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The Nuremberg Raid: 30-31 March 1944 (CASSELL MILITARY PAPERBACKS) by Middlebrook, Martin (2000) Paperback
It should have been a routine "maximum effort" operation--but, instead, Bomber Command's raid on Nuremberg went horribly wrong. The target received only light damage, while 96 of the 779 attacking aircraft disappeared. What happened that fateful night in 1944? A military writer internationally recognized for his superb research recreates the events in astonishing detail from archives, correspondence with the raid's planners, and interviews with RAF and Luftwaffe aircrews, plus civilians from the bombed area. A meticulous, dramatic, and often controversial testimony.
Paperback
First published November 12, 1973
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About the author
Martin Middlebrook
41 books62 followersMartin Middlebrook was a British military historian and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Appointed Knight of the Order of the Belgian Crown in 2004.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 7, 2014
This was a very good account of a terrible aerial battle that took place on 30-31st March in 1944 over the German city of Nuremberg. Ninety-six bombers went missing during this raid, nearly 700 men, killed, wounded or captured. The stories from the survivors of this raid are what makes this book so special.
The many accounts of pilots remaining at the controls of their doomed bombers to allow other crew members to parachute to safety are very touching and brings home the terrible reality of war in the air. Although the allied bomber campaign against Germany during WW2 has raised some controversy in years since the end of the war it cannot change the fact that these men were only doing their duty as required and in the process suffered the highest casualty rate in the allied forces.
The Nuremberg Raid: 30-31 March 1944 is a well presented and researched historical account of this little understood battle. It is a sad but uplifting story that should be read by those who want to know why these men did what they did and the price that humanity paid during the course of the Second World War.
The many accounts of pilots remaining at the controls of their doomed bombers to allow other crew members to parachute to safety are very touching and brings home the terrible reality of war in the air. Although the allied bomber campaign against Germany during WW2 has raised some controversy in years since the end of the war it cannot change the fact that these men were only doing their duty as required and in the process suffered the highest casualty rate in the allied forces.
The Nuremberg Raid: 30-31 March 1944 is a well presented and researched historical account of this little understood battle. It is a sad but uplifting story that should be read by those who want to know why these men did what they did and the price that humanity paid during the course of the Second World War.
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August 8, 2013I tried to read it but kept getting lost - I think I would need to come to this book with much more knowlegde of military history and military history wrtiting sytyle to really get into it. Sigh. Not a book for beginngers.
June 3, 2021
One of the best books ever written about Bomber Command.
I've always loved Middlebrook's style - narrative histories of a short period, woven together using lots of primary sources. He has written many classic works of history in this style, notably 'The First Day On The Somme', still I think one of the outstanding books on the First World War, but I think the Nuremberg raid possibly surpasses it, telling the story of the events of 30-31st March 1944 in which a number of factors coalesced to inflict a terrible toll on Bomber Command, losing 96 bombers and some 800 aircrew in a few hours. Middlebrook brings this vividly to light, placing the night within the wider context of the war, before using carefully selected sources to bring the tragic events to life.
One is left ruminating on the sad, pointless waste of life, when so many of these who met their end in burning bombers were often scarcely into their 20s.
A great book.
I've always loved Middlebrook's style - narrative histories of a short period, woven together using lots of primary sources. He has written many classic works of history in this style, notably 'The First Day On The Somme', still I think one of the outstanding books on the First World War, but I think the Nuremberg raid possibly surpasses it, telling the story of the events of 30-31st March 1944 in which a number of factors coalesced to inflict a terrible toll on Bomber Command, losing 96 bombers and some 800 aircrew in a few hours. Middlebrook brings this vividly to light, placing the night within the wider context of the war, before using carefully selected sources to bring the tragic events to life.
One is left ruminating on the sad, pointless waste of life, when so many of these who met their end in burning bombers were often scarcely into their 20s.
A great book.
