Uniting against the Reich
eBook - ePub

Uniting against the Reich

The American Air War in Europe

  1. 278 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Uniting against the Reich

The American Air War in Europe

About this book

On August 17, 1942, twelve Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the United States Eighth Air Force carried out the first American raid over occupied Europe, striking the rail yards at Rouen, France. Soon after, hundreds of American B-17s and Consolidated B-24 Liberators filled the skies above Europe. Despite frequent attacks against Germany and its allies by four different air forces, American commanders failed to stage a successful air offensive against Germany in the summer and fall of 1943. When victory in the air war against the Axis powers appeared bleak at the threshold of 1944, a change in command accompanied by top-down organizational restructuring allowed the American leaders to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for the first time.

Uniting against the Reich: The American Air War in Europe addresses how the United States swiftly reversed its air war against the Axis powers by reevaluating both individual agency and the structural elements that impeded the US from taking the lead in the European Theater. Luke W. Truxal argues that the appointment of General Dwight D. Eisenhower as the Supreme Allied Commander incorporated various air commands under a single authority, which allowed them to unify their efforts against a specific strategic objective. In this narrative, victory in Europe hinged on restructuring the air force under one command system in order to wage a series of sustained and targeted bombings against German infrastructure and industry. Truxal's provocative reinterpretation of personality, material, and command organization helps to explain the success of the American war effort in Europe leading up to and after February 1944, when Germany lost 355 fighters during an operation that lasted only five days. This comprehensive and well-written account offers a compelling new assessment of the development of the American war in Europe and emphasizes the importance of developing an "air-mindedness" when evaluating and strategizing large-scale operations.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Uniting against the Reich by Luke W. Truxal in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & European History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. Foreword by Robert M. Citino
  7. Preface
  8. Abbreviations
  9. Introduction
  10. 1. The Road to Casablanca
  11. 2. The Casablanca Directive and Breaking Command Unity
  12. 3. Testing the Casablanca Directive
  13. 4. The Breaking Points
  14. 5. Reorganization
  15. 6. Taking the Fight to the Luftwaffe
  16. 7. The Spring Campaign against European Transportation
  17. 8. The Summer Oil Offensive
  18. 9. Breaking the German Way of War
  19. 10. Punishing the Reich
  20. 11. Conclusions
  21. Acknowledgments
  22. Appendix: Command Charts
  23. Notes
  24. Bibliography
  25. Index
  26. Series