February 20, 1944 - Big Week
The pattern of attacks for January and the first half of February continued pretty much as it had for the last weeks of 1943. Most missions were attacks on ports and some industrial targets in Germany through mainly pathfinder bombing due to the bad weather. Interspersed were attacks on targets in France which offered better visual bombing. The Americans were waiting until a stretch of good bombing weather to launch Operation Argument. Operation Argument was part of the ongoing Operation Pointblank campaign against the Germany aircraft industry. February 20, 1944 was the first of six days of clear weather over Germany, and the Americans were to take full advantage of the opportunity. An attack against Rostock a targets in central were in the cities of Leipzig, Brunswick, Gotha, Rostock and Dessau.
Leipzig was the largest concentration of aircraft assembly and component factories with Ju-88/52 assembly, Erla Me-109 assembly, Erla Me-109 fuselage, Jumo engine and other component manufactories. Brunswick was the site of Messerschmitt Me-110 component and assembly factories. Gotha was the site of the Gothaer Me-110 and Go-242 assembly plant. Dessau was the location of a Ju-88 and Ju-52 assembly factory. 1003 heavy bombers were dispatched by the Eighth Air Force against these targets.
The Luftwaffe was ready for the attack. In January, Luftflotte Reich was created which centralized the defense combining the Flak commands, the day and night fighter forces, and the tracking services under a single headquarters. A northern bomber force sent to attack Rostock and points further east in Prussia, by passing outside the range of radars in northwestern Germany. This attack was completely missed when the main attack came across the low countries apparently heading for Berlin. I Jagdkorps, responsible for the direction of the Jagdivisions, bungled and the northern force got in almost without opposition. However, the main attack into central Germany was to face aggressive resistance.
