The Luftwaffe began World War II as a deadly efficient part of the German blitzkrieg in 1939-40, its Stuka dive bombers and Messerschmitt fighters unleashing terror across Europe. But its superiority would not last long. Fuel shortages, a numerically superior enemy, and--most critically, argues Samuel W. Mitcham--mismanagement by its leaders left the German air force increasingly unable to mount offensive campaigns or even protect its homeland from Allied bombings. Focusing on men like Hermann Goering, Albert Kesselring, and Adolf Galland, Mitcham chronicles the Luftwaffe’s battles, both in the sky and behind the scenes.