Steinhoff, Johannes Die Straße von Messina. Tagebuch des Kommodore

21 June to 13 July 1943 - the war enters a decisive phase. The Commodore of Fighter Wing 77, later to become a four-star general in the German Armed Forces and Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Johannes Steinhoff, keeps a diary: The defensive battle for Sicily is fought with the last reserves. There is a lack of material. In addition to less experienced pilots, young pilots with rapid training are jumping into the breach. Among them, the losses are devastating. And the leadership is failing.

Bombs are ploughing up runways and field airfields almost non-stop. It is becoming increasingly difficult to regroup the squadrons on suitable sites. Ground personnel are suffering major losses. Enemy fighter swarms protect the formations of the flying fortresses, which are becoming increasingly difficult to attack. The fighter pilot up there is on his own. He takes up the unequal fight, again and again, disregarded by a leadership that accuses him of a lack of attacking spirit and does not want to understand how hopeless the balance of power is. In the diary it becomes clear how Johannes Steinhoff, aware of the hopelessness of the fight at this point, is forced into his military duty and at the same time lets us feel his despair at having to sacrifice his subordinate airmen anew every day. Along the way, Steinhoff knows how to characterise and portray the people under his command. Retrospectives on incidents from his flying life on all fronts also make this work an extremely valuable and important testimony to his time.