The Bomber War: The Allied Air Offensive Against Nazi Germany

by Robin Neillands

The bomber campaign against Germany is one of the most contentious incidents of World War II. Was anything achieved by the deaths of thousands of German civilians -- many of them women and children?... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585671622
• ISBN13: 9781585671625
• Release Date: July 2001
• Publisher: Overlook Press
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.3" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Allied Strategic Bombing in WWII-with all the Warts on!

Prof. Neillands does an excellent job setting the props, introducing the actors and explaining the plot of that incredibly tragic drama which was Allied strategic bombing in World War II. If there are compliments to be rendered or blame to be assessed he doesn't shirk at the task. Rich in data yet compelling in pace, Prof. Neillands kept my interest at a level I seldom reach with nonfiction. There are those who will still castigate him for his defense of Air Marshal Harris. Having been in the military myself, I understand the limitations of command. As far as bombing Dresden is concerned, there is very little doublt but that Harris and Spaatz were following orders. Therefore, the blame must rest higher. All in all, I would place this in the top ten of all WWII nonfiction I have ever read. If you have a choice of books on the Strategic Bombing Offensive, please consider the late Robin Neilland's book first.

Comprehensive and well-written overview of the entire bomber war

_The Bomber War_ by Robin Neillands is a fascinating, comprehensive, and well-written overview of the entire bomber war against Germany during World War II, covering both British (RAF Bomber Command) and American (largely the USAAF Eighth Air Force) forces as well as the German defenders. Neillands originally set out to refute what he saw as a growing mythology that portrayed Bomber Command in general and Air Chief Marshall Sir Arthur Harris in particular as being guilty if not of war crimes than at least of an immoral war, and that their area bombing of German cities was wholly unnecessary and that precision bombing should have used instead. Though Neillands went well beyond these questions in writing this book, he did in my opinion refute these allegations quite thoroughly, showing that the bombing was both moral and necessary and also that precision bombing was difficult if not impossible. First of all, Allied leaders were well aware of the moral implications of what they were doing and early on did strive to avoid civilian casualties; Neillands detailed early efforts by the British and later by the Americans when they entered the war to avoid attacking any target that might result in civilians injuries. Unfortunately, as the war dragged on, civilian deaths became unavoidable. To an extent some of this was from an erosion of concern; leaders and air crews just wanted the long hard war to end and anything within reason that brought that end even one day closer was an option. There was also a firm belief in the "Bomber Dream" (particularly with Harris), that a successful bombing campaign could bring the horrors of war to the German people and induce them to force their government to sue for peace as well as destroy the war-making capacity of Germany. The main reasons though that civilians were bombed were technical, weather, and enemy defense problems, ranging from frequent cloud cover and adverse weather in Europe, industrial haze over many targets, technical problems with radar bombing technology, navigational problems, fierce and growing fighter and flak opposition, and lack of fighter escorts for much of the war, all leading to often fantastically inaccurate attacks. If one worried too much about not hitting civilians by accident, many important targets would have enjoyed weeks or even months of respite from attacks. Allied leaders quickly discovered that if one worried about hitting civilians, one could not bomb Germany at all. I was surprised at how inaccurate the bombing could be. Very early in the war British bombers had great difficulty even finding the cities they were supposed to bomb owing to a lack of good navigational training and equipment. Even once they found the cities they had real trouble hitting the target; one British study of 1941 concluded that only one in three bombers dropped their bombs within five miles of the target! Since the inquiry decided that the target area had a radius of five miles, this meant

Insight into the Bombing of Germany in World War Two

This is an excellent book. Whether or not you agree with the author's view, the work is well-researched and well-written. Bombing planes were used in World War Two by the Germans, British, and Americans to destroy factories and other targets in an effort to reduce the enemy's ability to wage war. Neillands covers the history of such strategic bombing from its earliest use in World War One to the 2000-plane raids of 1945. He comes to some interesting conclusions. The first is that bombing is messy. I flew over Germany in a four-engine, B-17 heavy bomber in the winter and spring of 1944. During training, we were told that our precision bombing would only hit factories, sparing civilian areas. But I quickly saw that our load of bombs scattered all over a city, despite our best efforts to be accurate. Women and children were certainly killed. Neillands' also concludes that the American boast that its B-17 bombers could fight their way alone to a target was false. He was so right. German fighters destroyed our bombers by the hundreds and killed huge numbers of American flyers. Five members of my crew were killed and two, including me, were wounded. It was only when hundreds of P-51 fighter planes became available to escort the bombers that the slaughter of aircrews lessened. Probably Neillands' most controversial argument is that German cities, including Dresden, were bombed to destroy factories and other strategic targets, not to destroy centuries-old buildings. Aircrews have been villified by people who should know better for bombing cities. The aircrews were not the bad guys. Whether they were German, British, or American, they had no choice. It was fly or face execution. The bad guys in war are not the soldiers, sailors, or airmen. The bad guy is the one who started the war, whether it was World War Two, Korea, Vietnam, or Iraq. General Sherman said, "War is hell," and he was so right. Neillands' careful research shows how bad it was for the civilians on the ground and the flyers in the air. For a picture of what the decision to wage war brings, this book is well-worth reading.

Bomber command were the good guys

As the son of a flier who flew two tours in Halifax bombers during the offensive against Germany, I must say that a book taking this position is long overdue. War is a terrible, but necessary undertaking to protect civilized society from barbarians, whether it is the Nazis or the fanatical Islamic terrorists we are experiencing today. Any book which sets the record straight to counter all the left wing propaganda which attempts to paint allied fliers as murders is welcome. May garbage like the C.B.C.'s "Valor and the Horror" eventually be forgotten. These men deserve to be remembered with honor and respect. Thanks for writing this book.

Dares to question the "official" history

Hello,Excellent book, Niellands put you really back into the mindset of times we never hope to encounter it again.Furthermore it offers an excellent analysis of the "we were victims" version of WW2 which is gaining popularity in Germany.Niellands also doesn't spare Bomber Command and the USAAF regarding tactics and results.Niellands ask the obvious questions, "historians" out on anti Harris mission fail to ask. A must read for someone who seriously wants to learn about WW2 events, or someone who just wants to read an original analysis of these horrible times.