Big Week: Six Days that Changed the Course of World War II

by Bill Yenne

In just six days, the United States Strategic Air Forces changed the course of military offense in World War II. During those six days, they launched the largest bombing campaign of the war, dropping roughly 10,000 tons of bombs in a rain of destruction that would take the skies back from the Nazis…

The Allies knew that if they were to invade Hitler’s Fortress Europe, they would have to wrest air superiority from the mighty Luftwaffe.

The plan of the Unites States Strategic Air Forces was risky. During the week of February 20th, 1944—and joined by the RAF Bomber Command—the USAAF Eighth and Fifteenth Air Force bombers took on this vital and extremely risky mission. They ran the gauntlet of the most heavily defended air space in the world to deal a death blow to Germany’s aircraft industry, and made them pay with the planes already in the air. In the coming months, this Big Week would prove a deciding factor in the war.

Both sides were dealt losses, and whereas the Allies could recover, damage to the Luftwaffe was irreparable. Thus Big Week became one of the most important episodes of World War II, and coincidentally, one of the most overlooked—until now.

INCLUDES PHOTOS  

Genres: World War II, History, Nonfiction, Aviation

320 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 2012

About the author

Bill Yenne is the author of several novels and over three dozen books on historical topics. He has also been a contributor to encyclopedias of both world wars.

The New Yorker wrote of Sitting Bull, his biography of the great Lakota leader, that it "excels as a study in leadership." This book was named to the number 14 spot among Amazon's 100 Best Books of the Year.

Library Journal observed that "enthusiastic World War II readers will be drawn to" his dual biography, Aces High: The Heroic Story of the Two Top Scoring American Aces of World War II.

Recently, his book Convair Deltas was named as Book of the Month by Air Classics, while his book Tommy Gun was named Pick of the Month by Shooting Illustrated.

His book Guinness: The 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint was listed among the top business books of the year by Cond Nast Portfolio Magazine, which rated Yenne's tome as its TOP pick for "Cocktail Conversation."

Yenne's Rising Sons: The Japanese American GIs Who Fought for the United States in World War II, was praised by Walter Boyne, former Director of the National Air & Space Museum, who called it "a fast moving... page turner," and the "best book yet written on the saga."

The Wall Street Journal wrote, when reviewing his Indian Wars: The Campaign for the American West, that Yenne writes with "cinematic vividness," and says of his work that it "has the rare quality of being both an excellent reference work and a pleasure to read."

The author lives in San Francisco, California, and on the web at www.BillYenne.com

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Reviews

[Skuli Saeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yenne gerir hér ágætis úttekt á lofthernaði Bandamanna gegn Þjóðverjum í síðari heimssstyrjöldinni. Bandamenn áttu mjög erfitt uppdráttar í upphafi. Þjóðverjar réðu lögum og lofum í skýjunum yfir Frakklandi og Niðurlöndum og þegar Bandamenn hófu sprengjuárásir með langdrægum sprengjuflugvélum var mannfall þeirra mikið. Með því að kortleggja flöskuhálsana í hernaðarmætti Þjóðverja, s.s. kúlulegu verksmiðjur og staðsetningu á framleiðslu orrustuflugvéla, tókst smám Bandamönnum smám saman að herða tökin þar til þeim tókst að brjóta aftur ægivald þýska flughersins á tæpri viku í byrjun árs 1944 og þannig koma í veg fyrir að hann gæti veitt viðnám þegar innrásin í Normandy hófst í júní mánuði.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Big Week" was about the team of analysts put together by the United States Air Corps to select targets in Nazi held Europe and in Germany for the American bomber fleet in England. These analysts, little known even to this day, at first had few bombers to work with and early results were poor. As the war progressed and the approach of D-day mounted the pressure on them, they were so able to direct the burgeoning fleets of American bombers that the production of Germany's aircraft industry, ball bearing industry and petroleum production were severely effected. The result was that the skies over the D-Day beaches were almost totally free of German aircraft.

The author, Bill Yenne, does a good job of describing events, first the macro view, with the strategic meetings and decisions, then the micro view where the crews of individual planes are shown fighting their was to the target and often no making it back. Some 50,000 Americans were lost over Europe, flying in these bombers, some killed others captured. It is nice to know that there was a definite guiding hand which selected which targets they bombed and why.

If you are a fan of WWII aviation, I would definitely suggest that you give this one a read.

[Deshay · Rating 4 out of 5]

My uncle flew as a navigator on B17's during this time period so I like to read books on this topic. As always when I read a book about the young men who participated in these bombing missions, I am in awe of their courage and willingness to face death daily. My lifetime has seen nothing like that. And I have no idea how I would react if faced with such a situation.
But beyond the personal connection, the author did a good job of giving the reader a quick history of air warfare and the challenges that it faced when it was a new idea. The difference between tactical and strategic bombing were explained in a manner that a non-military person could easily understand. And he successfully defined and explained the premise of the book.

[Andrew Parnell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some books extoll the virtues of the subject group, no matter what. I felt that this was one such book. For example big week spent a lot of time bombing aircraft manufacturing complexes and claiming to win air superiority for the allies. But even this book states that enemy aircraft production rose after big week. I can only assume that something else was responsible for destroying those extra planes built!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the title suggest it is a book about a week of massive Allied bombing in Germany and the consequences of those raids. What detracts from the book is that it takes the first 150 pages (of 270) to get around to the Big Week. Often it just seems like lists of numbers of aircraft, number of bombs dropped and percentages of destruction or returning aircraft. As with most of this type of book it is the stories of the individuals involved that are the most interesting.

[Patrick Macke · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a way-detailed story, that is, history of heavy strategic air bombing

[Jim Considine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book consolidates and presents a lot of information that is scattered about hither and yon.

[John Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love the air war in WWII this is a great book on a critical time.

[Leo Mccarthy]

excellent