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The Bomber War: Arthur Harris and the Allied Bomber Offensive 1939-1945 Kindle Edition

by Robin Neillands (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 384 ratings

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The bomber campaign against Germany is now among the most contentious actions of the Second World War.

Did it help bring the Nazis to their knees? Was the RAF wrong to bomb cities? Did the USAAF attack only military targets? Was anything achieved by killing German civilians, most of them women and children? If not, are the bombers – and especially Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris and the aircrew of RAF Bomber Command – not war criminals? Or were all means not justified against the Nazis?

In this controversial book, Robin Neillands examines every detail of the campaign: the strengths and fundamental flaws in doctrine, the technical difficulties and developments from night-time navigation through bomb-aiming to fighter escort, and above all the day-by-day, night-by-night endurance of the crews, flying to the limit in discomfort and danger, facing flak and enemy fighters.

Bomber War is illuminated by the personal experiences not only of British but of American, Australian, Canadian and other Allied fliers as well, this books packs an emotional punch while remaining historically accurate. Perfect for fans of Herman Wouk, Joseph Heller and the best of gripping historic fiction.

Praise for Robin Neillands:

‘One of Britain’s most readable historians’ – Birmingham Post

‘Immensely readable … a blast of fresh air’ – The Spectator

‘Informed and explicit, this is military history at its best’ – Western Daily Press

‘Neilland’s willingness to call a spade a spade will catch the popular imagination. His central argument is hard to fault’ – Literary Review

‘A compelling and very moving account of how thousands of British, Commonwealth and American aircrew, most in their early twenties, sallied forth both by day and by night to attack Hitler’s Reich. The statistical odds of survival were stacked against them, but they went back again and again, many paying the ultimate price.’- Major General Julian Thompson CB OBE

Robin Neillands is the author of several acclaimed works on the First World War including ‘The Great War Generals on the Western Front’, ‘Attrition: The Great War on the Western Front, 1916’ and ‘The Old Contemptibles’.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00O4XS8QC
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lume Books (October 2, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 2, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1512 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 647 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,056,113 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,028 in Military Aviation History (Kindle Store)
- #2,881 in Military Aviation History (Books)
- #4,278 in World War II History (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 384 ratings

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Sunray 42

An excellent and authoritative work

Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2020

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I procured a copy of this book on Kindle for research and cross checking following an interest in air wargaming, especially the night battles over Germany. It is one of many that i own and have read on the subject.
I found the book layout and chronology, the references, the overall tenor and pace of the book to be superb.
The author covers the tactics, the technology and the operational planning, decisions and execution superbly, and debunks many 'fake news' accounts of the bombing campaign with cogent arguments and views.
Excellent, recommended.

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Sue

It is true that to tell the story of Arthur ...

Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2016

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It is true that to tell the story of Arthur Harris it is necessary to tell the story of the air war in WW2. I was looking for more biography of Harris and less a retelling of that story that what I found. I wanted to know more about his life. Nevertheless the book is well researched and written and covers the air war from a RAF perspective well. In this account the US Eighth Air Force is a side show. Neillands does justice to the failure of the British government to stand behind the RAF and Harris in the aftermath of the war.

One person found this helpful

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McIntyre

Great story.

Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2015

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This is a really well written account of Avery contentious issue. The heroism of the bomber crews is rightfully applauded.The story is comprehensively told and the arguments for and against the morality of the campaign are discussed in detail. My only criticism is that the proof reader has committed some absolute howlers. There are too many typos and misspellings.

One person found this helpful

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charles cook

worth the read

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2015

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Interesting to see the conflict that went on behind the actually fighting.

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paul cunningham

Great inside look into the air war from a British ...

Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2015

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Great inside look into the air war from a British perspective. The book also includes their perspective of the American contribution to the air war.

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Richard Gollin

The Age of the massed Bomber Fleet.

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2016

This is my second book by Mr Neillands who is an original and thorough historian. But, boy, does he need a good editor. As pointed out by other reviewers, this book is endlessly repetitive; repeating itself over issues both small (the German 88mm gun!) and large (the controversy over 'Bomber' Harris). The book is not without errors either ; the Mustang fighter was not designed in Britain !

Despite these major faults in the book, I would like to 100% recommend it for those wishing to understand the bombing policy in the 2nd world war, itself affected by the airship and bomber raids on the UK in the first war.

The only difference is that the number of bombers, the weight of bombs, the number of crews lost and the death and damage caused increased dramatically. Maybe only 400 souls lost their lives at Guernica, maybe 800 at Rotterdam or Coventry, maybe 25,000 at Hamburg....And no population lost the will to fight after a bombing campaign...But (speaking as a Brit.) the bombing campaign was hugely popular in Britain, the only way the war could be taken to Germany itself before 1944. Harris himself, though aloof from his crews, was equally popular with them. Similarly the USAAF was hugely popular in Britain for the same reasons.

