The Greatest Force

This, the most controversial new book on WW2 history in 2025, reveals how RAF Bomber Command became the absolute No.1 factor in Germany’s defeat. In-depth research by former Financial Times reporter Marcus Gibson re-writes and overturns all previous histories of the bombing campaign. Far from being ineffective and too costly the book highlights the incredible impact of both the direct and indirect effects of bombing.

Above all, it answers the campaign’s outstanding questions: Why Air Marshal Harris was right to bomb city centres. How did General James Doolittle rescue the US 8th Air Force from its disastrous start? How the RAF diverted 80% of Germany’s AA guns and fighters away from the frontlines.

This 200,000-word masterpiece describes how the RAF helped smash the Kriegsmarine and the Wehrmacht. Were German civilians truly innocent? It relates how the Dresden raid was not only fully justified it shows there were few refugees in the city, contrary to all previous histories.

No other aspect of WW2 has been more contentious than the RAF’s attacks on Germany: Marcus Gibson’s ground-breaking research finally corrects the many myths and falsehoods that have dogged the reputation of Britain’s Royal Air Force for more than 80 years.