The Berlin Raids

Author : Martin Middlebrook
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 344 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2010-07-12
Category : History
ISBN : 9781473819054

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The Berlin Raids by Martin Middlebrook Pdf

A “meticulously documented” account that covers the RAF’s controversial attempt to end World War II by the aerial bombing of Berlin (Kirkus Reviews). The Battle of Berlin was the longest and most sustained bombing offensive against one target in the Second World War. Bomber Command Commander-in-Chief, Sir Arthur Harris, hoped to wreak Berlin from end to end and produce a state of devastation in which German surrender was inevitable. He dispatched nineteen major raids between August 1943 and March 1944—more than ten thousand aircraft sorties dropped over thirty thousand tons of bombs on Berlin. It was the RAF’s supreme effort to end the war by aerial bombing. But Berlin was not destroyed and the RAF lost more than six hundred aircraft and their crews. The controversy over whether the Battle of Berlin was a success or failure has continued ever since. Martin Middlebrook brings to this subject considerable experience as a military historian. In preparing his material he collected documents from both sides (many of the German ones never before used); he has also interviewed and corresponded with over four hundred of the people involved in the battle and has made trips to Germany to interview the people of Berlin and Luftwaffe aircrews. He has achieved the difficult task of bringing together both sides of the Battle of Berlin—the bombing force and the people on the ground—to tell a coherent, single story. “His straightforward narrative covers the 19 major raids, with a detailed description of three in particular, and includes recollections by British and German airmen as well as German civilians who weathered the storm.” —Publishers Weekly

Author : Martin Middlebrook
Publisher : Viking Adult
Page : 442 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 1988
Category : History
ISBN : UOM:39015019228025

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The Berlin Raids by Martin Middlebrook Pdf

Author : Martin Middlebrook
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 407 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 1990
Category : World War, 1939-1945
ISBN : OCLC:1285471979

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The Berlin Raids by Martin Middlebrook Pdf

Author : John Martin
Publisher : Charnwood
Page : 162 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2019-09
Category : Air pilots, Military
ISBN : 1444842226

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A Raid Over Berlin by John Martin Pdf

Trapped inside a burning Lancaster bomber 20,000 feet above Berlin, wireless operator John Martin consigned himself to his fate and turned his thoughts to his fiancee back home. In a miraculous turn of events, however, the twenty-one-year-old was thrown clear of his disintegrating aeroplane and found himself parachuting into the heart of Nazi Germany, where he was soon captured. Drawn from his own memories, and from conversations with other POWs, this is the true-life account of a Second World War airman who cheated death in the sky, only to face interrogation and the prospect of being shot by the Gestapo, before enduring months of sorrow and hunger as a prisoner of war. Above all, however, it is the story of one man's courage and determination in the face of adversity.

Author : Martin Middlebrook
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 432 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 1997-11-01
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 0140238174

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Berlin Raids by Martin Middlebrook Pdf

The Battle of Berlin was the longest, most sustained offensive against a single target, and its merits remain a subject of debate even today. Here is the story behind these costly raids— including crucial tactical shifts within the R.A.F.— and month-by-month coverage of the most important runs. Based on over 400 interviews of both British and German aircrews.

Author : Martin Middlebrook
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 432 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2010-07-12
Category : History
ISBN : 9781848842243

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The Berlin Raids by Martin Middlebrook Pdf

The Battle of Berlin was the longest and most sustained bombing offensive against one target in the Second World War. Bomber Command’s Commander-in-Chief, Sir Arthur Harris, hoped to ‘wreak Berlin from end to end’ and ‘produce a state of devastation in which German surrender is inevitable’. He dispatched nineteen major raids between August 1943 and March 1944 – more than 10,000 aircraft sorties dropped over 30,000 tons of bombs on Berlin. It was the RAF’s supreme effort to end the war by aerial bombing. But Berlin was not destroyed and the RAF lost more than 600 aircraft and their crews. The controversy over whether the Battle of Berlin was a success or failure has continued ever since. Martin Middlebrook brings to this subject considerable experience as a military historian. In preparing his material he collected documents from both sides (many of the German ones never before used); he has also interviewed and corresponded with over 400 of the people involved in the battle and has made trips to Germany to interview the people of Berlin and Luftwaffe aircrews. He has achieved the difficult task of bringing together both sides of the Battle of Berlin – the bombing force and the people on the ground – to tell a coherent, single story. The author describes the battle, month by month, as the bombers waited for the dark nights, with no moon, to resume their effort to destroy Berlin and end the war. He recounts the ebb and flow of fortunes, identifying the tactical factors that helped first the bombers, then the night fighters, to gain the upper hand. Through the words of the participants, he brings to the reader the hopes, fears and bravery of the young bomber aircrews in the desperate air battles that were waged as the Luftwaffe attempted to protect their capital city. And he includes that element so often omitted from books about the bombing war – the experiences of ordinary people in the target city, showing how the bombing destroyed homes, killed families, affected morale and reduced the German war effort. Martin Middlebrook’s meticulous attention to detail makes The Bomber Battle of Berlin one of his most accomplished book to date. Martin Middlebrook has written many other books that deal with important turning-points in the two world wars, including The First Day on the Somme, Kaiser’s Battle, The Peenemünde Raid, The Somme Battlefields (with Mary Middlebrook), The Nuremberg Raid 30-21st March 1944 and Arnhem 1944 (all republished and in print with Pen and Sword). Martin Middlebrook is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and lives near Stroud, Gloucestershire.

