Customer Reviews

Other Battle: Luftwaffe Night Aces vs. Bomber Command

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I say this book is impartial, I mean it is impartial in the fullest sense of the word. The author not only presents a bias-free view, he also writes in a lucid manner. The operations are described in great detail, and with proper analysis. Each stage and battle has significance, and we are brought to appreciate this complex air battle that raged for five years, involving the brave crews of the Allied bomber fleets, and the equally brave and tenacious Nachtjagd crews. We come face to face with the elite of the nightfighters including Schnaufer, Lent, Prinz zu-Sayn Wittgenstein and Becker. I feel this book is a must for understanding night operations over Europe during world war two and for all military buffs.

The author has written a very balanced view of both sides of the Night War during WWII. His viewpoint is that the pilots and crews of both sides did their duty,full stop. One to bomb, the other to defend. His descriptions of the Luftwaffe Nightfighter aces and the overall strategies of the Luftwaffe High Command are quite accurate. I was quite suprised by his generous comments on Major Prinz Heinrich Sayn zu-Wittgenstein. They were a far cry from authors who while not disputing his courage and charisma, tend to label him as being overly ambitious.This author however dismisses that concept and rightly so. The Night aces, Schnaufer, Lent, Sayn zu-Wittgenstein,Meurer and Streib and many others were concerned with shooting down bombers decimating their civilian population and industrial areas and not with being ambitious. Although it cannot be denied that in this deadly game of cat and mouse they were in friendly rivalries in the mildest sense of the term, at least. A fine book for reference as well.

After reading this book, I gained a new since of being a ace fighter pilot of WWII. I felt Peter Hinchliffe did a good job describing the methods and training of the night time fighter pilots of the luftwaffe. This is a book that gives light to a little known part of world war II. It tells us how the beganings of radar detection for planes came into combat for the first time. After reading this book. I have a deep respect for the german fighter pilots of the night. Unlike their counterparts in the day, these pilots had to navigate and fight almost totally blind in conditions more hazardous than in a normal daylight raid. So if you would like to read a book about the part of the luftwaffe that isn't really mentioned in the history books. Please read this book. I dont think you will be disapointed.

The Other Battle: Luftwaffe Night Aces Versus Bomber Command by Peter Hinchliffe tells the struggle of the British night raids during WWII. Focus for the book is Bomber Commands raids and the Luftwaffe's response to the raids. Mr. Hinchliffe takes us from the RAF's opening raids against Germany (and the failure of these early daylight raids) into their night raids during the heart of the war (1943 and 1944), concluding with the Gotterdammerung of Germany in 1945. These raids go from minor affairs where a few planes fly blindly thru the night, to hundreds destroying cities. The book can effectively be broken into four parts: The early war (Chapter 1, Back to War thru Chapter 4, The End of the Beginning); the mid war (Chapters 5 thru 10, 10 tells the story of the Nuremberg raid in March of 1944); preparing for the Invasion; and Gotterdammerung.

What is arguably the greatest piece of this book is that Mr. Hinchliffe tells us of the technical war that is being fought by the two sides. The Germans with their increasingly complex defenses and uses of different tactics (Wild Boar vs. Tame Boar) and the British with their increasing forces, ability to drop greater bomb loads, and increasing technology. While many people are quoted in this book, this is not a personal/unit history ala Stephen Ambrose. Instead, this is a history book that provides a good analysis of the combat occurring and good descriptions of what the combatants (from the national level down to the people flying the missions) are doing and how they're reacting.

Since Mr. Hinchliffe was a navigator in Bomber Command during WWII, his book has a little more personal touch than many other books dealing with this subject. There are some excellent maps in the book (a must for a good history book) along with some good pictures and drawings dealing with technical pieces used during the war (the drawing of the radar displays used by the Germans was great). If you're interested in how the night raids were performed in WWII, this book is a 5 star book! The technical details are very good, and some great biographies. As a history book, once more, 5 stars. Overall, 4.5, but since this is Amazon, I'll round up to 5!

Without taking sides the author tells the story of both sides of the night bombing campaign. Technical details were especially fascinating since I was an air search radar operator in the Navy in my younger days. Great description of progress made by both sides in a short period on things we take for granted today such as air intercept radar and electronic countermeasures. Well compiled with interviews from both British and German aircrew. Highly recommended!!

This book gives you a nice all-around view of night fighting in Europe during WW II. It is extremely technical, and I thought it lacks a little bit concerning the human side of the pilots, engineers, etc. But it is the best book ever written about the subject, no doubt about that.

A comprehensive study of the war between Bomber Command and the nightfighters of the Luftwaffe. The best I've read so far. I got a good overview of the subject. Both sides get even attention. A mixture of analysis and personal recollections of the men who took part in the struggle. Because it concerns technical questions on radio and radar, it is sometimes a bit hard to follow. The onely minus point is that the author hardly gives notes, so that you often don't know where the story comes from. And I sometimes would like to know more about the men described in the book.