Defense of the Reich

The Defence of the Reich is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the German Luftwaffe over German occupied Europe and Nazi Germany itself during the Second World War. Its aim was to prevent the destruction of German military and civil industries by the Western Allies. The daylight and night air struggles over Germany during war involved thousands of aircraft, dozens of units, and hundreds of aerial engagements to co... more

The Defence of the Reich is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the German Luftwaffe over German occupied Europe and Nazi Germany itself during the Second World War. Its aim was to prevent the destruction of German military and civil industries by the Western Allies. The daylight and night air struggles over Germany during war involved thousands of aircraft, dozens of units, and hundreds of aerial engagements to counter the Allied strategic bombing campaign. The campaign was the longest sustained in the history of aerial warfare. Along with the Battle of the Atlantic it was the longest campaign during 1939-1945. The Luftwaffe's fighter force (Jagdwaffe), defended the airspace of German occupied territory against attack, first by RAF Bomber Command, and then Bomber Command and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) together. The Luftwaffe was an offensive weapon, and the Germans had not foreseen the need for a defensive force to guard its airspace and... less