The story of the Luftwaffe fighter arm’s desperate defence of the Third Reich from the growing Allied bomber offensive in World War II.

The Reichsverteidigung (Defence of the Reich) was a do or die campaign that saw the very best fighter pilots in the Luftwaffe attempt to defend German skies from increasingly large formations of RAF and USAAF medium and heavy bombers. Flying both piston-engined and, eventually, the first jet-engined fighters to see operational service, the Jagdflieger employed a wide range of weapons and tactics in an effort to blunt the Allied air offensive across Nazi Germany and Occupied Europe.

Defenders of the Reich focusses on the story of the pilot, his aircraft, his weaponry, his draining, dangerous missions and Luftwaffe tactics against the USAAF and the RAF bombers from the summer of 1942 through to VE Day. They fought until they were all but obliterated as USAAF and RAF fighters decimated their ranks in the air and targeted their airfields in devastating strafing attacks.

Leading Luftwaffe historian Robert Forsyth uses German and Allied archival documents coupled with interviews with former Jagdwaffe pilots, to tell the history of this last-ditch aerial campaign from the perspective of the Luftwaffe.

Defenders of the Reich has been compiled with Forsyth’s characteristic depth, authority and diligence … For those seeking to understand the USAAF’s daylight bombing campaign over Nazi Germany as it was seen by the “home side”, this history will be indispensable. -- Victoria Taylor * The Telegraph *
Defenders of the Reich is bound to remain a landmark amid the historiography of World War II aviation … A volume expertly balanced between primary and secondary sources, enriched with personal narratives * Barrett Tillman, author of 'When the Shooting Stopped: August 1945' *
Robert Forsyth traces the evolution in command and control, aircraft and weaponry, and tactics applied by the Luftwaffe over Germany during the longest, toughest, most decisive daylight aerial campaign of the war. Both opposing air forces’ experiences are included in riveting detail. A tour de force. * Patrick G. Eriksson, author of 'Alarmstart South and Final Defeat' *
The definitive work on Luftwaffe attempts to counter Allied daylight bomber raids on Germany. Deftly weaving the strategic narrative with myriad personal accounts of the action both in the air and on the ground. * Lawrence Paterson, author of 'The U-Boat War' *
Based on contemporary records and personal interviews, this is probably the best single-volume work on this subject... A highly readable account. * Flypast *

Robert Forsyth is an author, editor and publisher, specializing in military aviation and military history. He is the author of over 25 titles for Osprey Publishing, on the aircraft, units and operations of the Luftwaffe, including To Save an Army (2022), an interest he has held since boyhood. He has written articles for The Aviation Historian, Aerojournal, Aeroplane Monthly, Aviation News, Combat Aircraft, and FlyPast and he is a member of the Editorial Board of The Aviation Historian.