Before the offensive began against Soviet armies protecting the bulge in the line at Kursk, II and III "Gruppen" took part in a strategic bombing operation in June 1943. The Chief of the General Staff Hans Jeschonnek and his operations staff officer Rudolf Meister were major proponents of an attack on industrial sectors. The command staff of the "Luftwaffe" used this idea to free their service from the air support role. Robert Ritter von Greim's Luftflotte 6, with support from KG 55's "Luftflotte" 4, was assigned seven bomber wings to carry out the offensive—KG 55, KG 3, KG 4, KG 27, KG 51, KG 53 and KG 100. Even Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, the leading ground-support exponent, agreed to the operation. It was felt the "Luftwaffe" could render greater assistance to the army this way. The planners focused on targets that were in range of the He 111-equipped "Geschwader".