During the first weeks of the initial phase of Göring’s battle over Britain, British fighter squadrons repeatedly scrambled to meet the German fighters and bomber sweeps over the Channel and southern England. The British Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft fought well and scored huge numbers of kills against the Luftwaffe. By early August, it became apparent that Göring’s plan was faltering and Hitler decided there would be no invasion of England. In front of his war staff, however, he announced that the invasion threat was to continue. The Luftwaffe carried on attacking convoys and coastal targets. Despite punishing losses, German pilots persisted in pressing home their bomber attacks. Although Göring appeared as confident as ever that he could knock out the last strength of the RAF, his air staff were more apprehensive. Earlier in the battle, airborne attacks on London were forbidden; now, as more losses mounted, Göring appealed to Hitler to withdraw the ban on bombing the British capital. The Reichsmarschall saw these attacks not only as a tactical move for over-stretching and destroying the RAF, but also as having the added bonus of creating chaos and terrorising the British people into submission. In Göring’s mind, his threat to raze British cities to the ground had a profound influence on the way he would conduct future operations against Britain. Although Hitler had insisted on confining the attacks to vital military targets, Göring thought that winning the war could be achieved by bombing the British population from the sky.

  During September 1940, a number of co-ordinated attacks on London were launched. In the bloody battle that ensued, the Luftwaffe suffered heavy losses. Within days, it became obvious that Göring’s tactics were failing. The RAF had defended their skies to the death and caused serious disruption to the German air war. Hitler, on the other hand, had not been completely supportive of Göring’s tactics and motivations; he had agreed to use the Luftwaffe purely as a stopgap to bridge the interval until plans were prepared on his next offensive – the invasion of Russia.

  During a nine-month period, which became known as the Blitz, Hitler allowed Göring his prestige bombing attacks with undiminished strength while plans against the Soviet Union were finalised. However, for the Reichsmarschall, the battle for Britain was over. He had lost this test of arms to a dauntless foe because he had underestimated his enemy.

  Three photographs taken in sequence showing a motorcade with Göring being escorted through the thronging streets of Berlin. (NARA)

  The first of two photographs taken in sequence showing Göring, along with his Luftwaffe officials, inspecting a Luftwaffe Flak unit.

  Hitler on a visit to the front during operations in Poland in 1939. He can be seen with Göring and his liaison officer, Karl Bodenschatz, on board the special train, Sonderzug Amerika.

  On 12 January 1940, Göring celebrated his forty-seventh birthday. The original caption reads: The Fuhrer’s handshake conveyed the good wishes and thanks of the whole nation.

  Der Adler magazine feature, published 20 February 1940, with Göring’s picture on the front cover. Der Adler, which literally means ‘The Eagle’, was a biweekly Nazi propaganda magazine, published by Scherl Verlag, founded by August Scherl, with the support of the Luftwaffe High Command.

  Göring, wearing a greatcoat, stands on the side of a road after his column has halted.

  Göring on a stroll, discussing the deployment of aircraft against England in the summer of 1940. To the right is Luftwaffe General Kastner.

  Three photographs taken in sequence showing Göring during an inspection of the Luftwaffe. General Adolf Galland, Luftwaffe flying ace, is seen accompanying Göring and other high-ranking officials.

  Göring makes an impassioned speech in front of Luftwaffe personnel.

  Three photographs showing Hitler and Göring on the balcony of the Chancellery after the victory against France.

  Two photographs taken on the platform at the Anhalter Bahnhof, Berlin, showing Göring and what appears to be Rudolf Hess saluting to a parade of Wehrmacht soldiers following the victory over France in June 1940.

  A Luftwaffe squadron leader makes a report to Göring during the Battle of Britain in September 1940.

  Göring looking through documents with General Galland. Galland flew Messerschmitt BF 109s during the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. By the end of 1940, his tally of victories had reached fifty-seven.

  Göring converses with Galland during a visit to an airfield during the Battle of Britain.

  Bruno Loerzer, commander of the II Air Corps, pictured on the left, with his boss and close friend, Göring, and Galland in September 1940.

  Göring with his Luftwaffe officers prior to a war conference in northern France, September 1940.

  Hermann Göring and Albert Kesselring, during an inspection of crew and pilots of KBK LW3, September 1940.

  Göring gives a speech to flight crews prior to their mission across the English Channel during the Battle of Britain.

  A photograph taken in 1940 showing Göring with Albert Kesselring on the left and General Wilhelm Speidel standing in the middle. Speidel at this time was serving as chief of staff of Luftmarine 2, from 1 January to 9 October 1940.

