Bodenplatte: The Luftwaffe’s Last Hope, the Attack on Allied Airfields, New Year’s Day 1945, John Manrho; Ron Putz. Published by Stackpole Books, 2010. Illustrated card covers. 8vo up to 9½” tall., 576pp., black and white photos, glossary, appendices, maps, sources and index. In fine, unread condition with the very lightest of edge wear to front cover.
In the early morning of January 1, 1945, as the Battle of the Bulge smoldered to an end, the German Luftwaffe, (assumed to be starved of fuel and fighting spirit), launched a massive, surprise, low-level strike on Allied airfields throughout France, Belgium, and Holland, an operation code-named Bodenplatte. More than 900 German aircraft took to the skies and attacked the vulnerable fields, destroying 200 Allied aircraft and damaging 150 more. In a pyrrhic victory, the Luftwaffe lost 271 fighters, with many more damaged, and 213 pilots–irreplaceable losses at this stage of the war. Contains hundreds of eyewitness accounts and rare photos.
