During the Second World War the German Luftwaffe was the main support weapon of the German Army (Heer). It fought and supported the Wehrmacht'''s war effort throughout the six years of conflict and contributed to much of Nazi Germany's early successes in 1939–1942. After the turn in Germany's fortunes, it continued to support the German ground forces until the German surrender in May 1945.
Invasion of Poland
On 1 September 1939 German forces invaded Poland, triggering World War II. The Luftwaffe begun the invasion by bombing the undefended town of Wieluń. The Luftwaffe was an instrumental component of the Blitzkrieg battle plan. The Luftwaffe assigned two airfleets to the campaign. Albert Kesselring's Luftflotte 1 was equipped with 807 aircraft, which was augmented by 92 Seaplanes of Fliegerfuhrer der Seeluftstreitkrafte. Alexander Löhr's Luftflotte 4 had 627 aircraft, augmented by 30 Slovak aircraft. A further 406 fighters were retained as part of home defence against potential Polish attack, while another 333 reconnaissance aircraft, under the command of Kommandeur der Luftwaffe, were attached to the army.Hooton 2007 Vol 2, p. 85.
The Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers carried out the first mission of the campaign, twenty minutes before war was officially announced.Weal 1997, p. 20 The dive bombers scored the first aerial victory of the war when Kettenführer Leutnant Frank Neubert shot down a Polish PZL P.11c fighter aircraft piloted by Captain Mieczysław Medwecki.Weal 1997, p. 22
The Polish Air Force was defeated in just over two weeks. The Poles had distributed their operational planes to satellite airfields, so what was left on the airfields was unserviceable aircraft which were then destroyed by the Luftwaffe which is where the incorrect statement that the Polish Air Force was destroyed on the ground originated from.
The Polish bomber units did attempt to strike at the German Panzer (armoured) divisions and slow the speed of advance. Units equipped with PZL.37 Łoś bomber were destroyed within days. The Messerschmitt Bf 110 was proving itself to be more than capable in both the escort and bomber intercept role and accounted for the majority of these victories, which pleased Hermann Göring, a fan of the twin-engined heavy fighter.Weal 1999, p. 14–15
The Polish fighter units were still active, and were inflicting small losses on the Luftwaffe, however the Jagd and Zerstörergruppen were increasing their ground attack roles. As a result, many Polish fighters were caught taking off, when they were at a considerable disadvantage. It was indirect rather than direct air support which won the Luftwaffe air-superiority. By destroying communications the Luftwaffe increased the pace of the advance which overran Polish airstrips and early warning sites and caused logistical problems for the Polish forces. Many Polish Air Force units were by then low on supplies, 98 of their number withdrew into neutral (at that time) Romania. Their initial strength of 397 had been reduced to just 54 by 14 September and air opposition virtually ceased.E.R Hooton 2007 Vol. 1, p. 87
Part of the Luftwaffe's operations involved the destruction of the small but modern Polish Navy. The Luftwaffe had few units capable of effective anti-shipping operations. One of these units was 4.(St)/TrGr 186 – a Stuka unit which originally had been trained to operate from the German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin.U. H.-J. Israel, Flugzeugträger Graf Zeppelin, Herford, 1994. 4.(St)/TrGr 186's most notable success was to sink the destroyer Wicher and mine-layer Gryf.
The Luftwaffe had been successful in neutralizing Polish air and sea power within first days of campaign, and with air superiority established the Luftwaffe was free to concentrate on attacking supply and communication links with devastating effect. The outdated Polish Army was denied what mobility it had left as traveling by road became perilous and the rail networks had been largely destroyed.Taylor & Mayer 1974, p. 45
The Stuka became the symbol of the German war machine throughout the campaign. Operating without opposition, it supported the Panzer divisions by acting as flying artillery. On one occasion six Polish divisions trapped by encircling German forces were forced to surrender after a relentless four-day assault by StG 51, StG 76 and StG 77. Employed in this assault was the 50 kg fragmentation bombs which caused appalling damage to enemy ground troops. Demoralized, the Poles surrendered.
The Wehrmacht however was given a shock soon afterwards. The Polish 'Poznan' and 'Pomorze' armies counter-attacked, threatening to break the flank of the German 8. Armee, and to cut off the 10.Armee. The Luftwaffe was called upon for a maximum effort in what became known as the Battle of Bzura. The Luftwaffe's offensive broke what remained of Polish resistance in an "awesome demonstration of air power".E.R Hooton 2007 Vol. 1, p. 91 The Luftwaffe quickly destroyed the bridges across the Bzura river. Afterward the Polish forces were trapped out in the open, and were attacked by wave after wave of Stukas, dropping 50 kg 'light bombs' which caused huge numbers of casualties. The Polish flak positions ran out of ammunition and they retreated to the forests but were then 'smoked out' by the Heinkel He 111s and Dornier Do 17s dropping 100 kg incendiaries. The Luftwaffe had left the Army with the simple task of mopping up survivors. The Sturzkampfgeschwader alone dropped 388 tonnes of bombs during this battle.