  Göring and Erhard Milch in September 1940. Milch commanded Luftflotte 5 during operations against Norway. Following the defeat of France in June 1940, he was promoted to field marshal. He was later put in charge of all aircraft production and supply.

  Stuka Ju 87 aircraft leaving to attack communication installations and airfields in southern England.

  Göring with air crew and pilots during the Battle of Britain.

  Another photograph showing Göring conversing with air crew and pilots during the Battle of Britain.

  Chapter Three

  Eastern Front 1941–42

  By May 1941, plans were completed for the long-awaited invasion of the Soviet Union. Although Hitler was now showing signs of scepticism over Göring’s failure to destroy the RAF, he told his Reichsmarschall that the Luftwaffe would assist in bringing about the total destruction of the Soviet air force and support the Wehrmacht and Panzerwaffe attacks. Hitler told him he was sure that the campaign would be over by Christmas, and for this reason, no provisions were made for reserves of men or equipment.

  During the early morning of 22 June 1941, the German Army finally unleashed the maelstrom that was Barbarossa – the invasion of Russia. Infantry, panzer divisions supported by hundreds of fighter attack aircraft and bombers soon smashed through the bewildered Russian forces on every front. The ferocity and effectiveness of the Luftwaffe, infantry and panzer divisions were so great that some of the Red Army forces they surrounded were gigantic. Groups of up to fifteen Russian divisions were trapped, and were slowly and systematically annihilated in a hurricane of fire.

  For the Luftwaffe, success in the summer months was due to exceptional tactical deployment, training and experience. Initially, the Luftwaffe’s objective was the destruction of the Soviet air force and to establish control of the skies. To achieve this, four Luftflotte (air fleets) were deployed with a strength of some 4,389 aircraft, of which 2,598 were combat planes. On the first day of the invasion, 2,000 enemy aircraft were destroyed – an achievement that even surprised Göring. Over the days, weeks and months that followed, the Soviet Army was overwhelmed by the German onslaught. It now seemed that Hitler’s grand strategy of attacking the Soviet Union had yielded such astonishing results that the Eastern Front would soon be conquered.

  To direct these operations against Russia, Hitler had built a permanent head-quarters in East Prussia near the town of Rastenburg (now Ke˛trzyn in Poland) called Wolfsschanze (Wolf’s Lair). There was an assorted number of concrete and wooden-built bunkers for members of the High Command of the Armed Forces, or Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), High Command of the Army, or the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), and High Command of the Air Force, or Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL). There were several other headquarters installations in the general area of the Wolf’s Lair, between 12 and 50 miles away. These installations served the needs of the Army High Command and its General Staff. The Luftwaffe High Command had its own headquarters on board Göring’s special armoured headquarters train named Asien. Each carriage had a Pullman with armoured ceilings, walls and floors, and was reported to weigh a staggering 60 tons. The interiors of the carriages were wood panelled and lavishly decorated, and were furnished with cherry wood tables, cabinet and chairs. Göring’s train normally comprised fifteen carriages, but due to its massive weight, they were hauled by two Kriegslokomotiven, or war locomotives. Immediately behind the second engine was a Flakwagen, or flak wagon, mounting two quad 20mm flak, or anti-aircraft, guns. The end of the train also boasted another flak wagon. Both gun emplacements were specially raised up on platforms in order to combat potential attacking low-flying enemy aircraft. Each flak wagon had five crew compartments for seventeen gunners drawn from the 9th Regiment General Göring.

  The special carriages were designed by the Luftwaffe and comprised a utility and service carriage, and a luggage carriage, which stored many of Göring’s uniforms. There was also Göring’s personal Pullman carriage, which included two large bedrooms and a full-sized bathroom featuring an extravagant porcelain bathtub. In addition, there was a dressing room, servants’ quarters and sitting room. The sitting room could also be adapted into a cinema. Next along from this carriage was Göring’s family carriage, which would be used occasionally by his second wife and daughter. This had space for servants and bodyguards. Next to this carriage sat the communication centre, containing a radio room fitted with a 700W longwave radio transmitter, an Enigma encryption machine, and a telephone exchange. The phones could be used when the train was idling in the stations as they were plugged into the main German telephone grid. In this carriage there was also a conference room with a large portrait of Hitler. Behind this carriage was Göring’s favourite carriage, his luxurious dining car. As with all the special trains built for Nazi dignitaries, including Hitler himself, all dining cars were provided by the Mitropa company using their own specially screened waiters and chefs. Behind the dining car was the sleeping carriage for close aids and staff and more bodyguards. Göring was well protected by two units comprising the Reichssicherheitsdienst (RSD, Reich Security Office). They were also responsible for security on board the train, threat assessment and route planning. The other unit that protected him was a heavily armed Luftwaffe bodyguard regiment, which covered all his various castles and homes as well as his movements by train and when travelling by car. They would not travel on board the train, but would be waiting for him at his destination, providing him with visible security. The next two carriages were sleeping quarters, which housed the bodyguards, staff and aides. Behind them was another dining car for their personal use. In total, there would be 171 people on board the train. Whenever the train visited the front, another carriage was added comprising a six-bed mobile hospital with an operating room, a dark-room for Göring’s personal photographer, and a barber’s shop. In addition to this, more carriages could be added, called ‘auto packs’, which could carry vehicles such as Göring’s armoured limousines and escort cars. His train Asien was often followed to the front by a second armoured train called Robison. This was the special train of the Luftwaffe High Command. Both Asien and Robison took regular trips to the Wolf’s Lair, following along with Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler’s special train, Heinrich. They were soon shunting into a railway siding near Grossgarten (now Pozedre), and Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and State Security Dr Hans Heinrich Lammers’ railways carriages were also parked here. In addition to a platform, there were five small bunkers, which served only as air raid shelters and were not habitable.

