Strategic bombing worked only once |
Strategic bombing worked only once
President Trump has called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” in the war. He has demanded that he choose the next leader. And Trump has told Iran’s military and security structure to “lay down their arms,” or be killed.
The missile and bombing campaign, undertaken in concert with Israel, is meant to compel the Iranian leadership to capitulate. This is known as “strategic bombing.” And only once in history has strategic bombing forced surrender.
The history of strategic bombing dates back to World War I. In its first use, German Gotha bombers and Zeppelins attacked London, causing panic. In the 1920’s, the Italian strategist Giulio Douhet described the theory of using air power to deliver victory from the skies, obviating the need for large land armies and navies. Douhet believed that the use of poison gas, the first weapon of mass destruction, would be so deadly as to produce surrender.
During the interwar period, strategic bombing was hotly debated. In 1921, World War I U.S. Army Air Force Bombers, led by Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, sank the German battleship Ostfriesland as part of an exercise, demonstrating the vulnerability of warships to air power. All the major powers began investigating the utility of strategic bombing.
During World War II, both Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan believed that the best use of air power was tactical in destroying the enemy’s military. For Germany, air power became vital to the success of the Blitzkrieg with Stuka bombers providing close air support to armored and ground forces. Japan executed........