Following the devastation of trench warfare during World War I, early airpower theorist believed strategic bombing could be the new way to win wars and reduced the number of lives lost. Theorist like, Guilio Douhet, Hugh Trenchard, and William “Billy” Mitchel became pioneers and advocates of strategic bombing. They believed striking the enemy’s troops, war-marking industry, and vital centers would produce a decisive victory. The airpower theory would be a key element to the Allies strategy in Second World War (WW2). Leaders in Britain and the United States believed Germany was a greater threat than Japan. Thus, the airpower strategy of the European theater of operation became the primary focus. Allied airpower was decisive in the European theater of WW2. The combination of strategic and tactical airpower produced the defeat of the Luftwaffe and the Third Reich.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) provided the first successful display of air power in a defensive and offensive strategy. In the fall of 1940, the Battle of Britain was the first airpower only operation. The German objective was to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF) by attacking military and civilian targets in and around the United Kingdom. The RAF defense of the homeland by tactical aircraft and ground anti-air weapons slowed German aggression. The success of the offensive strategic bombing of Berlin caused Adolf Hitler and the Luftwaffe to shift air resources to protect Germany. The combination of tactical defense and strategic bombing enabled the RAF’s defense of Britain; this was one of the first successful air operations of WW2.
Even though Japan attacked the US directly, the primary focus of the war was the threat of Germany. The United States Army Air F...
... middle of paper ...
...were inextricably linked. The cumulative effects of these three overwhelmed the Luftwaffe and Nazi troops. This led to the erosion of civilian support and thus the demise of military, political, and economic systems. “Allied air power was everywhere, a fact not lost to the Germans in the last days of the war” . Quesada stated, “They received the beating that was coming to them” . The Allied Forces obtained the unconditional surrender of their primary target, Nazi Germany, due in large part to air power.
Works Cited
War Department Office of the Chief of the Army Air Forces, “AWPD-1”, (Washington: War Department, 1941), 17.
Thomas A. Hughes, Over Lord, (New York: The Free Press, 1995), 88.
Mark Clodfelter, Beneficial Bombing, (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2010), 155.
Ibid., 167.
Ibid., 176.
Ibid.,183.
Thomas Hughes, Over Lord, 300.
Ibid.
Aerial bombardment was developed by the Germans as a method of spreading material desolation and fear, breaking down the morale of civilians and soldiers alike. Marc Bloch considered air attacks to be far more effective, and more
Airmen: An Illustrated History: 1939-1949.” Oct. 2012. Vol. 65 Issue 4, pg. 316-319. 4p. Ebsco Host. Tucker, Phillip Thomas, 1953. Web.2014.
The British were outnumbered 900 fighters to 640 fighters plus the Germans had an additional 1,300 bombers. With these statistics, the Luftwaffe thought that they would have a very easy time defeating the Royal Air Force. Even though the British were outnumbered, they had a few advantages that the Luftwaffe was unaware of. First, they develope...
The strategic bombing campaign significantly shortened the length of the war. It disabled the production industry and weakened the German morale.
More than any previous war, World War II involved the commitment of nations' entire human and economic resources, the blurring of the distinction between combatant and noncombatant, and the expansion of the battlefield to include all of the enemy's territory. The most important determinants of its outcome were industrial capacity and personnel. In the last stages of the war, two radically new weapons were introduced: the long-range rocket and the atomic bomb. In the main, however, the war was fought with the same or improved weapons of the types used in World War I. The greatest advances were in aircraft and tanks.
The. Johnson, David E. Fast Tanks and Heavy Bombers: Innovation in the U.S. Army, 1917-1945. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998. Print. The. "
On December 7th 1941, Japanese Planes and submarines attacked the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor. This event singlehandedly brought the U.S from its then neutral stance in World War Two to a fighting member of the “Allied Powers.” Pearl Harbor was the first of a long series of confrontations between the U.S and the Japanese in an effort to gain control of the Pacific. Unlike the “War in Europe” the Pacific strategy was dominated by naval and aerial battles, with the occasional land-based “Island Hopping” Campaign. As such, one of the most important factors in the war in the pacific was Fleet Size, the more ships a country could send to war, the better. Pearl Harbor was the Japanese’s way of trying to deal with the massive U.S Pacific fleet. However, Pearl Harbor was not the turning point of the war. After December 7th the United States began work on numerous technological developments which would ultimately help them in one of the most important battles of WWII, the largest naval confrontation of the war, The Battle of Midway. The battle, which took place from June 4th to June 7th , 1942 is widely considered the turning point of the Pacific Theater (James & Wells). Through the Post-Pearl Harbor desire for “Revenge” and various technological advantages including code breaking and radar, the U.S were able to outsmart the Japanese at Midway and ultimately win the battle, eventually leading to a victory in the Pacific.