May 2, 2020
A detailed study of the worst raid of the war for RAF Bomber Command, in terms of numbers of downed aircraft. Martin Middlebrook provides a detailed study of the operation, from target choice, to preparation, and the various legs of the operation itself. Broken down in a clear way, it is easy for the reader to follow the progress of the raid, despite much of it actually incurring concurrently. Perhaps what does not come over as effectively is the state of fear that must have been felt as the Luftwaffe intercepted the bomber stream, though this is posssibly because you cannot get the perspectives of the dead. Perhaps read in conjunction with Len Deighton’s fictional bomber raid in ‘Bomber’ you would get this. The final annex covering he fate of the crew of each of the downed planes is particularly effective, demonstrating how many pilots sacrificed themselves to try and allow their crews to bail out.
Middlebrook effectively challenges the theory that the XX Committee revealed details of the raid to the Nazis , though the reader is still left with the nagging question of why the raid was not called off when the weather improved (deteriorating for a bombing raid). Most notable is the number of participants interviewed, who from a contemporary perspective, did not view the raid as especially notable. Testament to the bravery and brutality of the strategic bombing campaign.
This books provides an important insight into the challenges of this aspect of the air war, helping to contextualise the controversial campaign in modern eyes.
Middlebrook effectively challenges the theory that the XX Committee revealed details of the raid to the Nazis , though the reader is still left with the nagging question of why the raid was not called off when the weather improved (deteriorating for a bombing raid). Most notable is the number of participants interviewed, who from a contemporary perspective, did not view the raid as especially notable. Testament to the bravery and brutality of the strategic bombing campaign.
This books provides an important insight into the challenges of this aspect of the air war, helping to contextualise the controversial campaign in modern eyes.
December 31, 2017
Truly an outstanding book. Middleton combines the research depth of a great historian with skill of a great storytelling weaving a compelling narrative.
Middleton sweeps through the history and context of the British night bombing campaign, lays out the planning and execution of the raid in detail and then takes you through the heart wrenching destruction of a 96 British bombers. (My only wish was that there was more context about the relationship between U.S. daylight attacks versus British night area bombing in the preamble.)
One of the only WWII books on air combat that actual understands the German Radar Order of Battle and air defense system, and has an intelligent description of the British Electronic Countermeasures used to defeat it.
This book stands with the Eleven Days of Christmas (which describes the Linebacker II campaign in Vietnam) as the best Air War book I've read.
Kudos to the author.
Middleton sweeps through the history and context of the British night bombing campaign, lays out the planning and execution of the raid in detail and then takes you through the heart wrenching destruction of a 96 British bombers. (My only wish was that there was more context about the relationship between U.S. daylight attacks versus British night area bombing in the preamble.)
One of the only WWII books on air combat that actual understands the German Radar Order of Battle and air defense system, and has an intelligent description of the British Electronic Countermeasures used to defeat it.
This book stands with the Eleven Days of Christmas (which describes the Linebacker II campaign in Vietnam) as the best Air War book I've read.
Kudos to the author.
January 25, 2021
The detail and research that have gone into this book are outstanding. It allows a glimpse of what those men in bomber command went through and describes individual experiences. The men that participated in this raid deserve our gratitude and admiration and the writer does a great job at honouring their memory.
June 17, 2022
4.5*
This is undoubtedly an excellent study of one of the most infamous turning points in bomber command history. It is incredibly well researched and rich with a range of first-hand accounts in a way which is also surprisingly balanced. The book was made all the more interesting having been owned by an airman whose first operation was the Nuremberg raid of 30-31/4/1944.
This is undoubtedly an excellent study of one of the most infamous turning points in bomber command history. It is incredibly well researched and rich with a range of first-hand accounts in a way which is also surprisingly balanced. The book was made all the more interesting having been owned by an airman whose first operation was the Nuremberg raid of 30-31/4/1944.
August 6, 2008
This book is history writing at its best. At the surface, this book is a detailed dissection of one day in the life of the British RAF during WWII. Underneath, this book captures the remarkable contradictions that sum up the RAF and also explains a great deal about modern air combat. I found the book both personally compelling and educational. It's amazingly well-written. I'm not even a huge military history buff, and I loved reading this!
July 31, 2012
Martin Middlebrook writes consistently well about the experience of war from the standpoint of the participants, and this book lives up to his high standard. I have always been interested in how people- especially young people-cope with the risk of death, and this book certainly gives an insight into how bomber crews coped with their experiences.
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January 22, 2009940.5 Mid
August 1, 2016
Meticulous, scholarly and sobering. A terrific account of one night's events, placed well into context.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews