Battle of the Heligoland Bight (1939) but it produced co-operation difficulties. A solution to the problem was twofold. Fighter units defending the North Sea coast were subordinated to "Luftgaukommando" XI (Air District Command 9) in Hanover. These fighter units would function as an autonomous fighter command, or "Jagdfliegerführer" (Fighter Flyer Leaders). The command of Fighter Command unit was given to "Oberstleutnant" Carl-August Schumacher, a former commander of II./"Jagdgeschwader" 77. Schumacher had served in the "Kaiserliche Marine" (Imperial German Navy) during the First World War and as an officer cadet had seen combat at the Battle of Jutland. It was hoped with his naval background and easy
Battle of the Somme "What remained of the old first-class peace-trained German infantry had been expended on the battlefield". A war of attrition was a logical strategy for Britain against Germany, which was also at war with France and Russia. A school of thought holds that the Battle of the Somme placed unprecedented strain on the German army and that after the battle it was unable to replace casualties like-for-like, which reduced it to a militia. The destruction of German units in battle was made worse by lack of rest. British and French aircraft and long-range guns reached well behind the front-line, where trench-digging