Defence of The Reich

The Defence of the Reich is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe over German-occupied Europe and Germany itself during World War II. Its aim was to prevent the destruction of German military and civil industries by the Western Allies. The day and night air battles over Germany during war involved thousands of aircraft, units and aerial engagements to counter the Allied strategic bombing campaign. The campaign was one of the longest sustained in the history of aerial warfare. Along with the Battle of the Atlantic and the Allied blockade of Germany, it was the longest campaign during 1939–1945. The Luftwaffe's fighter force (Jagdwaffe), defended the airspace of German-occupied territory against attack, first by RAF Bomber Command, and then Bomber Command and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF).

In the early years, the Luftwaffe was able to inflict a string of defeats on Allied strategic air forces. In 1939, RAF Bomber Command was forced to operate at night as casualties to unescorted heavy bombers became too heavy. In 1943, the USAAF suffered several reverses in daylight and called off the offensive over Germany in October that year. The British built up their bomber force and introduced navigational aids and tactics such as the bomber stream that enabled them to mount larger and larger attacks with an acceptable loss rate.

In February 1944, the USAAF introduced the P-51 Mustang, a fighter capable of escorting the USAAF bombers to and from their targets. By the spring of 1944, the aerial defenders of the Third Reich, the Reichsluftverteidigung (RLV), were stretched to the limit and the Luftwaffe lost air superiority. By the summer 1944, the Luftwaffe was suffering from chronic fuel shortages and a lack of trained pilots. It ceased to be an effective fighting force by 1945.

The intensification of night bombing by the RAF and daylight attacks by the USAAF added to the destruction of German industries and cities which caused the economy to collapse in the winter of 1944. By this time, the Allied armies had reached the German border and the strategic campaign became fused with the tactical battles over the front. The air campaign continued until April 1945 when the last strategic bombing missions were flown. It ended indefinitely upon the capitulation of Germany in May 1945.