Download or read book Bomber Offensive written by Arthur Harris and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2005-03-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sir Arthur Harris - Bomber Harris - remains the target of criticism and vilification by many, while others believe the contribution he and his men made to victory is grossly undervalued. He led the men of Bomber Command in the face of appalling casualties, had fierce disagreements with higher authority and enjoyed a complicated relationship with Winston Churchill. Written soon after the close of World War 2, this collection of Sir Arthur Harris's memoirs reveals the man behind the Allied bombing offensive that culminated in the destruction of the Nazi war machine but also many beautiful cities, including Dresden.

Download or read book Bomber Harris His Life and Times written by Henry Probert and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-08-05 with total page 631 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the definitive biography of one of the most controversial figures of the Second World War. Sir Arthur Harris remains the target of criticism and vilification by many, while others believe that the contribution he and his men made to the Allied victory is grossly undervalued. Harris has been condemned, in particular, for his Area Bombing tactics which saw civilians and their homes become legitimate targets along with industrial and military installations. This is explored by the author and placed fully within its context, and just as importantly, within the instructions he received from Churchill’s administration. Henry Probert’s critical but highly sympathetic account draws on wide-ranging research and, for the first time, all of Harris’ own papers, to give an outstanding insight into a man who combined leadership, professionalism and decisiveness with kindness, humour and generosity.

Download or read book Bomber Harris written by John Grehan and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-04-22 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bombing campaign conducted against Germany and German-occupied Europe in the Second World War was, and remains, one of the most controversial operations of the entire war. Much of Bomber Command's effort was what was defined as 'area' bombing, in which whole cities or districts were targeted. –The ultimate aim of an attack on a town area,” Sir Arthur Harris wrote in one of his despatches, –is to break the morale of the population which occupies it ... namely, to produce (i) destruction and (ii) fear of death.”??This strategy was so successful it almost brought Germany to the point of collapse until Churchill, worried about the devastation it was causing and the number of civilian deaths which resulted, ordered it to cease.??Harris' despatches explain in great detail the success of his methods which, if given full reign, may have brought the war to a speedier conclusion but would have meant even more German casualties. Such was the controversy surrounding Bomber Command's operations, Harris' despatches were not published by the government, even though the despatches of every other branch of the armed services, and all of their operations, were made public. ??The full text of Harris' despatches is reproduced here along with an explanation why these documents were withheld for so many years.

Download or read book Bomber Command written by Max Hastings and published by Quarto Publishing Group USA. This book was released on 2013-09-15 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This award-winning classic of WWII military history chronicles the Royal Air Force’s bombing campaign against Germany. RAF Bomber Command’s air offensive against the cities of Nazi Germany was one of the most epic campaigns of World War II. The struggle began meekly in 1939 with only a few aircraft—Whitleys, Hampdens, and Wellingtons—flying blindly through the night on their ill-conceived bombing runs. It ended six years later with 1,600 Lancasters, Halifaxes, and Mosquitoes, equipped with the best of British wartime technology, blazing whole German cities in a single night. In Bomber Command, originally published to critical acclaim in the UK, famed British military historian Sir Max Hastings offers a captivating analysis of the strategy and decision-making behind one of World War II’s most violent episodes. With firsthand descriptions of the experiences of aircrew from 1939 to 1945—based on one hundred interviews with veterans—and a harrowing narrative of the experiences of Germans on the ground during the September 1944 bombing of Darmstadt, Bomber Command is widely recognized as a classic account of one of the bloodiest campaigns in World War II history. Winner of the Somerset Maugham Prize

Download or read book Bomber Harris written by John Grehan and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-04-22 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bombing campaign conducted against Germany and German-occupied Europe in the Second World War was, and remains, one of the most controversial operations of the entire war. Much of Bomber Command's effort was what was defined as 'area' bombing, in which whole cities or districts were targeted. The ultimate aim of an attack on a town area, Sir Arthur Harris wrote in one of his despatches, is to break the morale of the population which occupies it ... namely, to produce (i) destruction and (ii) fear of death.This strategy was so successful it almost brought Germany to the point of collapse until Churchill, worried about the devastation it was causing and the number of civilian deaths which resulted, ordered it to cease.Harris' despatches explain in great detail the success of his methods which, if given full reign, may have brought the war to a speedier conclusion but would have meant even more German casualties. Such was the controversy surrounding Bomber Command's operations, Harris' despatches were not published by the government, even though the despatches of every other branch of the armed services, and all of their operations, were made public. The full text of Harris' despatches is reproduced here along with an explanation why these documents were withheld for so many years.

Download or read book Bomber Harris written by Dudley Saward and published by Doubleday Books. This book was released on 1985 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Bomber Offensive written by Arthur Harris and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2005-03-01 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Royal Air Force commander of bombing operations during WWII offers an insider’s view of his legendary career in this classic military memoir. Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris remains a controversial figure in the history of the RAF. While many vilify him for his merciless carpet bombing of Germany, others believe that his contributions to Allied victory are grossly undervalued. In Bomber Offensive, Harris candidly describes how he led the men of Bomber Command in the face of appalling casualties, his fierce disagreements with higher authority, and the complicated relationship he had with Winston Churchill. Written soon after the close of the Second World War, Harris's memoirs reveals the man behind the Allied bombing offensive that destroyed the Nazi war machine, but also many beautiful and historic cities, such as Dresden. His defense of these total war tactics stands in stark contrast to modern military policy, which considers such indiscriminate killing a war crime.

Download or read book The Bomber Mafia written by Malcolm Gladwell and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2021-04-27 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A “truly compelling” (Good Morning America) New York Times bestseller that explores how technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war—from the creator and host of the podcast Revisionist History. In The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell weaves together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard to examine one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history. Most military thinkers in the years leading up to World War II saw the airplane as an afterthought. But a small band of idealistic strategists, the “Bomber Mafia,” asked: What if precision bombing could cripple the enemy and make war far less lethal? In contrast, the bombing of Tokyo on the deadliest night of the war was the brainchild of General Curtis LeMay, whose brutal pragmatism and scorched-earth tactics in Japan cost thousands of civilian lives, but may have spared even more by averting a planned US invasion. In The Bomber Mafia, Gladwell asks, “Was it worth it?” Things might have gone differently had LeMay’s predecessor, General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. Hansell believed in precision bombing, but when he and Curtis LeMay squared off for a leadership handover in the jungles of Guam, LeMay emerged victorious, leading to the darkest night of World War II. The Bomber Mafia is a riveting tale of persistence, innovation, and the incalculable wages of war.

Download or read book Bomber Harris written by Henry Probert and published by Greenhill Books/Lionel Leventhal. This book was released on 2006 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the definitive biography of one of the most controversial figures of World War II. Sir Arthur Harris remains the target of criticism and vilification by many, while others believe the contribution he and his men made to victory is grossly undervalued. Henry Probert's critical but sympathetic new account draws on recent research and, for this first time, all of Harris's own extensive papers, to give outstanding insight into a man who combined leadership, professionalism and decisiveness with kindness, humor and generosity. Bomber Harris provides the most complete picture of one of the great commanders of modern times and an outstanding military personality of World War II. Air Commodore Probert was formerly Head of the Air Historical Branch. Correlli Barnett is a world-renowned historian whose books have been translated into many languages.

Download or read book The Bombers and the Bombed written by Richard Overy and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-04-28 with total page 609 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An essential part of the literature of World War II.” —Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post From acclaimed World War II historian Richard Overy comes this startling new history of the controversial Allied bombing war against Germany and German-occupied Europe. In the fullest account yet of the campaign and its consequences, Overy assesses not just the bombing strategies and pattern of operations, but also how the bombed communities coped with the devastation. This book presents a unique history of the bombing offensive from below as well as from above, and engages with moral questions that still resonate today.

Download or read book The Bomber Command War Diaries written by Martin Middlebrook and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-04-02 with total page 941 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essential WWII historical reference detailing RAF Bomber Command’s extensive campaign of strategic bombings across occupied Europe. The Royal Air Force Bomber Command's strategic bombing campaign started on the first day of the Second World War and ended five and a half years later with the final victory in Europe. It was a campaign of such enormous scale that historians have only recently begun to piece together the finer details of the individual raids. Aviation historian Martin Middlebrook and his research colleague, Chris Everitt, were the first to compile a complete review of all the raids and their background stories. The Bomber Command War Diaries not only documents every Bomber Command operation but also details their effects on the ground, drawing on local archives from Germany, Italy, and the occupied countries. It is a groundbreaking work on historical research, bringing together the two sides of Bomber Command’s war. This edition includes retrospective observations and a new appendix.

Download or read book Operation Millennium written by Eric Taylor and published by Isis. This book was released on 2006 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Operation Millennium' was the terrible culmination of months of pressure from 'Bomber' Harris to get this new and deadly strategy accepted. It was an extraordinary feat of organization involving 1048 bombers, over 6000 aircrew and 53 British airfields. To ensure success, 'maximum effect' was the order. The Royal Air Force waged a campaign against any airmen whom showed faltering commitment, ruthlessly trying them by court martial. The atmosphere of night bomber stations is vividly recalled - the comradeship, the pity and the fear. The raid on Cologne is remembered by the crews of Bomber Command and the unlucky citizens of Cologne who endured the night raids. Eric Taylor has interviewed Britons and Germans, whose eyewitness accounts testify to the horror and heroism on both sides.

Download or read book The Science of Bombing written by Randall Thomas Wakelam and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After suffering devastating losses in the early stages of the Second World War, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force established an Operational Research Section within bomber command in order to drastically improve the efficiency of bombing missions targeting Germany. In The Science of Bombing, Randall Wakelam explores the work of civilian scientists who found critical solutions to the navigational and target-finding problems and crippling losses that initially afflicted the RAF. Drawing on previously unexamined files that re-assess the efficacy of strategic bombing from tactical and technical perspectives, Wakelam reveals the important role scientific research and advice played in operational planning and how there existed a remarkable intellectual flexibility at Bomber Command. A fascinating glimpse into military strategy and decision-making, The Science of Bombing will find a wide audience among those interested in air power history as well as military strategists, air force personnel, and aviation historians.

Download or read book Fire and Fury written by Randall Hansen and published by Anchor Canada. This book was released on 2009-09-15 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Bomber Harris and the Strategic Bombing Offensive 1939 1945 written by Charles Messenger and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bogen beskriver de Allieredes strategiske bombeangreb på Nazityskland. "Bomber" Harris, luftmarskal Sir Arthur Harris, leder af Bomberkommandoen, RAF Bomber Command spillede en vigtig rolle i udformningen af de allieredes strategiske planlægning under 2. Verdenskrig som resulterede i de massive bombninger af tyske byer. Det betød voldsomme og omfattende ødelæggelser - og massemord på den tyske civilbefolkning. Harris blev en del kritiseret for for mange "overflødige" bombemissioner med unødvendige tab af fly og flybesætninger.

Download or read book The Bomber Mafia written by Malcolm Gladwell and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2021-04-27 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'A parable written for the age of technological disruption . . . brilliantly told' Sunday Times The international bestselling author returns with an exploration of one of the grandest obsessions of the twentieth century 'The Bomber Mafia is a case study in how dreams go awry. When some shiny new idea drops from the heavens, it does not land softly in our laps. It lands hard, on the ground, and shatters.' In the years before the Second World War, in a sleepy air force base in central Alabama, a small group of renegade pilots put forth a radical idea. What if we made bombing so accurate that wars could be fought entirely from the air? What if we could make the brutal clashes between armies on the ground a thing of the past? This book tells the story of what happened when that dream was put to the test. The Bomber Mafia follows the stories of a reclusive Dutch genius and his homemade computer, Winston Churchill's forbidding best friend, a team of pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard, a brilliant pilot who sang vaudeville tunes to his crew, and the bomber commander, Curtis Emerson LeMay, who would order the bloodiest attack of the Second World War. In this tale of innovation and obsession, Gladwell asks: what happens when technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war? And what is the price of progress?

Download or read book RAF Bomber Command at War 1939 1945 written by Craig Armstrong and published by Pen and Sword Aviation. This book was released on 2021-04-28 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Royal Air Force had placed a great deal of faith in its force of bombers, Bomber Command, in the event of a future war. The belief in the ability of formations of bombers flying in daylight and unescorted, protecting themselves from enemy fighter attack, informed early tactics but led to bloody losses. Hampered by government restrictions on targets, by late 1941 Bomber Command was in crisis. As a result, and coupled the growing dire war situation, a new and forceful commander, Sir Arthur Harris, was appointed and new strategies allowed Bomber Command to broaden its attacks despite some opposition. The result was the area bombing strategy which focussed attacks upon enemy held towns and cities. This Main Offensive period lasted throughout 1943-1944 and saw both victories and defeats. It was also the period that saw a limited number of precision attacks; on Augsburg, Peenemunde and, most famously, the Ruhr dams. Bomber Command also aided in tactical and strategic support for the invasion of Europe and the subsequent fight to push inland. New technological developments allowed Bomber Command to hit V-Weapons sites and to focus more on precision bombing, but Harris remained determined to hit German towns and cities whenever possible, while the Command's growing power allowed it to rain devastation upon its targets, culminating at Dresden. Much has been written about Bomber Command, but this book focusses largely on those who took part in the raids and on public attitudes towards the campaign in Britain. Using accounts from national and local archives, newspapers and existing historiography, the book seeks to shed light on untold stories from Bomber Command’s war.