Author : Martin Middlebrook
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 225 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2009-06-25
Category : History
ISBN : 9781781598863

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The Nuremberg Raid by Martin Middlebrook Pdf

A thorough history of the RAF Bomber Command attack on the German city during World War II, by the author of The First Day on the Somme. This book describes one twenty-four-hour period in the Allied Strategic Bomber Offensive in the greatest possible detail. Author Martin Middlebrook sets the scene by outlining the course of the bombing war from 1939 to the night of the Nuremberg raid, the characters and aims of the British bombing leaders, and the composition of the opposing Bomber Command and German night fighter forces. The aim of the Nuremberg raid was not unlike many hundreds of other Royal Air Force missions but, due to the difficulties and dangers of the enemy defenses and weather plus bad luck, it went horribly wrong. The result was so notorious that it became a turning point in the campaign. The target, the symbolic Nazi rally city of Nuremberg, was only lightly damaged, and 96 out of 779 bombers went missing. Middlebrook recreates the events of the fateful night in astonishing detail. The result is a meticulous, dramatic, and often controversial account. It is also a moving tribute to the bravery of the RAF bomber crews and their adversaries. Praise for The Nuremberg Raid “Employing hundreds of eyewitness accounts, he shows the raid from the point of view of the German defenses and the civilians on the ground. Factual and analytical, this is a portrait of mechanized warfare at the level of personal experience.” —Simon Mawer, Wall Street Journal

Author : Alan W. Cooper
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 383 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2013-02-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9781783036516

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Bombers Over Berlin by Alan W. Cooper Pdf

First published to acclaim in 1985, this book is set to be a timely release, in line with the 70th Anniversary of the outset of the Raids, near approaching in November 2013. Berlin itself was 'the Big City'. It was deep in the heart of Germany and heavily defended with flak and night fighters, not only because it was the administrative capital but also because it was vital for the German war production machine. Heavy losses could be expected on any raid to Berlin. So when the curtain was swept back on the briefing map to reveal the red ribbon stretching towards Berlin there was added tension for the bomber crews. Between November 1943 and March 1944, Berlin was the target no less than sixteen times. 9,112 sorties were flown and 495 aircraft were lost.As in his previous books, Alan Cooper has painstakingly researched all the details of the raids, telling the stories of individual crews who flew on them, of those who returned safely and those who were shot down, becoming POWs or evading capture, either returning to the UK or remaining at large in occupied Europe. He tells of the heroism of the pilots and crews grappling with heavily -loaded bombers against night fighters, often nursing stricken aircraft back to base, with many failing to return.Acclaim for Bombers Over Berlin:What makes this book so remarkable and interesting is its anthology of short but graphic accounts of the trials and tribulations of the dozens of bomber crews involved...Bombers Over Berlin is unique in its compilations of such a large number of personal anecdotes covering the hazards of sustained fighter and flak attacks...a thoroughly well researched chronicle Ken Batchelor, former Chairman of the Bomber Command Association.

Author : Randall Hansen
Publisher : Anchor Canada
Page : 386 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2009-09-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9780307372383

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Fire and Fury by Randall Hansen Pdf

National Bestseller An enlightening and utterly convincing re-examination of the allied aerial bombing campaign and of civilian German suffering during World War II–an essential addition to our understanding of world history. During the Second World War, Allied air forces dropped nearly two million tons of bombs on Germany, destroying some 60 cities, killing more than half a million German citizens, and leaving 80,000 pilots dead. Much of the bombing was carried out against the expressed demands of the Allied military leadership. Hundreds of thousands of people died needlessly. Focusing on the crucial period from 1942 to 1945, and using a compelling narrative approach, Fire and Fury tells the story of the American and British bombing campaign through the eyes of those involved: military and civilian command in America, Britain, and Germany, aircrew in the sky, and civilians on the ground. Acclaimed historian Randall Hansen shows that the Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command, Arthur Harris, was wedded to an outdated strategy whose success had never been proven; how area bombing not only failed to win the war, it probably prolonged it; and that the US campaign, which was driven by a particularly American fusion of optimism and morality, played an important and largely unrecognized role in delivering Allied victory.

