Defenders of the Reich
The Luftwaffe's War Against America's Bombers
Will be published approx. on 6. November 2025
Book
Hardback
480 pages
978-1-4728-6286-0 (ISBN)
Description
The story of the Luftwaffe fighter arm's desperate defence of the Third Reich from the growing Allied bomber offensive in World War II.
The Reichsverteidigung (Defence of the Reich) was a do or die campaign that saw the very best fighter pilots in the Luftwaffe attempt to defend German skies from increasingly large formations of RAF and USAAF medium and heavy bombers. Flying both piston-engined and, eventually, the first jet-engined fighters to see operational service, the Jagdflieger employed a wide range of weapons and tactics in an effort to blunt the Allied air offensive across Nazi Germany and Occupied Europe.
Defenders of the Reich focusses on the story of the pilot, his aircraft, his weaponry, his draining, dangerous missions and Luftwaffe tactics against the USAAF and the RAF bombers from the summer of 1942 through to VE Day. They fought until they were all but obliterated as USAAF and RAF fighters decimated their ranks in the air and targeted their airfields in devastating strafing attacks.
Leading Luftwaffe historian Robert Forsyth uses German and Allied archival documents coupled with interviews with former Jagdwaffe pilots, to tell the history of this last-ditch aerial campaign from the perspective of the Luftwaffe.
The Reichsverteidigung (Defence of the Reich) was a do or die campaign that saw the very best fighter pilots in the Luftwaffe attempt to defend German skies from increasingly large formations of RAF and USAAF medium and heavy bombers. Flying both piston-engined and, eventually, the first jet-engined fighters to see operational service, the Jagdflieger employed a wide range of weapons and tactics in an effort to blunt the Allied air offensive across Nazi Germany and Occupied Europe.
Defenders of the Reich focusses on the story of the pilot, his aircraft, his weaponry, his draining, dangerous missions and Luftwaffe tactics against the USAAF and the RAF bombers from the summer of 1942 through to VE Day. They fought until they were all but obliterated as USAAF and RAF fighters decimated their ranks in the air and targeted their airfields in devastating strafing attacks.
Leading Luftwaffe historian Robert Forsyth uses German and Allied archival documents coupled with interviews with former Jagdwaffe pilots, to tell the history of this last-ditch aerial campaign from the perspective of the Luftwaffe.
Reviews / Votes
Defenders of the Reich has been compiled with Forsyth's characteristic depth, authority and diligence ... For those seeking to understand the USAAF's daylight bombing campaign over Nazi Germany as it was seen by the "home side", this history will be indispensable. -- Victoria Taylor * The Telegraph * Defenders of the Reich is bound to remain a landmark amid the historiography of World War II aviation ... A volume expertly balanced between primary and secondary sources, enriched with personal narratives * Barrett Tillman, author of 'When the Shooting Stopped: August 1945' * Robert Forsyth traces the evolution in command and control, aircraft and weaponry, and tactics applied by the Luftwaffe over Germany during the longest, toughest, most decisive daylight aerial campaign of the war. Both opposing air forces' experiences are included in riveting detail. A tour de force. * Patrick G. Eriksson, author of 'Alarmstart South and Final Defeat' * The definitive work on Luftwaffe attempts to counter Allied daylight bomber raids on Germany. Deftly weaving the strategic narrative with myriad personal accounts of the action both in the air and on the ground. * Lawrence Paterson, author of 'The U-Boat War' * Based on contemporary records and personal interviews, this is probably the best single-volume work on this subject... A highly readable account. * Flypast *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
A 16-page black and white plate section.
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 44 mm
Weight
752 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4728-6286-0 (9781472862860)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2025
1st Edition
Osprey Publishing
€25.49
Available for download
Person
Robert Forsyth is an author, editor and publisher, specializing in military aviation and military history. He is the author of over 25 titles for Osprey Publishing, on the aircraft, units and operations of the Luftwaffe, including To Save an Army (2022), an interest he has held since boyhood. He has written articles for The Aviation Historian, Aerojournal, Aeroplane Monthly, Aviation News, Combat Aircraft, and FlyPast and he is a member of the Editorial Board of The Aviation Historian.
Content
Introduction and Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations and Maps
Glossary
Table of Ranks
Part I. Guardians and Goliaths - 1939-42
1 'Shoulder to Shoulder'
2 'An expensive mode of warfare'
3 'One swallow doesn't make a summer'
Part II. Head-on - 1942
4 West and South
5 The Slender Sinews of Defence
6 Imbalance of Power
Part III. The Cornered Wolf - 1943
7 'Once they have made contact with the bombers, the rest is easy'
8 Defence in Depth
9 Schweinfurt
10 Bitter Harvest
11 'Defensive Victories'
12 'Without regard to losses'
13 Battle Groups and Opera Houses
Part IV. Sturm und Drang - 1944
14 Pointblank and the Battle for Air Superiority
15 Big Gun - 'Big Week'
16 'Big B'
17 Bloody April
18 The Last Chance
19 Savage Skies
20 Imminent Danger West
21 All-Out Defence
22 Mass Against Mass
23 Darkening Skies
24 Blow after Blow
Part V. Stormbirds - 1944-45
25 Speed and Altitude - The New Weapons
26 Fire in the Sky
27 From 'Elbe' to the End
APPENDICES
Appendix 1 - Single-engined fighter aces with 20 or more Viermot victories
Appendix 2 - Zerstoerer aces with ten or more Viermot victories
Sources and Selected Bibliography
Notes
Index
List of Illustrations and Maps
Glossary
Table of Ranks
Part I. Guardians and Goliaths - 1939-42
1 'Shoulder to Shoulder'
2 'An expensive mode of warfare'
3 'One swallow doesn't make a summer'
Part II. Head-on - 1942
4 West and South
5 The Slender Sinews of Defence
6 Imbalance of Power
Part III. The Cornered Wolf - 1943
7 'Once they have made contact with the bombers, the rest is easy'
8 Defence in Depth
9 Schweinfurt
10 Bitter Harvest
11 'Defensive Victories'
12 'Without regard to losses'
13 Battle Groups and Opera Houses
Part IV. Sturm und Drang - 1944
14 Pointblank and the Battle for Air Superiority
15 Big Gun - 'Big Week'
16 'Big B'
17 Bloody April
18 The Last Chance
19 Savage Skies
20 Imminent Danger West
21 All-Out Defence
22 Mass Against Mass
23 Darkening Skies
24 Blow after Blow
Part V. Stormbirds - 1944-45
25 Speed and Altitude - The New Weapons
26 Fire in the Sky
27 From 'Elbe' to the End
APPENDICES
Appendix 1 - Single-engined fighter aces with 20 or more Viermot victories
Appendix 2 - Zerstoerer aces with ten or more Viermot victories
Sources and Selected Bibliography
Notes
Index