The Luftwaffe: Creating the Operational Air War, 1918-40 (Modern War Studies)

"A distinguished and provocative book that makes a major contribution to the fields of air power history and German military history." Dennis Showalter, author of Tannenburg: Clash of Empires"A first-rate, convincing, and impeccably researched account of the forging of the Luftwaffe s operational doctrine that carried it through the opening campaigns of the Second World War." Richard R. Muller, author of The German Air War in Russia "A great achievement that impresses by the author s comprehensive grasp of his subject. Horst Boog, editor of The Conduct of the Air War in the Second World War "Against the dogma that the Luftwaffe was merely a tactical air force, Corum provides some powerful arguments. His work is a necessary correction to the historical record." Klaus A. Maier, coauthor of the multivolume Germany and the Second World War "The best account of the development of the Luftwaffe s operational doctrine and theory to appear in any language." Edward L. Homze, author of Arming the Luftwaffe: The Reich Air Ministry and the German Aircraft Industry "This lucid and vigorously argued volume can be warmly recommended to everyone interested in the history of air power in the first half of the twentieth century." Brian Bond, author of The Pursuit of Victory and War and Society in Europe, 1870 1970 "Belongs on the shelf of every serious student of German air power between the wars." Journal of Military History"This superb work marks Corum as one of the premier scholars of German military history in the United States." New York Military Affairs Symposium Newsletter "Corum convincingly demolishes several myths, including beliefs that the Luftwaffe had no ideas beyond the support of ground forces and that its leadership in the Second World War lacked deep professional grounding." RUSI Journal "A new and innovative explanation of why the Luftwaffe proved so formidable against its British and French rivals. an impressive and groundbreaking study." History Reviews of New Books "An eye-opening appraisal of Germany s air forces from the post-World War I era through the early stages of World War II. Revisionist military history of a high order." Kirkus Reviews

This study provides an appraisal of Germany's air forces from the post-World War I era through the early stages of World War II, revealing why the Luftwaffe proved so formidable against its British and French rivals. The author demolishes several myths surrounding the Luftwaffe, including the belief that they had no ideas beyond the support of ground forces and that its leadership in the Second World War lacked deep professional grounding.