air forces shocking. The combat units were exhausted, short of spares, and under frequent attack—the 130 fighters on the island were the target. It was impossible to completely rebuild the squadrons. The resources available could not prevent the Allied air forces acting with impunity. Göring threatened to have one pilot from each unit stand trial by court martial, and if improvements were not forthcoming, they were to be sent as infantry to the Eastern Front. The commanders on the ground, recognising the true situation, disregarded the threat and the message. Specifically, Göring ordered pilots returning without claims and undamaged aircraft suffer court martial for cowardice. The threat was aimed at JG 77, which at the time was severely stretched. Galland parroted Göring's criticism. Under pressure from Göring, he also berated the wing which caused friction with the commanding officer Johannes Steinhoff. Along with these changes, considerable reinforcements arrived. The number of fighters increased from 190 in mid-May to 450 in early July 1943. Close to 40 percent of all fighter production from 1 May to 15 July 1943 went to the Mediterranean Theatre and two new fighter wings, scheduled for Germany's defence, went south. The movement of fighters to redress Allied air superiority achieved only a rise in German losses, which reflected the superiority of Allied production. From 16 May to 9 July Allied forces flew 42,147 sorties and lost 250 aircraft to the Axis' 325 as the air offensive gradually rendered airfields in Sicily inoperable. The weak German bomber force made only a feeble attempt to support the defence of Sicily. Losses too were high. In the first nine days of July 1943, Galland's command lost approximately 70 fighters. On the fourteenth day he was summoned to Berlin to explain the collapse of air defences on the island. As Galland departed the last dozen operational Axis aircraft departed Sicily on 22 July. Since the Allied invasion of Sicily, Galland had lost 273 German and 115 Italian aircraft and imposed a cost of only around 100 on Allied air forces. Conflict with Göring and failed leadership Galland's position as General der Jagdflieger brought him into gradual conflict with Göring as the war continued. Galland was often at odds with Göring and Hitler on how to prosecute the air war. From 1942 to 1944, the German fighter forces on all fronts in the European Theatre of Operations (ETO) came under increasing