The Rise and Fall of the Luftwaffe: The Life of Field Marshall Erhard Milch

by David Irving

David Irving’s much-sought biography of Erhard Milch, Hermann Göring’s deputy, the field marshal who founded Lufthansa and then created the Luftwaffe. Reprinted in 2018.

Genres: History, World War II, Germany, Biography, Aviation, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

444 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

ANOTHER awesome read. An incredible man Field Marshal Milch! The obstacles he had to over come, the back stabbing, the jealousy, the vanity of engineers. Someone who doesn’t know a lot about WW2 & the 3rd Reich would probably think that all ppl in that gov. got along, but they didn’t! There were a lot of senior officials throwing people under the bus with jealousy. An incredible book. I’m going to read it again after I read “The Trail of the Fox” again.

[Paai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't care what they say about David Irving, but this is an excellent book, well written and thoroughly researched.

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written account of Milch's work in the Luftwaffe. When it is related how the French confiscated his planes and destroyed his work prior to the rise of Hitler when Germany simply wanted to recover from the first world war, it was impossible not to feel a sense of satisfaction at what would soon become of France when the other shoe dropped. Milch accomplished most of the work while Goering received the publicity.

[Mr Werner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read from undoubtedly the best World War Two Author by far. Purely factual, Irving extracts the details in an easy to read format, that can leave no questions unanswered as to how the men behind the Luftwaffe made critical mistakes during the course of the war.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1973, this book tells the story of the wartime Luftwaffe through the life of Field Marshal Erhard Milch. Milchs position in the high command of the Luftwaffe, supported by interviews and his personal records make this an informed readable account of the corruption and favouritism that made the Luftwaffe's higher organisational structure so inefficient and ill-equipped for what it was ultimately tasked with. That said, it is at times biased or skewed, seemingly in order to support the authors conclusion. For example, a chapter about 'Big Week' in February 1944 refers only to the alleged massive disruption caused to German aircraft production - other published histories refer to the damage to the German aircraft industry as being fairly limited, whilst emphasising the severe losses to the Jagdwaffe in both pilots and aircraft in attempting to defend the targets. It remains an interesting read, not apparently suffering from the
serious flaws and contentious subjects that have since discredited the author.

[Chris Brimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good inside look if a little too sympathetic to Milch.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book. I started reading it with a bit of reluctance, expecting uninteresting topic but it every chapter proves to be very interesting and easy to read.

[Denny Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional book. David is, by far, my favorite author when it comes to anything to do with Germany in the WW2 years. Always well referenced and he never seems to fall into the trap of 'good guy/bad guy' narratives. Writers of history could learn so much from this extraordinary author.

[J. Bryce · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the very few Irvings I read, long before his racism and Nazi bias became well-known. I remember this being fairly straightforward and interesting, but it's been years since I read it.