Unternehmen Bodenplatte (English: Operation Baseplate or Operation Ground Plate), launched on January 1, 1945, was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries of Europe during Second World War. The Germans husbanded their resources in the preceding months at the expense of the Defense of the Reich units in what was a last-ditch effort to keep up the momentum of the German Army (German: Heer) during the stagnant s...
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Unternehmen Bodenplatte (English: Operation Baseplate or Operation Ground Plate), launched on January 1, 1945, was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries of Europe during Second World War. The Germans husbanded their resources in the preceding months at the expense of the Defense of the Reich units in what was a last-ditch effort to keep up the momentum of the German Army (German: Heer) during the stagnant stage of the Battle of the Bulge (German: Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein). The operation was a Pyrrhic success for the Luftwaffe as the losses suffered by the German air arm were irreplaceable. The losses of the Allied Air Forces were replaced within weeks. The operation failed to achieve air superiority, even temporarily, and the German Army continued to be exposed to air attack. Bodenplatte was the final major Luftwaffe offensive during World War II.
On 14 December Generalleutnant Dietrich Peltz of the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (Luftwaffe High...
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