Operation Steinbock

Operation Steinbock (German: Unternehmen Steinbock) was a late Second World War Luftwaffe night-time strategic bombing campaign against southern England that took place from January—May 1944. It was the last strategic air offensive by the German bomber arm during the conflict.

For the first years of the war German air power had not needed to invest in air defence to any appreciable degree. Foreign enemies were defeated over their own skies in the Western Campaign in 1940. It remained the case until 1942 when RAF Bomber Command returned in strength to German skies by night. By the end of 1943 the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive had taken a toll on Germany. In particular, British night attacks had done considerable damage to industrial cities. Adolf Hitler, frustrated with the failure of the Luftwaffe to defend Germany, ordered retaliatory attacks against British cities. Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe Herman Göring hoped such operations would deter the British from continuing their offensive against German cities.