Figure 1.--Fighter ace Adolf Galland was put in charge of Jagdflieger/Luftwaffe Fighter Force (November 1941). He would remain in that post until (January 1945). He soon became frustrated because he got little support from both Göring and Hitler. And the great victories were largely over. It would be Jagdflieger that would have to face the coiled spring of Anglo American air power. America with its B-17 Flying Fortresses would be in the War within a month and only a few months later RAF Bomber Command squadrons would for the first time beginning a capabl;e heavy bomber -- the Avro Lancaster. Real damage to German cities began to be unleashed German cities. Galland began to lock horns with Göring and even Hitler himself. on how to defend the Reich.

Reich Marshall Göring was falling out of favor with Hitler, but the point of no return was the failure to supply the Stalingrad pocket and the increasingly successful Allied bombing of German cities. He had assured Hitler and the German people that the Luftwaffe would prevent the Reich from ever being bombed. Göring turned on his subordinates and pilots, calling them cowards. There were terrific rows with Gen. Galland, the head of Luftwaffe Jagdflieger (Fighter Force). "I had very big arguments always with Göring as I was responsible for the German fighter force and he was always arguing about the lack of bravery and spirit of attack." Jagdflieger was of course the Reich's primary air defense force."

-- Gen. Adolf Galland, Chief of the Luftwaffe Jagdflieger (1942-45).

Reich Marshal Herman Göring as head of the Luftwaffe was one of Hitler's most trusted advisers. He became the second most powerful man in Germany because of Hitler's reliance on him. Göring had played a key role in Hitler's rise to power and was at the center of the Holocaust--a mission of huge importance to Hitler. Göring's Luftwaffe led the NAZI Blitzkrieg in Poland (1939) and the stunning Western Offensive (1940). Hitler's trust in Göring was shaken for the first time by the Luftwaffe's failure in the Battle of Britain (1940), but the Luftwaffe continued to major roles in the Balkan's campaign (1941) and Barbarossa (1941). It was at Stalingrad that the relationship began to change (1942-43). Göring place in the NAZI hierarchy was irrevocably changed. Göring did not as commonly reported assure Hitler that the Luftwaffe could supply the 6th Army in the Stalingrad pocket. But Göring knew that Hitler did not want to withdraw and success would allow him to recover lost esteem. So he picked up on a commitment made by a Luftwaffe commander. The Luftwaffe had done this earlier with smaller units that had been surrounded for short periods during the Red Army Winter Offensive. In the Stalingrad case, however, the Luftwaffe did not have anything near the air-lift capability to supply the 6th Army. Göring ordered the Luftwaffe to fly in supplies. The pilots did everything humanly possible, but without adequate planes and pilots, the effort was a dismal failure. Even in the first weeks if the Red Army curing off the ^th Army, the air lift failed (November 1942), although the surrender only occurred (February 1943). The relationship between Hitler and Göring was never the same. At the same time, the Allies began their around-the-clock bombing campaign (January 1943). As head of the Luftwaffe an responsible for Germany's air defenses, again Göring was responsible, the same Göring that had publicly assured Hitler and the German people that his Luftwaffe made it impossible for the Allies to bomb German cities. As the Allied attacks increased, Göring's tarnished stature plummet. Görimg blamed his Luftwaffe pilots of cowardice. Unable to accept any responsibility for the unfolding disaster. His response was largely to withdraw to his Karinhall hunting estate north of Berlin and enjoy both morphine and the art treasures and jewels that he had pilfered from Jews and museums in occupied countries. And then it got worse. P-51 Mustangs began escorting the American bombers (January 1944). And the Luftwaffe was destroyed--Big Week (February 1944). The Luftwaffe fighters were unable to offer even minimal resistance.

Created: 12:29 AM 7/29/2025
Last updated: 12:29 AM 7/29/2025