Defeat looms
In June 1944 Germany's military position in World War Two appeared hopeless. The situation on the eastern front was catastrophic, with the Red Army poised to drive the Nazis back through Poland. In the west, Allied forces had fought their way through southern Italy as far as Rome. In Britain, the task of amassing the men and materials for the liberation of northern Europe had been completed, and Operation Overlord had begun with the D-Day landings on 6 June.
Hitler ... refused to accept the inevitability of defeat.
Hitler, however, refused to accept the inevitability of defeat. Surrounded by acolytes, he blamed Germany's setbacks on incompetence on the part of his generals, and was convinced that the tide of war could still be turned. Above all, the German people must show the necessary faith and will. 'Providence', he believed, 'will bestow victory on the people that has done most to earn it!'
Hitler placed his hopes on two factors. Offensively, on the introduction of new 'miracle weapons' that would inflict massive damage on the Allied war effort. Defensively, on a tenacious rearguard struggle, bolstered by propaganda and mounted if necessary by boy soldiers.
Research into the military uses of rocket technology and jet propulsion had been concentrated at the Peenemünde research station since the 1930s, under the supervision of Wernher von Braun. In 1942 its scientists had successfully tested two new weapons, later known as the V-weapons ('V' stood for Vergeltung, or retaliation). These were the flying bomb, or V-1, and the long-range rocket, the V-2.
'V' stood for Vergeltung, or retaliation.
Technical problems delayed the deployment of these weapons until the summer of 1944. By then, Hitler had persuaded himself that they would cause such devastation in London that Britain and the United States would be forced to reassess their strategy. The Western Allies might even abandon their 'unnatural' alliance with Stalin and accept a separate peace, allowing Nazi Germany to concentrate its resources on defeating the Red Army in the east.
The first weapon to go into operation was the V-1, a jet-propelled pilot-less aircraft with a one-ton warhead and a maximum range of approximately 200 miles. It could be launched from ramps on the ground or, less reliably, from the air via Heinkel-111 aircraft. After the V-1 reached its target on automatic pilot, its engine cut out and it fell from the sky, giving those on the ground below only a few precious seconds to take cover.
In June 1944 Germany's military position in World War Two appeared hopeless. The situation on the eastern front was catastrophic, with the Red Army poised to drive the Nazis back through Poland. In the west, Allied forces had fought their way through southern Italy as far as Rome. In Britain, the task of amassing the men and materials for the liberation of northern Europe had been completed, and Operation Overlord had begun with the D-Day landings on 6 June.
Hitler ... refused to accept the inevitability of defeat.
Hitler, however, refused to accept the inevitability of defeat. Surrounded by acolytes, he blamed Germany's setbacks on incompetence on the part of his generals, and was convinced that the tide of war could still be turned. Above all, the German people must show the necessary faith and will. 'Providence', he believed, 'will bestow victory on the people that has done most to earn it!'
Hitler placed his hopes on two factors. Offensively, on the introduction of new 'miracle weapons' that would inflict massive damage on the Allied war effort. Defensively, on a tenacious rearguard struggle, bolstered by propaganda and mounted if necessary by boy soldiers.
Research into the military uses of rocket technology and jet propulsion had been concentrated at the Peenemünde research station since the 1930s, under the supervision of Wernher von Braun. In 1942 its scientists had successfully tested two new weapons, later known as the V-weapons ('V' stood for Vergeltung, or retaliation). These were the flying bomb, or V-1, and the long-range rocket, the V-2.
'V' stood for Vergeltung, or retaliation.
Technical problems delayed the deployment of these weapons until the summer of 1944. By then, Hitler had persuaded himself that they would cause such devastation in London that Britain and the United States would be forced to reassess their strategy. The Western Allies might even abandon their 'unnatural' alliance with Stalin and accept a separate peace, allowing Nazi Germany to concentrate its resources on defeating the Red Army in the east.
The first weapon to go into operation was the V-1, a jet-propelled pilot-less aircraft with a one-ton warhead and a maximum range of approximately 200 miles. It could be launched from ramps on the ground or, less reliably, from the air via Heinkel-111 aircraft. After the V-1 reached its target on automatic pilot, its engine cut out and it fell from the sky, giving those on the ground below only a few precious seconds to take cover.