Author : Martin Middlebrook
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 633 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2012-07-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9781781598009

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The Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission by Martin Middlebrook Pdf

A detailed history of the American World War II bombing mission over Nazi Germany, by the author of The First Day on the Somme. On August 17, 1943, the entire strength of the American heavy bomber forces in England set out to raid two major industrial complexes deep in southern Germany: the Messerschmitt aircraft factory and the KGF ball bearing plant. For American commanders, it was the culmination of years of planning, the day when their self-defending formations of the famous Flying Fortress could at last perform their true role, reaching out by daylight to strike at targets in the deepest corners of industrial Germany. The day ended in disaster for the Americans. Thanks to the courage of the aircrews, the bombers won through to the targets and caused heavy damage, but sixty were shot down and the hopes of the American commanders were shattered. Historically, it was one of the most important days for the American air forces during the Second World War. While researching this catastrophic raid, author Martin Middlebrook interviewed hundreds of the airmen involved, German defenders, “slave workers,” and eyewitnesses. The result is a mass of fresh, previously unused material with which the author finally provides the full story of this famous day’s operations. Not only is the American side elaborated upon, but the previously vague German side of the story—both the Luftwaffe action and the civilian experiences in Schweinfurt and Regensburg—is also now presented clearly and in detail for the first time. Middlebrook also covers the important question of why the RAF did not support the American effort and follow up the raid on Schweinfurt as planned.

Author : Richard Worrall
Publisher : Lund Humphries Publishers
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2014-03-28
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1409425126

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Raf Bomber Command Operations During 1943 by Richard Worrall Pdf

Author : Mark Clapson
Publisher : University of Westminster Press
Page : 316 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2019-04-02
Category : History
ISBN : 9781911534495

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The Blitz Companion by Mark Clapson Pdf

The Blitz Companion offers a unique overview of a century of aerial warfare, its impact on cities and the people who lived in them. It tells the story of aerial warfare from the earliest bombing raids and in World War 1 through to the London Blitz and Allied bombings of Europe and Japan. These are compared with more recent American air campaigns over Cambodia and Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s, the NATO bombings during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, and subsequent bombings in the aftermath of 9/11. Beginning with the premonitions and predictions of air warfare and its terrible consequences, the book focuses on air raids precautions, evacuation and preparations for total war, and resilience, both of citizens and of cities. The legacies of air raids, from reconstruction to commemoration, are also discussed. While a key theme of the book is the futility of many air campaigns, care is taken to situate them in their historical context. The Blitz Companion also includes a guide to documentary and visual resources for students and general readers. Uniquely accessible, comparative and broad in scope this book draws key conclusions about civilian experience in the twentieth century and what these might mean for military engagement and civil reconstruction processes once conflicts have been resolved.

Author : Martin Middlebrook
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 423 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2006-02-16
Category : History
ISBN : 9781473819535

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The Peenemünde Raid by Martin Middlebrook Pdf

The author of The First Day on the Somme recounts Operation Hydra, the British bombing on a Nazi army research center during World War II. On the night of August 17-18, 1943, RAF Bomber Command attacked a remote research establishment on the German Baltic coast. The site was Peenemunde, where Hitler’s scientists were developing both the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 rocket whose destructive powers could have swung the course of the war. The raid was meticulously planned, and hopes were high. But the night sky was so cloudless that the British bombers presented an easy target for German night fighters, and over 40 were lost. Martin Middlebrook draws on the memories of over 400 people involved in the dramatic events on that night: RAF and Luftwaffe aircrew, German personnel at the research site, and foreign laborers who had been forced to work there. The result is a truly compelling account of this hazardous attempt to disrupt Hitler’s V-weapons program.

Author : United States Strategic Bombing Survey
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 84 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 1947
Category : Bombing, Aerial
ISBN : UOM:39015008510318

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The Effects of Strategic Bombing on German Morale by United States Strategic Bombing Survey Pdf

Author : Robert F. Dorr
Publisher : Zenith Press
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2011-05-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781610602624

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Mission to Berlin by Robert F. Dorr Pdf

From Hell Hawks! author Bob Dorr, Mission to Berlin takes the reader on a World War II strategic bombing mission from an airfield in East Anglia, England, to Berlin and back. Told largely in the veterans’ own words, Mission to Berlin covers all aspects of a long-range bombing mission including pilots and other aircrew, groundcrew, and escort fighters that accompanied the heavy bombers on their perilous mission.