How Did Douhet Change The Nature Of War

One of the greatest changes that occurred in the strategy of warfare took place during the 20th century. This was the development and deployment of the airplane. The strategic prowess that airplanes provided during times of war was unprecedented. It was very different than all the other types of weaponry that was used during conflicts, such as ground troops, tanks and ships. This was because “the access [an airplane] provides makes it a faster, more flexible, and more precise than any other form of military power.” Before the 20th century, not a single nation had the efficient technology for aerial bombardments on a large scale. However, even before strategic bombing became a regular tactic used in war, generals were beginning to realize the calculated importance that these types of attacks would …show more content…
A key example comes from General Giulio Douhet who intensively believed that the development of the aircraft would change the nature of war forever, “it [made it] possible to go far behind the fortified lines of defense without first breaking through them”. He made it very clear in his book The Command of the air that he strongly believed that having a powerful air force would ultimately win you the war, as airstrikes were indefensible. Herman Göring, the leader of the German Luftwaffe strongly used Douhet’s theories in his planning of the airstrikes which went along with the Nazi Blitzkrieg that decimated most of Western Europe. In this essay I will illustrate that the strategies that were formulated by Douhet and used by generals such as Göring were for the most part unsuccessful, as clearly seen in the Battle of Britain, I will show that although the nature of war was changed by the use of airplanes, war can not be won by the use of an air