Continuing with their series on air fleets that fought in the opening weeks of the war is this particular one on Luftflotte IV during 1939. It was based along the German/Polish border to the south and included Czechoslovakia, which had been annexed by Germany earlier.

Typical of Kagero books, it starts with a story that was typical of the battle and then goes into a chronological history of the operations of the unit. Like most Luftwaffe air fleets, this one was armed with Do-17s, He-111s, Bf-109 and Bf-110 aircraft along with some Ju-87 and Hs-123s. These were generally early variants of these aircraft in their first combats.

Opposing them were various units of the Polish AF with their PZL 11 fighters and PZL 23 bombers. Though they gave a spirited defense, the numbers were not with them and the end result was somewhat predictable.

The book includes several useful tables that includes an order of battle and a listing of Luftwaffe air to air victories. As with most Kagero books, a freebie was included in the form of a bookmark with a couple of RLM color chips.

Also typical of Kagero books it is in a mixture of both English and Polish. Though some of these English translations can be painful to try to read, this one isn't that bad and reads rather well. It would be in Kagero's best interest to find someone whose first language is English to assist in translation or at least proofread their titles as some of their books are not well translated.

As it is, this one is fine and provides additional insight into the earliest air battles of WWII.

Review book courtesy of me.

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