| Taylor Kingston 2005-02-23, 5:56 pm |
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BarbaraVilliers wrote:
quote:
> Goering was an ace pilot in World War I. Regarding German Military
> plans he was greatly hampered by Hitler who preferred Himmler's and
> Bormann's advice.
I am aware of Goering's WW I record and agree that he was a good
fighter pilot. However, my earlier post referred to his conduct of the
air war against Britain in 1940, as commander of the Luftwaffe. This is
generally considered well below optimal by the historians I've read:
Churchill, Keegan, Shirer, Mosley et al. A representative quote is this
from Keegan's "The Second World War" (Viking, 1989), page 94:
"Nevertheless the Luftwaffe might have established the air
superiority ... had it operated from the outset by the same sort of
coldly logical plan by which the German army had attacked France in
1940. On the contrary, it had no considered strategy ... and fought
Fighter Command instead by a series of improvisations, all posited on
Goering's arrogant belief that Britain could be brought 'down on
its knees' by any simulacrum of a 'hard blow' that he directed
against it."
I don't recall any historian who ascribes any significant role to
Bormann or Himmler in the Battle of Britain. Responsibility for German
mistakes there is generally considered to rest chiefly with Goering, as
far as I know.
Taylor Kingston
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