During World War II, Germany’s military was superior to anyone else in the world, with far more advanced technology, tactics, and weaponry. They had a fearless leader who would stop at nothing to make his country great again. Their closest rival, the Soviet Union, was almost out of the picture with a death toll of over 26 million. On top of that, Germany had nothing to lose, and would not conceivably stop. So how then, with all odds against them, did the Allies win the war? A combination of factors affected Germany’s downfall, such as lack of morale, unwieldy weapons, and failure to work with its so-called allies.
World War II was a time of heightened tension. The entire world watched as fascism and dictatorships battled against democracy and freedom in the European theater. The United States looked on, wishing to remain neutral and distant from the war. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, officially drawing the U.S. into the war. Thousands of young sailors died in the attack and several U.S. Navy vessels were sunk. The attack marked the beginning of the United States’ involvement in World War II as well as the beginning of the persecution of Japanese Americans in the U.S. Hysteria and outrage increased across the country and largely contributed to the authority’s decision to act against the Japanese. On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, allowing the military to place anyone of Japanese lineage in restri...
It’s a beautiful sunny morning, on a tropical island that everyone would love to take a vacation at. It’s approximately 6:00 am, December 7, 1941, when a first group of 181 kamikaze planes attacked; targeting key naval bases stationed at Hawaii; a sustained crippling of U.S. naval forces for about 6 months. The death toll was 2,500. Out of the 9 battleships, 8 were heavily damaged by the assault on Pearl Harbor and out of the 8, three were unrepairable, USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, and the USS Utah. 160 aircrafts were put out of commission, and nearly 130 were heavily damaged. This was the first incident in which there was an act of war, committed on U.S. soil, outside of the American Revolution and the Civil War. The world was at war, and the U.S. remained neutral until now. Before the attack, the U.S. was in great debate whether to enter the war or to stay out of it. The act of war forced the U.S. into the War and triggered a controversial debate in whether to retaliate against Japan with the use of nuclear arms.
In the fall of 1931, the Atlantic Ocean was the boiling point of a criminal battle between the British and Germans. Most people think that the Battle of the Atlantic may have decided World War II’s outcome. This battle was the dominating factor throughout the war. The Battle of the Atlantic was a violent and destructive battle. Many people lost their lives fighting in this battle. New technology was one of the major factors in the Allies winning the long and crucial Battle of the Atlantic.
As the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 the United States officially entered World War Two. The Japanese government later learned later that this single event sets off an explosion that subsequently caused the United States to attack the Midway Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Pearl Harbor was one of the United States largest naval bases and the largest in the Pacific Ocean. This attack ceased all trade with Japan and officially added Japan as one of the US enemies. With a new world war started it created new concerns for the army. “World War II introduced a whole new set of problems in naval tactics” (Smith, 1). The main change driving these changes was the fact that aircraft carriers became more prevalent and common in every major countries naval force. Japan was able to pull off the Pearl Harbor attack as a result of aircraft carriers to launch their airplanes. As a result of the battles leading up to the Battle of Midway and conflicts with Japan this created a lot larger of an impact on WWII as a whole and to boost unity in America leading to a more prosperous period of history following the war.
During the World War II there was many different aspects on the Allies side that helped them defeat the Axis Powers. One crucial aspect for the Allies was the well-built airborne divisions. The 82nd Airborne Division, from the United States Army, was considered to be the firmest and most successful division during the Second World War. After being reactivated for World War II, the men of the 82nd Airborne division took on intense training to later on take part in some of the most dangerous missions of World War II.
Hamilton, John A. Blazing Skies: Air Defense Artillery on Fort Bliss, 1940 - 2009. Defense
Alex Kershaw’s “The Few The American ‘Knights Of The Air’ Who Risked Everything To Fight In The Battle Of Britain” doesn’t just tell the story of the seven American aviators who flew for the British as but also their enemies, the Luftwaffe’s point of view. This book is told through this group of Americans and from the viewpoint of the Royal Air Force pilots they fought with but also the perspective of the Luftwaffe fliers that they fought against during the battle. For example, in one part of the book, there was this one German lookout who had commented on how much of an advantage the British had because of their radars that could locate enemy planes while they crossed the English Channel; the lookout considered the radar an “unfair” tool.