After the expulsion of German forces from France and Belgium following the Normandy landings, JG 2 served in the Defence of the Reich and fought on the Western Front, most notably at the Battle of the Bulge in the winter, 1944/45.

[9] The Bf 109 initially had weak armament but the introduction of the cannon-armed E model resolved the issue and the type possessed superior high-altitude performance over conservative designs at the time.

[10] Following the Anschluss in March 1938, the Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte officer corps was screened for politically reliable personnel and some of the Austrian JaGschw 1 (Jagdgeschwader 1—Fighter Wing 1) pilots were sent to JG 132.

[37] As the German army fought the Battle of Boulogne and lay siege to Calais, the Luftwaffe began to make frequent contact with 11 Group, RAF Fighter Command.

Air superiority was an essential prerequisite to its success, and the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe eventually outlined a broad plan for achieving it; Operation Eagle Attack.

The gradual escalation of the air war became known as the Battle of Britain, beginning with a concerted effort by the Luftwaffe to clear the English Channel of shipping and bring Fighter Command.

[74] JG 2s absence from the southeast of England in the latter half of September, and reassignment from Luftlfotte 2 back to 3, caused their involvement in the final phase of the Battle of Britain to be minimal—just four enemy aircraft were claimed for an equal number of losses.

[82] Wick's wing was chosen to stage southward, to provide an aerial escort to Hitler on his personal train as it journeyed to the French-Spanish border for the Meeting at Hendaye with Francisco Franco.

[85] The bulk of JG 2 remained on the Channel coast under the command of Luftflotte 3, where it operated uninterrupted for the next four years following the Battle of Britain, save for a brief transfer by one Gruppe to North Africa.

[86] The German-led invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, in June 1941, provided a greater strategic rationale for applying pressure to the Luftwaffe in Western Europe.

The Geschwaderkommodore was buried in the same plot as his father, a soldier killed in World War I. Oberstleutnant Walter Oesau replaced Balthasar, and commanded JG 2 for the next two years.

Machold's E-7 was the last Emil lost by III./JG 2, for the Geschwader had, by this time, been almost completely re-equipped with the new and improved Bf 109 F.[95] Over a two-day period, JG 2 claimed heavily against RAF formations.

[96] The following day, JG 2 lost eight and two damaged, six pilots killed or missing, and two wounded[97] opposing Circus 61, supporting Operation Sunrise, to Brest.

[97] The operation targeted the German ships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and the cruiser Prinz Eugen had docked in March and June 1941 after completing Atlantic missions.

[98] Fighter Command reported four dead, three captured and one wounded on the raid—one was downed by ground-fire, two are confirmed to have been lost in action with Bf 109s, the cause of the remaining losses are undetermined.

[101] Chief of the Air Staff Charles Portal, noted that from 10 January and 15 April 750 sorties had been "thrown" at the German ships in fruitless attempts to sink them.

[105] The impact of Fighter Command's massive daylight operations was offset by the tactical deployment of German units which enjoyed radar-based guidance.

[118] In late April, Stab and I. Gruppe of JG 2 based at Beaumont le Roger, Liegescourt and Triqueville under Jagdfliegerführer 3 began conversion from the Fw 190 A to the Bf 109 G-2.

[130] Of note, commander Oesau engaged elements of the Augsburg raid in April 1942, as it overflew his headquarters and Stab/JG 2 claimed shot down some Avro Lancasters.

The psychological impact of the massed-firepower of American bombers encouraged inexperienced German pilots to break off too soon from the classic stern-attack position to cause any damage.

Following on from the Second Battle of El Alamein, the German Africa Corps (DAK) and Italian armies were caught in a vice-like situation; squeezed from east and west.

[148] Eight Fw 190s carried out a successful intercept a reconnaissance mission by 241 and 243 Squadron at low-level on 3 February; the German fighters were alerted when they passed by Kairouan.

The attack was imperfectly completed; several Fw 190s pulled up behind the bomber stream instead of diving away and were damaged by the tail gunners—one pilot from 7./JG 2 was shot down.

[161] In June, Oesau was replaced by Major Egon Mayer, days after the Eighth Air Force destroyed the JG 2 headquarters at Beaumont-le-Roger, killing one pilot, 19 other personnel and wounding 16 more on 28th.

Josef Priller, commanding JG 26, and NJG 1, made a formal complaint against them for not mounting a single concerted attack and denounced them as Leichenfledderei (corpse-looters).

[163] On 6 September JG 2 achieved an increasingly rare success; the US Eighth Air Force attacked Stuttgart, losing 45 bombers—Mayer claimed three of them in 19 minutes over France.

The RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force was also released from escort duty—the Spitfires were now authorised to seek out the Luftwaffe over France while the bombers softened up the invasion coast in preparation for Operation Overlord.

[172] In May 1944, the OKL confronted a further major challenge; how to bolster Luftflotte Reich while building up strength for the Allied invasion of France, expected that summer.

Ground crews had more time to work on aircraft as the fuel shortage curtailed flying, and a second reason for this lack of action was General Galland's plans for a "big blow"—an all-out attack on the next Eighth Air Force raid he hoped would inflict so many casualties on US bombers they would suspend their aerial offensive.

Hauptmann Franz Hrdlicka, who had survived being shot down near Arnhem by Spitfires the previous September, was killed on 25 March 1945 in action with US fighters only two days after receiving the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.