SLuftwaffeArticlePageOne

By Steven D. Mercatante [1]

Introduction

There is one question more important than any other when building or rebuilding any
military establishment: What is the organization's purpose? Only after answering that
question, can one address how the organization should be built to meet the stated
purpose. In regards to Second World War era military establishments the conventional
wisdom has long argued Germany's Luftwaffe was primarily designed around the goal of
providing support to the German army. However, as this article will show, the Luftwaffe
actually began and was initially organized as a fairly well rounded institution; designed to
compete at all levels of aerial warfare.