of the war, and the impact it had on the war effort overall.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK
• Seitenzahl: 96
• Erscheinungstermin: 23. Juni 2022
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781472848574
• Artikelnr.: 63720456

Autorenporträt

Steven J. Zaloga received his BA in History from Union College and his MA from Columbia University. He has worked as an analyst in the aerospace industry for three decades, covering missile systems and the international arms trade, and has served with the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federal think tank. He is the author of numerous books on military technology and history, including NVG 294 Allied Tanks in Normandy 1944 and NVG 283 American Guided Missiles of World War II. He currently lives in Maryland, USA.

Inhaltsangabe

INTRODUCTION CHRONOLOGY ATTACKER'S CAPABILITIES Allied bomber strength in
1944 Royal Air Force US Army Air Forces DEFENDER'S CAPABILITIES Luftflotte
reich Luftwaffe organization Luftwaffe daylight tactics Luftwaffe night
tactics Luftwaffe Flak CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES The crucial commodity The Oil
Plan THE CAMPAIGN Collapsing the German war economy Mission 353: May 12,
1944 Ploesti attacks resume Impact of the initial Oil Campaign German
countermeasures Bomber Command joins the battle Post-invasion USSTAF Oil
Campaign August Oil Campaign Ploesti subdued Summer assessment The Fall
1944 Oil Campaign October missions The November reprieve Hitler's December
gamble Bodenplatte January 1945 Luftwaffe demoralization The February
decline The final campaign ANALYSIS FURTHER READING INDEX