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Operation Bodenplatte, launched on 1st January 1945, was an attempt to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries of Europe. It was used by Hitler as a last resort to keep the German Army on the offensive in the Battle of the Bulge. He sent hundreds of Luftwaffe planes on a secret mission, which was to bomb as many planes, hangers, hangars, etc. that the Allies had. 465 Allied aircraft were damaged or destroyed. However, due to Allied fighter counterattacks, and an unexpected superfluity of Allied flak guns, the Luftwaffe lost 277 planes (62 to Allied fighters and 172 to flak guns, both Allied and German). Some of the remaining planes tried to return home, however, due to the secrecy of the mission, the Germans operating the flak guns opened fire on their own planes. Thus, Bodenplatte was a terrible failure, because the Allies were able to replace their losses quickly, but the Luftwaffe never recovered.
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