Fighting with the Soviets

Mark J. Conversino

Using Ukranian air bases, Operation FRANTIC was designed to help deliver the knockout blow to the Nazi war machine while minimizing the severe losses experienced by Allied air forces in the daylight bombing campaigns over Germany. In theory, it allowed American bombers to reach targets deeper in Germany, divert Luftwaffe air support away from Normandy, and provide additional cover for battles on the Soviets' western front. American strategists also hoped that the operation would forge closer ties with the USSR and encourage the ever-wary Stalin to allow access to Siberian air bases for use against Japan. Conversino, however, shows that events did not quite go as planned. His study portrays one of the great "might-have-beens" of the war and illustrates how it fell victim to politics, swift victories on the battlefield, and clashing national visions.