the war, and these ratings determined their funding, workforce, and how much natural resources would be provided. The V2 rocket program, had been under very low priority rating before 1941 since at the time, the V2 was not seen as a major factor in the war. The priority rating for the V2 program was raised slightly in 1941, but still not enough to complete all necessary testing. In July 1943, when it was becoming clear that the German offensive in Russia was running out of steam, the priority rating was finally raised as high as it could go for the V2 program. Rocket sites in northern France began to fly up and missile production was stepped up, however it was uncertain if standard V2s alone would be enough to shift the course of the war. The nuclear research also met a similar fate. At the start of the war, Germany had been the leading country in nuclear research, but from 1941 to 1943, Germany had made the crucial mistake of not proceeding full throttle with its research. The German military forces had been very effective up until midway through 1943, so it didn’t seem essential to Germany that they have nuclear capabilities as soon as possible. Although Germany tried to play catch up during the last years of the war, it was just too little, too late. Philip Henshall is a leading historian on Germany’s rocket and nuclear programs. He has written two other books on the subject, “The Nuclear Axis: Germany, Japan and the Atomic Bomb Race, 1939-45” and “Hitler’s Rocket Sites”. “Vengeance”, published in 1998, is a culmination of information he has discovered by traveling to various French rocket sites and researching Germany’s nuclear program. Henshall does not show any biases in the book; rather the book gives the feel that he’s an investigative reporter trying to uncover the secrets of the rocket and nuclear programs. The book does a wonderful job describing ...
