"The Luftwaffe - the German Air Force - will no longer have a decisive
influence on the outcome of World War II, no matter how long it takes to
beat Hitler. No doubt, we will hear of the Luftwaffe before the war is
over. We will hear a lot. But don't let us be deceived. No matter what
happens, the Luftwaffe can never be used as a strategic first-line
weapon within the Nazi plan. It can play no role but that of a tactical
and auxiliary weapon." Can it really be true that in 1941 insiders knew
the Luftwaffe was a spent force and a failed organization? This
remarkable, but little-known book, first published in 1943, argues how
pure incompetence in planning and strategy left the Luftwaffe hopelessly
stretched and exposed. The Nazi regime designed its airforce for
Blitzkrieg, and Blitzkrieg alone. During the invasion of Poland, 2,500
aircraft were lost on account of a failure to produce any spare parts.
When long campaigns set in in Russia, North Africa and Western Europe,
the collapse of the Luftwaffe became inevitable. Crammed full of
fascinating detail, this prescient book shows how German efficiency was
fatally paralyzed by the dead-hand of the corrupt Nazi Party. Hermann
Göring, the head of the Luftwaffe, was chiefly responsible; his
wholesale thefts to fund a lavish lifestyle add particular color to this
picture of woeful neglect.
