With Wings Like Eagles: A History of the Battle of Britain

The day was filled with a chill...but the chill wasn't caused by the cool breezy days of England, rather the advancement of the German army. The Battle of Britain was a crucial victory over the Luftwaffe. Between the 10th of July and the 31st of October in the year 1940, the Royal Air Force would find itself in the most important fight of its life. Michael Korda recreates those fateful months in such pain-staking details, you will find your teeth grinding as the intensity of the battle that prolonged the war long enough for the US to tip the balance of power is unfolded. And yet, while this story is well-known to most of us...the expertise and sheer brilliance of Michael Korda's experience as an editor-in-chief at Simon and Schuster and his narrative from being a veteran in the Royal Air Force sets this book apart from the rest. Yet, if losing WW II wasn't bad enough, his uncle was ordered to be arrested the moment Germany won the battle...of course, the Germans would never get that chance.

Another difference from Korda's tale is where the spotlight focuses. In most stories the focus is on Prime Minister Winston Churchill...and it should be. Winston Churchill is famous for his quote "history will remember me well, as I intend to write it." He did...he also won a Nobel Prize, but in this version Winston Churchill plays the supporting role, with the focus squarely on Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding. Hugh Dowding led the Royal Air Force from the moment of its conception...and saw the importance of the fighter plane - at that time the bomber was the bread-n-butter of the RAF. The development of the fighter plane was crucial and changed the tactics of the Germans. Hugh Dowding began plotting dogfights with the lighter aircraft, and implemented the use of radar and radio control of aircrafts...he also created the single-engine monoplane...one such plane was the eight-gun Spitfire.

With efforts and planning by no more than a thousand young soldiers, Hugh Dowding, was able to lead the assault of the German army's first major defeat. Michael Korda realized that this one man may have sealed the fate of the Germans before the battle had even begun. Yet this outcome was almost lost. Winston Churchill wanted to divert the fighter planes to France in an effort to hold off the German advancements. It was Hugh Dowding who knew France was lost and any aircraft sent there would be lost as well. In his defiance, Dowding refused and in the process saved many young soldiers from unheroically losing their lives. Yet, while Korda's portrayal of Dowding is heroic (and rightfully so) it was his stubbornness that would ultimately remove him from the war...and while he was removed from the war...his accomplishments and victory at a crucial battle can never be taken from him.