National Experiences - British Commission for Military History

100 ai r p o w e r in 20 t H Ce n t u ry do C t r i n e s a n d em p l o y m e n t - nat i o n a l ex p e r i e n C e s
commander of the “Legion Condor”, gained valuable information from this stay in
Spain, which ended with the Legion’s participation in Franco’s victory parade in
Barcelona on 21 February 1939. He could rely on this information later on during the
attack against Poland and when cooperating with armored units in the breakthrough
of the “Panzergruppe Kleist” to the Channel in spring 1940. 39 In their sorties over
Spain, the fighter pilots Günther Lützow and Werner Mölders developed the loose
two-aircraft formation, which is still applicable today. 40
An attack that is still remembered today is the attack on the town of Guernica
conducted by the “Legion Condor” and Italian combat aircraft pilots. In this attack,
a bridge in the suburb of Renteria and supply routes that were important for Franco’s
units were to be destroyed. In practice, however, the entire town was destroyed in
the attack, with Guernica becoming a synonym for air terror attacks on the civilian
population. 41
“The German Air Force was a torso when it reported ready for war in late summer
1939. Neither with regard to personnel, material, and training, nor with regard to air
war theory, they were qualified to meet the requirements defined in the war plans
of the political leaders [...] Many deficiencies and faults made by the German Air
Force, most of their defeats and almost every failure experienced during World War
II can be explained by the faults, inconsistencies and omissions that occurred during
its establishment“. 42
III.
Even though the bombing of Guernica had shaken the international public, there
was no internationally recognized contractual agreement restricting air warfare on 1
September 1939 when Hitler attacked Poland, sparking off World War II. Therefore
US President Theodor Roosevelt sent a note to the warring factions, calling upon
them to declare in public that they would not expose the civilian population and
unprotected cities to aerial bombing. Hitler answered: „For my part, I’ve publicly announced
in my Reichstag speech today that the German Air Force has been ordered
to confine its combat actions to military objects“. 43 The next day, France and Great
39
Cf. James S. Corum, Wolfram von Richthofen. Master of the German Air War. Lawrence, Kansas
2008, p. 146-151.
40
Cf. Kurt Braatz, Gott oder ein Flugzeug. Leben und Sterben des Jagdfliegers Günther Lützow.
Moosburg 2005, p. 158.
41
Cf. Klaus A. Maier, Guernica, 26.4.1937. Die deutsche Intervention in Spanien und der »Fall Guernica«.
(Einzelschriften zur Militärischen Geschichte des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Militärgeschichtliches
Forschungsamt (ed.) , Vol. 17). Freiburg im Breisgau, 2nd Edition 1977, p. 55f.
42
Völker, Die deutsche Luftwaffe (see Note 24), p. 210f.
43
Akten zur Deutschen Auswärtigen Politik 1918-1945. Serie D (1937-1945), Vol. VII: Die letzten
Wochen vor Kriegsausbruch, 9. August bis 3. September 1939. Baden-Baden 1956, Dok. 531, p.
423.