Hermann Goering, a veteran World War I pilot, served as the Commander-in-Chief of the German Luftwaffe. His bombing tactics were extremely successful, especially in Poland, Norway, and France. However, his plans failed in the Battle of Britain, and the Luftwaffe suffered heavy and irreplaceable casualties. He was also unable to relieve the beleaguered German army in Stalingrad. Goering was the chosen successor to Hitler until 1945 when Hitler named Admiral Donitz the successor. He was captured after the war and tried at the Nuremberg Trials and sentenced to hang. However, he committed suicide in 1946 before he could be hanged.