[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Leon,

Thanks for the further suggestions.

In looking over the Wikipedia list, it appears that attacking the oil industry was very much an ongoing effort throughout the war. To some extent, it was a whack-a-mole job, bomb, then rebomb, then rebomb again as the Germans expended much manpower to return to production as quickly as possible.

The question that must have given the bombing planners nightmares was whether they could actually drive oil production down. The cost in Allied planes and airmen expended must have been phenominal and the question as to whether the cost could be justified must have been constantly raised.

The politics of this, the infighting for where truly to expend the airborne efforts, the reanalyses, the assessments, all must have been fascinating history. Note here that, while the actual attacks and details thereof are of importance, I'm trying to get a higher view, a strategic view, not just how many bombs dropped on a target, how many bombers returned, and how many Luftwaffe fighters were lost. It is the sum of these and the effects over time that I was hoping to find covered in a book.

Truly, by early 1945, German oil production was pretty well squashed, which then meant that both air offensive actions and vehicle movements would have been severely curtailed, a major factor in the winding down of the war.

Reports by the Germans in 1945 provided to me by my friend Manfred Boehme show the true limitations the Germans had to face. Hard choices had to be made and there was a certain amount of resignation in these documents. Not so much of a "we give up", but more a matter of factness that resources were very limited and, as I said, hard choices were being made.

I've had this interest in the effort and effect of the oil campaign for some time, but my recent reading on the German rail transportation system has made me a bit hungry to find a comparable book covering oil. There was also a very strong desire on the part of the strategic bombing chiefs to prove that Germany could be defeated from the air. This was brought out in the rail book and likely would be equally brought out in a book on the oil campaign.

Sheepishly, I must admit that I am not fluent in German, so something in English would be preferred. I can get a sense of what is being said in German, but to really know I've got it requires the translation engines, multiple dictionaries, and some familiarization with the language to do a proper translation job. Even then, it isn't perfect.

So, if anyone else has some suggestions, please keep them coming.

Regards,
Richard