  Although Göring had a building constructed for him at the Wolf’s Lair running parallel to the main railway line and security fence, he used this facility only occasionally during the course of the war, spending most of his time when he was in East Prussia on board his special headquarters train, concealed under camouflage netting in the Romintern Forest. During the early part of the war, Göring would visit the Wolf’s Lair, often attending military conferences, dining with Hitler and his secretaries, and was frequently seen walking and conversing through the forest of Security Zone 1 with his Führer and staff, including Heinrich Himmler and Josef Goebbels.

  The summer of 1941 was a time of optimism at the Wolf’s Lair and Göring was still highly regarded among many of the staff at the headquarters. Emboldened by the victorious gains on the Eastern Front, Hitler told Göring in late August that he had begun drawing up his plans for the resumption of operations against Moscow. Within weeks, the headquarters staff held their breath as reports gathered momentum along the entire German central front as panzer and infantry divisions poured a storm of fire into the dwindling Red Army ranks. However, weeks later, optimism was on the wane. As German forces advanced deeper into the Russian heartlands towards the Russian capital, heavier resistance grew. Then the weather deteriorated. Heavy rain, snow showers and enveloping mists made movement almost impossible for both air and ground forces. By November, the Eastern Front stagnated and Hitler decided that the operations would not resume until the spring of 1942.

  Throughout March 1942, the gradual German recovery in Russia continued until the spring mud and floods brought both sides to a temporary standstill. This enabled Hitler and his staff time to draw up meticulous plans for the new offensive. In a three-hour conference, Hitler said that the summer offensive, codenamed ‘Blue’, would commence with a southward thrust along the Don River towards a city that bore the name of Stalingrad. Following the capture of Stalingrad, he planned to use the city as an anchor and send the mass of his panzer force south to occupy the Caucasus, where it would be used to cut off vital Russian oil supplies.

  On 28 June, Operation Blue began in earnest. By late August, German forces had reached the Don and were poised to strike across to the west bank of the Volga. The Russians began making frantic preparations not to evacuate the area, but to defend their beloved city of Stalingrad with every drop of blood. At a conference held with Göring, the Reichsmarschall said that his Luftwaffe would decimate the city in order to allow ground forces to capture its smouldering remains. However, by October, Stalingrad had not been captured in spite of sustained heavy aerial bombardments. What followed were the unmistakable signs of an army being drawn into a protracted urbanised battle. Through the rubble, twisted steel structures of factories, shattered and burnt-out houses, cells, sewers, trenches and holes, German troops fought and tried to survive. Within weeks, the city was surrounded. Goring promised that the Luftwaffe would deliver a minimum of 300 tons of supplies every day to the trapped men. Assured by his Reichsmarschall, Hitler demanded there be no retreat. Although some airlifts managed to break through, most of the promised supplies never arrived. As a consequence of this failure, Hitler’s anger and recrimination escalated during the war conferences, when he heaped abuse on the Luftwaffe and Göring.

  Four photographs showing Göring and Goebbels emerging from a building and getting into a car. By 1941, there was already scepticism about Göring’s Luftwaffe operational tactics and his failure to destroy the RAF the year before. Hitler now put great onus on the Reichsmarschall for the Luftwaffe to bring about the total destruction of the Soviet air force for the coming invasion of Russia.

  Göring inspecting Luftwaffe troops in 1941. It would not be until later in 1942, when the German armies were suffering great losses on the Eastern Front, that Hitler decided to raise Luftwaffe Field Divisions in order to bolster the dwindling forces in Russia.

 

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