The Right of the Line: The Royal Air Force in the European War 1939-1945

by John Terraine

The Wordsworth Military Library covers the breadth of military history, including studies of individual leaders and accounts of major campaigns and great conflicts.

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

841 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1985

Reviews

[Liam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Damn, I was afraid I would never finish this- I am so happy to be done! It takes real talent to make a book about the RAF during WWII as utterly, horrifyingly boring as this one was. I've actually read quite a few books on essentially the same topic over the last 30 or 35 years, and I don't remember ever being bored by any of them. If I were writing a scholarly article or paper on the wartime history of the RAF, and needed hard numbers of air-frames produced in this or that year, I am sure this book would be quite useful as a reference; that is why I gave it two stars. Unfortunately, though, it was not a pleasant, enjoyable or interesting read...

[Anthony Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terraine's narrative history of the role of the RAF in the European theatre in World War II encompasses the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic and the near-apocalyptic bomber offensive against Germany. Whilst Terraine is well known for his spirited defence of the oft-criticised generals of 1914-18, his largesse does not extend to Britain's air commanders in WWII. Some fairly harsh criticism is meted out to several luminaries of the air war, particularly Marshal of the RAF Charles Portal who forbade the adoption of long-range fighters, a concept the USAAF were to prove spectacularly effective after 1943, and the architect of the bomber offensive, Air-Chief Marshal Arthur Harris, who's mania for mass-destruction would probably have seen him sacked but for political reasons. However, it's Terraine's ability to capture the escalating scale of this conflict that really impresses: in December 1939 the RAF attacked Heligoland with 12 bombers, losing 6, in 1944 they attacked Nuremburg with 795 planes, losing 95. A fascinating and exhaustive study.

[Russ Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

reread this after a number of years, and it is quite a good book if you're looking for a history of the RAF in the European and Middle East theatres (a lack of any information concerning the Far East is one of a number of apologies the author makes). It is particularly good on the guild up to war and the early years, where a lot of what the RAF did and didn't, particularly when it came to ditching outdated dogma do led to a lot of mistake which led to people dying - sometimes it is quite painful to find out exactly how unprepared the British were. It makes some interesting points near the end, as well as trashing Montgomery's reputation to an extent (as many books have, the only person on the winning side to get more of a beasting in print that I've come across is McArthur...) and shows that a lot of what ends up being successful strategy actually dated from the first world war, but had to be relearnt, with all the losses that entailed. Some theories don't quite date so well - unlike the author I can quite understand why the army might be reluctant to incur heavy infantry casualties when it might be safer and less costly to send in bombers instead.

[Keith MacGregor · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a waste of a good theme. The author hasn't checked his facts, calling the Bf 109 a Me 109 a school boy mistake. The publisher deserves bankruptcy, there are so many spelling mistakes it makes reading most unpleasant.

[John Somers · Rating 5 out of 5]

19/20.

[Stephen Blower · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very knowledgeable but very dry. Excellent for education but lacking in entertainment value.

[James Teener · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent study of the RAF from the end of WWI through the fire of WWII. My book is titled, A Time for Courage: The Royal Air Force in the European War 1939-1945. Somewhat dense, and much more a character and command study than one of actions and weapons, Mr Terraine covers the build-up to war and the growth of the principal players commanding the major Commands of the RAF. He is not short of opinions on how well these men filled their roles. Similarly, he concentrates more time on the Commands who contributed the most to the winning of the war and of saving the UK in its darkest hour. Fighter Command, Coastal Command, and the growth of the Tactical Air Force from the Army Cooperation Command receive more attention than Bomber Command. He condemns "Bomber" Harris with faint praise, making note that his campaign against German cities, while justified by lack of equipment suited to precision bombing early in the war, did not justify its continuation once air superiority had been gained in the summer of 1944. He also castigates Air Marshal Porter, C-in-C of the RAF during most of the war, for not pushing the British aircraft industry to develop a long range fighter to escort the bombers. This is not a book for someone without a good background in the operations of the air war, but was full of great "behind the scenes" explanations.

[Iain Gardener · Rating 4 out of 5]

an excellent overview of the RAF in the European theatre of war during ww2, but assumes a certain knowlyge of events, which the complete neophyle may lack, for this reaason I cannot give it 5 stars, otherwise a damm good read

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written, thorough, readable.

[Denise Boneham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incisive look at the RAF between the two wars and during WW2. Pulls no punches :-)