Background
The strategic dilemma facing the Luftwaffe in the autumn 1943 was a serious one. The Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL or High Command of the Air Force) was unable to prevent serious damage to German cities and industries by the ongoing Allied Strategic Bombing offensive. Erhard Milch—responsible to the Reichsluftfahrtministerium ("Reich Aviation Ministry"—RLM) for production—recommended doubling fighter production to strengthen defences but the rise in production was slow. The British bombing of German industries during Battle of the Ruhr (March—July 1943) caused a stagnation in German aircraft production they nicknamed the Zulieferungskrise (sub-components crisis).
Worse was to follow. In July 1943 RAF Bomber Command briefly neutralised German night fighter defences, in particularly the Kammhuber Line, by using tactics and "window" or "chaff" to jam German ground and air radar. The bombing of Hamburg in July inflicted 26,000 casualties and destroyed large parts of the city and its industry. The overwhelming consensus in the Luftwaffe High Command was that German air power should concentrate its resources on defensive efforts against the Allied Air Forces. Adolf Galland—General der Jagdflieger (General of the Fighter Force)—wrote:
Never before and never again did I witness such determination and agreement among the circle of those responsible for the leadership of the Luftwaffe. It was as though under the impact of the Hamburg catastrophe everyone put aside either personal or departmental ambitions. There was no conflict between the General Staff and the war industry, no rivalry between bombers and fighters; only the common will to do everything in this critical hour for the Defence of the Reich.
But it was Göring, not the staff, that took this proposal to Hitler. After an hour, the Reichsmarschall returned. Peltz described the scene:
We were met with a shattering picture. Göring had completely broken down. With his head buried in his arms on the table he moaned some indistinguishable words. We stood there for some time in embarrassment until at last he pulled himself together and said we were witnessing the deepest moments of despair. The Fuhrer had lost faith in him. All the suggestions from which he had expected a radical change in the situation of war in the air had been rejected; the Fuhrer had announced that the Luftwaffe had disappointed him too often, and a change over from the offensive to defensive in the air against England was out of the question.
After a time Göring stated that the Führer was right. Göring announced that the only way to stop such destruction was to initiate heavy retaliatory strikes at the enemy so that they would not dare risk another raid like Hamburg without the fear of similar retribution. Göring gave Peltz the authorisation to pool the resources together for Operation Steinbock (Capricorn).
Read more about this topic: Operation Steinbock
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