The book is at its best in revealing the political structure which led to the orders to both Bomber Command and the USAAF and the relationship, or almost total lack thereof, between the two allied air armies. Harris may have been his own man and ruthlessly determined, but he was well below senior politicians in the pecking order.

We now know that Bomber Command had a vital role in the Battle of Britain ,and at a huge cost in lives, as it sent obsolescent bombers towards Germany which had to keep fighter aircraft in Germany. Goering had crudely promised that no English plane would bomb Berlin....We can see also that the whole campaign was a huge help to the Russians as it kept over 800 fighters and their pilots, not to mention the dreaded 88mm guns in Germany itself.

The machinery,Wellington, Manchester, Lancaster, B24, B17G are discussed at a less detailed level. The Lightning and Republic escort fighters are wrongly almost ignored, the Mosquito highly praised , though it is not explained that it could never be really mass produced as it involved a whole cottage industry of furniture makers! The lack of German suitable bombers is also explained, the battle for technical supremacy both in the day and at night is well explained.

The coming of the Nuclear bombs ended the short reign of the massed bomber fleet; note how short the reigns of the dreadnought and the aircraft carrier have also been...So this book becomes a history of an age..Our then home in South London still retains its air raid shelter in the yard (Anderson Shelter) and its reinforced kitchen table in the house (Morrison Shelter) as souvenirs. My grandmother never left her 'flat' in Baker St. in the center of London through the whole war , regarding it as a personal battle between herself and Herr Hitler who, she correctly believed, would be hiding in his shelter. My father firewatched most nights and we all had morale hugely helped by the belief that the Germans were getting it far, far worse.

6 people found this helpful

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John Wolfe

... gives an insight into what it must have been like to face death on every flight

Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2015

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The interviews with both Allied and German aircrew gives an insight into what it must have been like to face death on every flight.

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2015

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Thoroughly detailed

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Kindle Customer

Two Stars

Reviewed in Canada on March 22, 2018

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A little too dry for my liking.

AJ

Required reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 25, 2016

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A must read for those who think they have a view of the Bomber Command ww2 campaign. A thoroughly researched exposé of the myths that have grown around this and Bomber Harris. Balanced and evidenced arguments that may not suit some who buy in too easily to some of the glib and often self-righteous criticisms of this campaign and the likes of Dresden. I have read plenty before about Bomber Command but this examines the moral issues more clearly than other accounts and tests the arguments either way. It corrected some of my impressions so may do the same for others not least because it also includes plenty of comment from those who were actually there in the air and on the ground, not just from a comfortable distance of time and different context.
In the modern context it might also be seen as relevant the issues of civilian targeted attacks by terrorists and their apologists who claimed attacks in Paris were the west "reaping the whirlwind". They need to look at WW2 to get an idea what real whirlwind could be like.

3 people found this helpful

walterofcolne

Absorbing, a fine, readable account

Reviewed in Australia on January 21, 2015

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Neillands has written an excellent work. He opens up to view the tragedy and horror of war in the context of tens of thousands of young men who flew over the skies of Europe during the war. Death and loss, in the air and on the ground, is on an unimaginable, epic scale. With meticulous attention to detail, he takes the reader on this journey, never glossing over the contentious issues, providing fact and analysis, and his own insightful commentary. His judicious use of airmen's own words brings an extra, graphic and often moving layer to the story. More than half of the Bomber Command aircrew were killed in action - a horrifying number. Many more were wounded, often hideously so. Yet Neillands manages to remain objective and impartial, and fair. A gripping read, an eye-opener in many respects. The author's style is to write in plain English and as a consequence readability is excellent. A few too many typos have crept into the e-version, but do not spoil the read. Highly recommended.

2 people found this helpful

jtwoodfield

A fine attempt to address the reality of total war

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 12, 2018

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This is a well researched and sympathetic book using oral history to good effect. It makes the point well that total war of necessity encompasses total destruction. Including of human life. That for a number of years the air war was the only war the Allies in the West could wage.

It is perhaps a bit too long and repetitive. Some ruthless editing would have helped. It is perhaps at times a near apologia for Harris but does put his role in context. It entirely misses the point that by 13/02/1945 the bombing of Dresden was cultural vandalism for little practical gain. The US did not bomb Kyoto for heritage reasons. It is not the deaths in Dresden that matter, the Germans asked for total war, but the loss of the buildings.

Conversely, the point is well made that the bombing into rubble of Germany was cheered at the time and one can understand why. Finessing is a luxury unlikely to be exercised by those whose relations have been killed by the enemy or fear that they will be if the enemy wins.

3 people found this helpful

Jeffrey Bentley-Johnston

Bomber Harris : Saint or Sinner

Reviewed in Australia on January 29, 2021

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I thought the author gave a good sense of life (and death) as a bomber aircrew over Germany in WW2,
While most of the elements relevant to assessing Bomber Harris are presented somewhere in the book, an objective distillation would have been useful.

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