The Battle of Hamburg - Martin Middlebrook

On the 24th of July 1943 Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris ordered that the maximum strength of bombers in RAF Bomber Command should attack the German city of Hamburg. There began a series of raids by both the RAF and the USAAF that was in reality a battle – a bloody contest between the bomber forces and a German city.

What happened in Hamburg was an extreme example of Allied success against the Germans, the result they hoped for every time they attacked a German city. Hamburg was destroyed in the most terrible firestorms.

As with his other books, Martin Middlebrook brings to life what happened during the Battle of Hamburg through the personal reminiscences of the ordinary people involved: survivors from the bomber crews, the Luftwaffe’s fighter pilots, the ground defences, the city authorities and above all the civilians of Hamburg who underwent such a terrible ordeal.

The result is a meticulous and compelling account of one of the most devastating battles of the Second World War, which continues to fuel the fires of controversy and debate.