John Manrho, "Bodenplatte: The Luftwaffe's Last Hope -The Attack on Allied Airfields, New Year's Day 1945".
Publisher: Hikoki Publications | ISBN: 1902109406 | 2004 edition | PDF | 306 Pages | 43.66 MB
In the early morning of New Year's Day 1945, as the last great German offensive in Ardennes slowly smoldered to an end and the Allies prepared for a final year of war in northwest Europe, against all odds, the Luftwaffe – assumed to be starved of fuel and fighting spirit – launched a massive, surprise, low-level strike targeted at Allied tactical airfields throughout France, Belgium, and Holland. Planned under great secrecy, the raid gambled on using the bulk of Luftwaffe fighter assets on the Western Front, with the aim of decimating significant elements of both the British 2nd RAF and the USAAF on the ground.