BOMBING HITLER'S HOMETOWN

BOMBING HITLER'S HOMETOWN 
by Mike Croissant. 

1898.
The Austrian city of Linz sits on the banks of the Danube midway between Vienna and Salzburg.
The now town of Leonding was back then just a village which sat on the southern outskirts of the city. In that year the family of a then nine-year-old Adolf Hitler, would move to and settle. From that onwards Adolf would associate Linz as being his hometown.

April 1945.
Allied Intelligence reports and photographs from reconnaissance aircraft reveal that almost two thousand German rail cars are stationed in several of Linz's rail yards. The Allied reports concluded that Linz was one of 'Germany's last communication centres'.
Such a mass of stationary targets, which could still supply the remaining German forces, needed destroying as soon as possible. The task was given to the Fifteenth US Air Force, based in Italy.

25th April.
On the day of the raid, the sight and sound must have been incredible. 
Almost six thousand airman aboard a stream of B-17 and B-24 bombers, that was said to stretch for a hundred miles.
Amongst them was the author's uncle, whose story started off a research journey that eventually would lead to writing this book.

The anti-aircraft defences around Hitler's hometown were some of the strongest that these crews had ever faced. They had no alternative but to fly straight through the heavy flak.
On top of this they would face the last remnants of the Luftwaffe's fighters. 

The author tells the story of the raid and its aftermath, but at the heart of his narrative are the crew's own words.
You will read many first-hand accounts, often told here for the very first time. For this book is about sharing their compelling stories and leaving the reader in complete admiration at their immense bravery.

This is another excellent and brilliantly researched book that I'm sure will prove popular with both military and general history readers alike.

The paperback edition is published in late March by August Books, a division of Canelo.
I thank Canelo for this review copy. 

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