-was the primary German objective. Dowding finally prevailed, eventually winning over Prime Minister Churchill. The success of Operation Ultra, the British operation which broke the Germans' secret codes, aided the Prime Minister in reaching his decision to support Dowding, because decoded orders from the German high command underscored the accuracy of Dowding's position. Churchill was later to rely heavily on Ultra to provide Field Marshall Montgomery with vital and timely information which in no small measure contributed to the defeat of Erwin Rommel's Afrika Corps.
In prevailing in the argument over the use of fighter Command, however, Dowding earned the undying enmity of the rest of the senior air staff, and, somewhat surprisingly, since the validity of his position was substantiated in the Battle, failed to earn any substantial long-term support from Churchill. The senior air staff in particular, and Churchill to a lesser extent, were strong advocates of a strategy based on massive bombing as the most effective use of airpower, and, in turn
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