Volume two in the Luftwaffe at War series begins with the invasion of Poland, then moves on to Scandanavia, Netherlands, Belgium and then to France.

It was a heady time for the German military as it seems that they had success after success. However, if one really looks closely at the overall situation, things were not going as well as they seemed to all.

E.R. Hooten's look at the Luftwaffe during war time is more than just the facts and figures, the weapons and the pilots. This series is as much to do with the strategy and tactics used during Luftwaffe operations as it is anything else. It is a look at what to most of us is very common material from an uncommon point of view. Here we learn of the problems of supply, the lack of German armament works to keep up with the needs of its fighting force and the equal difficulty of getting these materials to the front.

The loss of a goodly percentage of transport aircraft in the Scandanavian and Belgian campaigns was a major setback and one from which there really was not complete recovery. During the French campaign, units were often left on the ground or with light loads because of a lack of munitions.

Then there was the intrigue and in-fighting between those who were in charge of major air units or within the Luftwaffe high command itself. Often times these personal differences made a difference on the battlefield.

It is also a story of lessons learned and changes in how things were done because of them. As an example, the inability of the Luftwaffe to provide the killing blows at Dunkirk ensured that they would never be given the opportunity to do something like that again. This change in plans for the other French port cities ensured that there would be fewer escaping to safety.

Throughout the book are a superb collection of period photographs along with some fine color profiles of the aircraft that participated in these events. At each stage of the war, a listing of the order of battle and quality maps to help us understand how the general flow of things was going is presented. It is a book that I'm sure you will find both easy to read and entertaining. Might learn a few things along the way as well. I know I did and I think you will as well. It is a book that I can highly recommend to you.

August 2007

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