One of the most important, and yet least publicised, components of the front-line Luftwaffe was the Schlacht, or ground attack, arm. This book details the Schlacht units who were in the thick of the fighting from the first day of the war until the last. They played a vital part in the heady successes of the early Blitzkrieg campaigns and went on to perform an equally essential role in the dark hours of last ditch defence and ultimate defeat. In between, they fought in all defensive battles: on the eastern front at Stalingrad, Kursk and Berlin; in the west, by night, over Normandy, the Ardennes and the Rhine.The color plate section of the book has profiles of the following, disperate aircraft:HS 123AHE 51BBf 109-4Bf 109EBf 109E-7HS 129BFw 190F-2Fiat Cr.42Fokker CV-EJu 87DAll of which were flown by this squadron. Also of note is the fact that this Ace pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel was part of this distinguished unit.