The expenditure of munitions was beyond expectations. The Luftwaffe had expended a third of their explosives (some 3,000 tonnes).Hooton 2007 Vol. 2 p. 43 The Luftwaffe's aircraft had performed well. The Dornier Do 17 and Heinkel He 111 were faster than the Polish fighters and were able to outrun them. Many losses occurred through anti-aircraft fire. According to a Luftwaffe General Quartermaster report as of 28 September 1939 German forces lost 285 aircraft to all causes, while 279 aircraft were damaged at 10% or above and were written off or required major repairs. Aircrew losses were 189 dead, 126 wounded and 224 missing.Bekker, Cajus (1964): Angriffshöhe 4000Hooton, p. 93.
Polish resistance ended completely on 6 October 1939.
Norway and Denmark Operation Weserübung (9 April–10 June 1940)
The Luftwaffe had assembled 527 aircraft for the campaign in Scandinavia, including 300 medium bombers and 50 Stuka dive-bombers.Hooton, p29 The Germans had also deployed over 40 seaplane reconnaissance aircraft and 200 Junkers Ju 52 transports to carry occupying forces and Fallschirmjäger paratroops. The opposing air forces of Denmark and Norway were poorly equipped. The Danes had only 89 combat aircraft (and only 12 of the relatively modern Fokker D XXI) and the Norwegians a strength of 74.Hooton, p30
Operation Weserübung commenced on the morning of 9 April 1940. The only hostile engagement the Luftwaffe took part in over Denmark was on the first day of the invasion, when a flight of Bf 110s of 1./ZG 1 (Zerstörergeschwader 1) shot down one Fokker CV taking off on a reconnaissance mission from Vaerlose airfield.Schroeder, 2002 The remaining machines were either destroyed or severely damaged by ground strafing.Weal 1999, p. 24Hooton Vol.2, p. 31 Denmark was virtually overrun within 24 hours and capitulated. The surviving Danish aircraft were first impounded and later on in the war confiscated and used for training purposes by the Luftwaffe. During the invasion a significant incident occurred in the town of Aalborg, when Oberleutnant Victor Mölders (brother of Werner Mölders) took the official surrender of the town after landing at the local airfield. Dressed in flying gear he was given a lift into the town center by a milkman to find suitable quarters for I./ZG 1's Bf 110 crews.
The German invasion of Norway also began that day, and although inferior in the air, the Norwegians put up considerable resistance. Norwegian air strength around Oslo consisted of just 24 combat aircraft including five Tiger Moth biplanes; this force was destroyed or captured by the evening. After the first day's fighting Norwegian aerial strength fell to 54.Hooton 2007 Vo.2, p. 33
A notable failure of the Luftwaffe during the initial invasion was caused by the Stukas of Sturzkampfgeschwader I./StG 1, who failed to silence the batteries of the Oscarsborg Fortress thus contributing to the loss of the heavy cruiser Blücher and causing the disruption of the amphibious landings in Oslo through Oslofjord.
The Luftwaffe incurred considerable losses over Oslo's Fornebu airport in which Norwegian Gloster Gladiators shot down a transport aircraft in exchange for a single loss. The airport continued to be held by the Norwegians and several Ju 52s were forced to land under fire causing considerable losses to the transports. Helmut Lent, a future night fighter ace, destroyed two Gladiators and then proceeded to strafe the defenders. The Bf 110s were running out of fuel and the situation was becoming critical, until more Ju 52s approached and disgorged the airborne troops which then quickly secured the airfield.Weal 1999, p. 25
With Luftwaffe support, the Wehrmacht had established a toe-hold in Norway. The Germans had flown 680 sorties and had lost 43 aircraft destroyed or damaged. In the next few days the Luftwaffe would establish air-superiority. The British RAF Fighter Command, RAF Bomber Command and Fleet Air Arm continued to support the Allied forces, but suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Luftwaffe.
The Luftwaffe had also dented the Royal Navy during the first phases of the invasion. Junkers Ju 88's of KG 30 and Heinkel He 111s of KG 26 succeeded in damaging the battleship HMS Rodney and sinking the destroyer HMS Gurkha. Focke-Wulf Fw 200 'Condors' were used to patrol the coast and report shipping positions to the Luftwaffe Kampfgruppen and U-boats in the area. Southern Norway was effectively in German hands by 20 April but the fighting in northern and central Norway lasted for some weeks. The Norwegian campaign lasted until June 1940, and with the disasters suffered by the Allies in France, British and French Forces withdrew and Norway capitulated.
The campaign had cost the Luftwaffe 260 aircraft, of which 86 were transports. Personnel casualties numbered 342 killed and 448 missing.Hooton 2007 Vol.2, p. 43 It had destroyed 96 British aircraft (43 in air-to-air combat) and sunk a cruiser, six destroyers, 21 other warships of other sorts and 21 merchant ships. Luftwaffe transport losses, while heavy, helped supply the Army with fuel and supplies in 3,018 missions over the course of the battle. The Luftwaffe had no doubt tipped the balance of the campaign in Germany's favour, without it the Allied advantage on land and at sea might have defeated the invasion. During the remainder of the year the Luftwaffe would meet increasing numbers of British made Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire aircraft which were much faster than the Luftwaffe's bomber fleet; the future campaigns, though successful, were to prove far more costly.
Invasion of France and the Low Countries
On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht launched the invasion of France and the Low Countries. The first phase of the invasion Fall Gelb called for an invasion of the Netherlands and Belgium in which the Germans correctly predicted the French and British Forces would then push into Belgium to stop advances into France. Gelb would then deliver the main blow, as most of the German armoured divisions would strike through the Ardennes and cut off the Allied forces in northern France, leaving the rest of the country defenseless.