234 ENDGAME AND AFTERMATH 1944–1955
GREATER
GERMANY
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SLOVAKIA
SWITZ
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A N C E
Le Havre
Rouen
Caen
Dieppe Amiens
Poix-de-Picardie
Abbeville
Paris
Chartres
Le Mans
Tours
Nantes
Reims
Calais
Dunkirk
St. Omer Dec
Brighton
Dover
London
Abingdon
Winslow
High
Wycombe Cheddington
Birmingham
Hull
Bawtry
Swinderby
Exning
Saron Walden
Sawston
Dijon
Nancy
St.-Dizier
Metz
Lille
Antwerp
Woensdrecht
Gilze en
Rijen
Volkel
Heesch
Eindhoven
Le Culot
Brussels Sint-Truiden
Asch
GhentUrsel Ophoven
Maldegem
Rotterdam
The Hague
Leiden
Sneek
Osnabrück
Hanover
Hildesheim
Essen
Bremen
Bremerhaven
Emden
Wilhelmshaven
Kassel
Giessen
Mainz
Wiesbaden
Bonn
Cologne
München-Gladbach
Hagen
Dortmund
Frankfurt
Koblenz
Hanau
Darmstadt
Würzburg
Schweinfurt
Mannheim
Stuttgart
Heilbronn
Karlsruhe
Pforzheim
Saarbrücken
Trier
Friedrichshafen
Ulm
Augsburg
Lagerlechfeld
Munich
Regensburg
Chemnitz
Leipzig
Prague
Brüx
Vienna
Graz
Nuremberg
Dresden
Dessau
Berlin
Stettin
Rostock
Schwerin
Kiel
Hamburg
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Bylaugh Hall
Brampton
Grange
Ketteringham Hall
Elveden Hall
Bushey Hall
Bushey Park
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From mid-1944, the balance in the air war over Europe tipped
decisively in the Allies’ favor. This was in no small part due to the
arrival in Europe of the P-51B Mustang—a fast fighter with enough
range to provide effective cover for B-17 and B-24 bombers. Among the
best fighters of the war, the P-51B could outperform the heavy fighters
used by the Luftwaffe against the USAAF raiders, so Allied bombing
raids became increasingly effective in disrupting German aircraft
production and interrupting the development of new designs.
The Luftwaffe’s activities were also curtailed by a chronic
shortage of fuel caused by the Allied bombers’ selective targeting
of Germany’s oil resources. By September 1944, the Luftwaffe had
access to only 11,000 tons (10,000 metric tons) of octane each month
instead of the 176,400 tons (160,000 metric tons) that it needed to
fuel its operations. The USAAF mainly undertook the precision
bombing of oil facilities, while the RAF under “Bomber” Harris
turned their attention to the area bombing of cities.
Running out of legitimate strategic and industrial targets, the
Allies dropped their bombs wherever they would cause maximum
confusion to their enemy. In total, more than 350,000 German
civilians were killed in Allied attacks; the rate of fatalities grew to
13,000 people a month from July 1944 to January 1945. The mass
casualties of civilians that resulted in Hamburg, Dresden, Leipzig,
Chemnitz, and other centers were controversial at the time, and
have attracted growing criticism ever since.
THE P-51 MUSTANG
Originally designed by North American Aviation in 1940, the single-seater,
long-range Mustang fighter took a major step forward in performance with
the introduction of the B model, powered by a Rolls-Royce engine. From
late 1943 onward, P-51Bs, along with the later C and D (shown here)
models, were used as escorts on long-distance bombing raids, targeting
German fighters and helping secure Allied victory in the skies.
GERMANY LOSES
THE AIR WAR
The nature of the air war over Europe changed with the
Allied landings in Normandy. The Luftwaffe was forced
increasingly onto the defensive, and by late 1944, fuel
shortages and loss of men and materiel had made it
largely a spent force.
Jun 6, 1944 More than
2,200 British, American, and
Canadian bombers attack
sites on the Normandy coast
in advance of D-Day.
Sep 8, 1944 The first
V-2 rocket lands on
London, the first of a
campaign that will last
for six months and
claim 9,000 lives.
Sep 5–11, 1944 The
Allied bombing of Le Havre
leaves more than 5,000
dead, mostly French civilians.
VICTORY IN THE SKIES
As Allied troops advanced through
France and the Low Countries,
the focus of the air war moved
eastward into the heart of Germany,
with lethal consequences for the
civilian population.
KEY
Allied territory, April 1944
Axis territory, April 1944
Aircraft production region
Kammhuber (German air
defense) zones
RAF Group HQ
USAAF HQ
USAAF target
outside Germany
German fighter
base
German night
fighter base
Luftwaffe HQ
TIMELINE
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MAR 1944 JUN SEP DEC MAR 1945 JUN
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