The end of 1942 was disastrous for the German war effort; Stalingrad, Alamein, the Torch landings, with the growing intensity of night attacks by Bomber Command, which merged into the Combined Bomber Offensive, strained Jeschonnek. Hitler and Göring were determined to regain the initiative and retain powerful air fleets at the fronts while increasing the size of night and day fighter forces in Germany. Jeschonnek requested a field command to escape the mounting pressure but was turned down. Thereafter, he "pressed forward" with these insurmountable ambitions. Jeschonnek hoped that the growing night and day defences would fight off the Anglo-American offensive while the "Wehrmacht" regained the initiative in the Soviet Union. Jeschonnek recognised the USAAF represented a different kind of threat than Bomber Command; the Americans were attempting to destroy specific targets. At the end of June 1943—Blitz Week—Jeschonnek requested an updated list from Speer as to the crucial points in the war economy that needed additional protection.