The Splendid and the Vile
by Erik Larson
Contents
Chapter 6: Göring
Overview
On May 24, Hitler halted his tanks and entrusted Göring's Luftwaffe with destroying the British Expeditionary Force, while also authorizing future air attacks on Britain. The chapter shows that this pivotal shift rested heavily on Göring's confidence and Hitler's faith in him.
Larson then profiles Göring as immensely powerful, corrupt, theatrical, and still popular, but also increasingly detached from the realities of modern air war. His vanity and reliance on weak intelligence help explain why Germany moved toward a dangerous overestimation of air power at a decisive moment.
Summary
On Friday, May 24, Hitler made two decisions that shaped the next phase of the war. First, acting on a senior general's advice, he ordered his armored divisions to halt rather than press immediately against the British Expeditionary Force. Because German forces had already taken serious losses in the western campaign, Hitler accepted the argument that the tanks and crews needed time to regroup, but the pause gave the British a crucial chance to escape.
At the same time, Göring persuaded Hitler that the Luftwaffe could destroy the trapped British forces without the army's help. Kesselring and other commanders doubted this claim, because German pilots were exhausted and RAF resistance was stronger than Göring admitted. Nonetheless, Hitler issued Directive No. 13, assigning the Luftwaffe the task of preventing the BEF from escaping across the Channel and authorizing attacks on the English homeland as soon as enough aircraft were available.
The chapter then turns to Göring himself to explain why Hitler trusted him with so much. Göring had built the Luftwaffe and accumulated enormous authority across the Nazi state, while also running a vast system of theft and self-enrichment centered on stolen art and the lavish estate of Carinhall. His extravagance, vanity, and theatrical self-presentation made him seem absurd to some observers, but they did not lessen his influence with Hitler or his popularity with much of the German public.
Behind the spectacle, however, serious weaknesses were emerging. Some Luftwaffe officers who had once admired Göring now saw him as technically ignorant, easily manipulated by flatterers, and out of touch with modern air combat. Galland considered Göring's choice of Beppo Schmid to lead Luftwaffe intelligence especially dangerous, because Schmid gave him reassuring but unreliable assessments of British air strength. As Hitler turned toward the problem of conquering Britain, Göring embraced the chance for the Luftwaffe to win glory, setting up decisions that would soon have grave consequences.
Who Appears
- Hermann GöringLuftwaffe chief whose vanity, power, and overconfidence help steer Hitler toward an air-led attack on Britain.
- Adolf HitlerGerman leader who halts the panzer advance and authorizes Göring to use air power against the BEF and England.
- Albert KesselringLuftwaffe field marshal who recognizes the halt order and Göring's promise as dangerous mistakes.
- Adolf GallandTop fighter pilot who criticizes Göring's tactics, sycophants, and weak grasp of modern aerial combat.
- Beppo SchmidGöring's intelligence chief, condemned by Galland as unreliable and dangerously misleading about British air strength.