Why Speer Said One American Raid Decided the War. He Remembered the Exact Day.

0:00 Leuna Works 3:18 Bottled in Bond 9:49 King Tiger One bombing raid helped set Germany’s fuel crisis in motion—but it did not end the war overnight. I examine the May 12, 1944 attack on the Leuna Works and the Allied debate over whether to target synthetic fuel plants or French railways before D-Day. Using wartime records and postwar studies, I trace the campaign’s effect on German aviation fuel production, repairs, and reserves. I also consider Albert Speer’s claim that May 12 decided the technological war, why historians question his account, and how the resulting fuel shortage shaped the Ardennes offensive and the fate of a King Tiger at La Gleize.