The Battle of Berlin was the longest and most sustained bombing
offensive against one target in the Second World War. Bomber Commands
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 RAFs 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 Middlebrooks meticulous attention to detail makes The Berlin
Raids one of his most accomplished book to date.
