Luftwaffe

Examples of Luftwaffe in the following topics:

• The Battle of Britain

  • The Battle of Britain was a combat of the Second World War, when the Royal Air Force (RAF) defended the United Kingdom against the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) attacks from the end of June 1940.
  • In July 1940, the air and sea blockade began with the Luftwaffe mainly targeting coastal shipping convoys, ports and shipping centres, such as Portsmouth.
  • Neither was the Luftwaffe equipped to carry out strategic bombing; the lack of a heavy bomber and poor intelligence on British industry denied it the ability to prevail.
  • From 7 September 1940, one year into the war, London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 57 consecutive nights.
  • Office workers make their way to work through debris after a heavy air raid by the German Luftwaffe.

• September 1, 1939

  • Following several German-staged incidents (like the Gleiwitz incident, a part of Operation Himmler), which German propaganda used as a pretext to claim that German forces were acting in self-defence, the first regular act of war took place on 1 September 1939, at 04:40, when the Luftwaffe attacked the Polish town of Wieluń, destroying 75% of the city and killing close to 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
  • The Luftwaffe gained air superiority early in the campaign.
  • By destroying communications, the Luftwaffe increased the pace of the advance which overran Polish airstrips and early warning sites, causing logistical problems for the Poles.

• The Strategic Bombing of Europe

  • The strategy was used from the onset of the war, when Germany invaded Poland and the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) began bombing cities and the civilian population in Poland in an indiscriminate aerial bombardment campaign.
  • The USAAF commanders in Washington, D.C. and in Great Britain adopted the strategy of taking on the Luftwaffe head on, in larger and larger air raids by mutually defending bombers flying over Germany, Austria, and France at high altitudes during the daytime.
  • The Luftwaffe was blamed for not warding off the attacks and confidence in the Nazi regime fell by 14 percent.

• The European Theater

  • The operations of the Luftwaffe against the Royal Air Force became known as the Battle of Britain (according to British historians: July 10 - October 31, 1940).
  • In July 1940, the air and sea blockade began with the Luftwaffe mainly targeting coastal shipping convoys, ports, and shipping centers.
  • In August, the Luftwaffe shifted the attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure.
  • As the battle progressed, the Luftwaffe also targeted factories involved in World War II aircraft production and strategic infrastructure and, eventually, it employed terror bombing on areas of political significance and civilians.

• The Final Ledger of Deaths

  • The mass-bombing of civilian areas, notably the cities of Warsaw, Rotterdam and London, including the aerial targeting of hospitals and fleeing refugees[335] by the German Luftwaffe, along with the bombing of Tokyo, and German cities of Dresden, Hamburg and Cologne by the Western Allies may be considered as war crimes.

• The Battle of the Atlantic

  • The Battle of the Atlantic pitted U-boats and other warships of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) and aircraft of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) against the Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Navy, the United States Navy, and Allied merchant shipping.

• The Invasion of Normandy

  • Allied air operations also contributed significantly to the invasion, via close tactical support, interdiction of German lines of communication (preventing timely movement of supplies and reinforcements—particularly the critical Panzer units), and rendering the Luftwaffe ineffective in Normandy.

• Britain's Strategy

  • The operations of the Luftwaffe against the Royal Air Force became known as the Battle of Britain.

• Dunkirk and Vichy France

  • Later that day, Hitler issued Directive 13, which called for the Luftwaffe to defeat the trapped Allied forces and stop their escape.

• Conflict in the Atlantic

  • The Battle of the Atlantic pitted U-boats and other warships of the Kriegsmarine (German navy) and aircraft of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) against the Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Navy, the United States Navy, and Allied merchant shipping.