Wolfram von Richthofen
Subtitle: master of the German air war
By: James S. Corum.
Series: Modern war studies
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Lawrence, Kan
Language: eng
Number of pages: 421
ISBN-13: 9780700615988
Subjects: Richthofen, Wolfram von, -- 1895-1945; Germany. -- Luftwaffe -- Biography; Marshals -- Germany -- Biography; World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations
Genres: Biography.
Description: "This first full-length biography of von Richthofen ... reveals how, before World War II, von Richthofen played a central role in developing and building the Luftwaffe and such famous aircraft as the Me 109 fighter and He 111 bomber. He then delivered tactical and operational successes in the Spanish Civil War, where he established the close air support tactics that became an essential trademark of the German blitzkrieg. As commander of the Special Air Division in the invasion of Poland, he demonstrated the effectiveness of massed airpower and in 1940 helped produce a dramatic German victory in France by providing close air support for Von Kleist's panzer divisions as they raced to the English Channel. Later he also led the Luftwaffe's Second Air Fleet against the Allied landings in Sicily, Salerno, and Anzio"--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Wolfram von Richthofen's early life; title: The Great War; title: From Reichswehr to the Wehrmacht, 1919-1936; title: The war in Spain, 1936-1939; title: The Polish campaign, 1939; title: The Battle for France, 1940; title: The Battle of Britain: the Luftwaffe's first defeat; title: The Balkans campaign, 1941; title: The Soviet campaign opens, 1941-1942; title: The campaign in the Soviet Union, 1942-1943; title: Von Richthofen's last campaign: Italy, 1943-1944; title: Final act: Von Richthofen's last days.