York As It Was Book

Terraine's narrative history of the role of the RAF in the European theatre in World War II encompasses the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic and the near-apocalyptic bomber offensive against Germany. Whilst Terraine is well known for his spirited defence of the oft-criticised generals of 1914-18, his largesse does not extend to Britain's air commanders in WWII. Some fairly harsh criticism is meted out to several luminaries of the air war, particularly Marshal of the RAF Charles Portal who forbade the adoption of long-range fighters, a concept the USAAF were to prove spectacularly effective after 1943, and the architect of the bomber offensive, Air-Chief Marshal Arthur Harris, who's mania for mass-destruction would probably have seen him sacked but for political reasons. However, it's Terraine's ability to capture the escalating scale of this conflict that really impresses: in December 1939 the RAF attacked Heligoland with 12 bombers, losing 6, in 1944 they attacked Nuremburg with 795 planes, losing 95. A fascinating and exhaustive study.