alternatehistory.com

My opinion below:

First, I would like to point out that Goering was not incompetent. That’s not to say that he did not make mistakes. Goering was an experienced fighter pilot who had taken over Manfred von Richtofen’s unit after the death of the latter. His military judgment was often good, but he had a problem, one which dogged all senior German officers—Adolf the Idiot Hitler. He was also a fat, drug-addicted buffoon, of course, and a dedicated Nazi for many, many years.

Of the available commanders, I have the most respect for Adolf Galland. He was his own man, and spoke his mind. He argued with Goering and Hitler publicly on more than one occasion, even a couple of shouting matches—when he felt the welfare of his men or the prospective success of his mission was at stake. He was the head of the Luftwaffe Fighter Command from November, 1941. In that capacity, he showed his real worth as a commander. He fought for the men of his command, and not just the pilots. One of the idiot Hitler’s obsessions was a “never retreat, never surrender” attitude, which in the case of the Jagdflieger meant sending all fighters out against every bomber raid. Galland pointed out that his men needed time to re-group, and to get some rest, and that the same applied to the ground crews. He used every trick he could manage to evade that stupidity. He called for increased fighter production (denied), retiring the Me 410 (a favorite of Hitler —denied), opposed mounting a one ton cannon in fighters (a crucial success), and promoted the Me 262 as a defense fighter (denied until late in the war—although the prototype flew in March, 1943, the insistence that it be used as a bomber delayed its entry into active service until late 1944, which was a good thing for allied bombers). On one occasion, Goering fired him, and then reinstated him a few weeks later, apologizing to him publicly.

Galland began flying gliders in the 1920s, and got his pilot’s license in 1932. He was a life-long aviator who knew the trade thoroughly, as well as the aircraft production industry. He was a good administrative officer (which he hated) and an excellent operational planner. In February, 1942, the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen—under nearly constant attack by RAF Bomber Command and Coastal Command, sortied from Brest and ran up the Channel with destroyer and E-boat escorts. Churchill speculated in his history of the Second World War that the Luftwaffe kept 20 fighters overhead at all times. Galland, however, states that he kept 50 fighters overhead at all times, with meticulous planning which allowed fighters to land and re-fuel and re-arm farther up the French coast. It was a brilliantly planned and executed operation, which shot down almost 50 British aircraft. Damaged by mines in the Channel, the KM flotilla suffered no damage from air attack.

By January, 1945, Goering could take no more. There was a so-called fighter pilot’s revolt, with senior pilots criticizing Goering and the High command. Galland was placed under house arrest, and removed from his post. Eventually cleared of conspiracy charges, he formed a squadron of jets and returned to attacking Allied bombers, what he really always wanted to do.

I personally believe that there was no other German officer better qualified for the command than Galland. Goering was merely competent—and he was bullied and his plans distorted by Hitler, to whom he would never stand up. Galland never backed down, especially when the welfare of his men was concerned. Really, the Allies were lucky that Galland was never given the command.


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