Release Date: 15 July 2010 Format: Paperback / softback Pages: 224 Category: Military History Publisher: History Press ISBN: 9780752457208
14 August 1940, which Hitler code-named `Adlertag', or
`Eagle Day', was fated to become one of the most significant
days in the Battle of Britain. It signified the start of the
Luftwaffe's aerial offensive, planned to cripple Britain and
clear the path for the German troops ammased in readiness
for invasion. The Luftwaffe sent out waves of unescorted
bombers to attack difficult and long-range targets by
daylight, hoping to confuse and split the fighter defences
with the small but numerous bomb formations. The tactic was
a calculated gamble and one that cost the Germans deeply.
Despite successes in attacking and damaging airfields, the
losses were severe and and the following day Goering vetoed
such tactics, now convinced his bombers could never operate
over Britain without fighter cover. Using first-hand
recollections of both Luftwaffe and RAF pilots as well as
local witnesses to the day's action, gleaned from interviews
and written accounts and with many unpublished photographs,
Hugh Trivett has collated the definitive record of Eagle
Day.