JACKSON, Tenn. — Nov. 2, 2015 —
Robert Citino, an award-winning modern military historian, spoke about the collapse of the German army in 1945 at the 19th annual Carls-Schwerdfeger History Lecture Oct. 29.
Citino said at the outset of World War II, the Germans did very well in Europe, but by 1945, their military was a shadow of what it was in 1939.
鈥淚t seems to me that no matter which battle I chose to talk about that the Germans had to fight in the winter and spring of 1945, the problem was the same,鈥� Citino said. 鈥淭he big problem was the disappearance of the German air force from the skies over Europe.鈥�
Citino said the Germans had a state-of-the-art air force, the Luftwaffe, in the 1930s, and at the beginning of World War II it was vastly superior to any other country. But the Germans never manufactured enough operational, upgraded aircraft as the war went on.
鈥淭he allies were building newer, better planes every year, and they had the materials to make thousands of these things,鈥� Citino said. 鈥淏ut the Luftwaffe in 1939 looked exactly the same as the Luftwaffe in 1945.鈥�
After his talk, Citino answered questions and had a book signing. He has written nine widely acclaimed books about military history. His latest published book, 鈥淭he Wehrmacht Retreats: Fighting a Lost War, 1943,鈥� won the 2013 Distinguished Book Award.
Citino is a professor of history at the University of North Texas and was ranked the number one classroom professor in the United States in 2007. He served as Charles Boal Ewing Visiting Professor of Military History at the United States Military Academy in West Point in 2008 and 2009.