![]() The article does not dwell on the British aspect of the Battle of Britain, but gives only a very brief overview of the interaction of the British political and military leadership, and British airpower doctrine. As a consequence of these failures, the Germans neglected two key principles of war: first, know your enemy and yourself, but more importantly, select and maintain your aim. It will be demonstrated that the Luftwaffe planning process was incoherent, muddled and further, that the impact of the Luftwaffe leadership and German air intelligence on preparations for war was to have a disastrous effect. It will be shown that the German political leadership was indecisive, lacking the will to fight Britain and, therefore, failed to provide the German military with a coherent political end‐state that could underpin the military planning process. In no way is it intended to diminish the part played by the aircrew of either side, more to provide an historical basis for understanding the wider implications of the German preparations for the battle against Britain. Contrary to the popular British perception that this was a close battle, which was won against all the odds by a small force of determined British fighter pilots, it is contended that the Luftwaffe was never in a position where it was likely to gain the upper hand. This article seeks to redress this imbalance by analysing those aspects of Germany’s behaviour that contributed to its ultimate defeat over the skies of Southeast England. You can also learn more about the National Archives’ Foreign Records Seized here.Much of the study of the Battle of Britain has concentrated on the military leadership, the conduct of the battle itself and the equipment used, focusing predominantly on the British standpoint little has been written about the German perspective on this important air battle, except perhaps by James Corum, from whom much information has been gathered. You can see a list of the Cartographic Branch’s Foreign Records Seized in our catalog here. This viewpoint is not one you always get to see, which makes these maps a key part in viewing the whole picture of the war. While maps from the Allied armies might depict similar operational and situational information, it is interesting to see the perspective and strategy of the other side. RG 242: Various German World War II Maps, #29, Army Group Structure, RG 242: Various German World War II Maps, #6, Western Europe, RG 242: Various German World War II Maps, #12, Finnish Front, Īlso included with the maps is an outline detailing the structure of German army groups, seen below. Like with the Western Front situation maps, these show us how the Germans used maps to display their information and strategize for the war. The maps in the series cover a number of places, including the Finnish Front, Russia, Africa and broad areas of Europe. ![]() RG 242: Various German World War II Maps, #5, Eastern Europe, 7/1941 A few of the maps offer a window into situations during specific times while others provide a broad overview of the war. ![]() Some of the maps have handwritten notes, army locations and situations while others are general maps of certain areas. This series consists of a wide range of maps used by the German army throughout the war. The other recently processed series is Various German World War II Maps, 1939-1945 (NAID 40480105). RG 242: German Situation Maps of the Western Front, RG 242: German Situation Maps of the Western Front, Many of the maps also include a breakdown of the army units in the field. Eisenhower” on their maps to denote the location of the Allies. It is interesting to see, for example, that the Germans sometimes used the label of “Gen. The maps include information on various Allied unit locations and the situations the Axis armies were facing at that time. They also give insight into how the Germans organized and displayed their military operational information. This series contains German maps that display the locations of the Allied armies at different times in 19. ![]() One of the newly opened series is German Situation Maps of the Western Front, 1944-1945 (NAID 40432392). In the Cartographic branch, we have some of the original maps that were captured from Germany, including two new recently opened series. This record group includes documents, films, photographs and maps that were seized from the Axis powers during or after the war, among other seized records. One of the most interesting ways of seeing World War II military operations from the point of view of the Axis powers is by looking in the National Archives’ materials held in Record Group 242: National Archives Collection of Foreign Records Seized.
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