Aidan Molins 2012 Modern History Historical Investigation Musgrave Strategic Bombing Discuss the history of strategic bombing

mbing 1910-1942. Through its relatively short history, Strategic Bombing has provided itself as a perplexing and difficult moral challenge for the combatants using it from before the first world war all the way to Hiroshima. So, discussing the history of strategic bombing 1910-1945 raises important questions regarding its origins, public perceptions, how it presented itself in the world wars and how these factors culminated at the end of the Second World War. Strategic bombing is a military tactic used in total war utilizing aircraft with the goal of attacking enemy economy, military capability and morale (the will to wage war). In the early 20th century western zeitgeist, the question of what would become of the loosely termed "air power" was significant. Science fiction writers, such as HG Wells speculated on the consequences of an airforce-armed world in their writing, in particular the novel "The War in the Air" by Wells envisions a world in which Germany aerially bombs New York and the country is brought to its knees.12 This drives a public conversation on the consequences of air power in the next war, and as a result the Hague conference held in 1899 by the Russian monarchy tried to deal with these fears, with roughly a third of the conference being dedicated to banning the use of explosives and projectiles from the air in future conflicts. It was at this event where the idea was proposed, by an American delegate, that the term of the ban was reduced to five years only.3 This was because it was predicted at the time that strategic bombing would revolutionize the humanity of warfare, that it would make wars quicker, that it would minimise civilian casualties. At the time, the logic behind this was that precision, targeted attacks would be launched on military installations and facilities only, thus it was assumed by many military strategists that the coming war, which became The First World War, would be over within a matter of days.4 This pre-war speculation proved crucial in the public perception of air combat and how the Allies would handle and justify Strategic Bombing in the coming years. The first world war presented an interesting but anticlimactic view into strategic bombing, in some ways bridging a gap between the dignified 19 th century warfare and all out total war that would be seen in the second world war. There was no checkmate attack from the air as science fiction authors predicted, rather a series of small but unnerving attacks from both sides. Dirigible aerial bombardment of citizens began in January 1915 when German Zepplins dropped twenty-four 50 pound explosive bombs and ineffective three pound incendiaries on eastern English
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_in_the_Air, introduction D. Carlin (2012), Logical insanity, Orator LLC, Portland, Part 1 3 Wyman, R. (1984) The First Rules of Air Warfare - Hauge Peace Confrences 4 Dan Carlin, Logical insanity, Part 1

towns.5 In july that year the Kaiser permitted direct raids on civilian areas and as a result, raids increased. However, once British air defence improved shortly after, the numbers began to decrease. By the end of the war, there had been 51 raids, killing 551 people and injuring 1358.6 The British responded with a smaller strategic bombing force, from the Royal Navy Air Service (RNAS) attacking German Zeppelin Production lines in Cologne and Dusseldorf in October 1914. While these attacks in the First World War were in contrast to the expectations of the world at that time, they still served to unnerve and demoralise the enemy and in retrospect, helped sparked the flame that became strategic bombing. In the interwar period the conceptual basis for strategic bombing, as well as moral justification for the act of bombing itself expanded and developed. The First World War provided a basis for which the major powers of the time, namely Britain, France and Germany would become largely fearful of air power in the following years. 7 This is because in the past Britain had a significant advantage due to its island position and strong navy. In contrast, Germany, as a result of the strict and punishing armistice agreements, was not allowed any airforce at all.8 It was proposed that the newly formed League of Nations receive a monopoly on air power but this never passed. 9 The other factor that came to define the First World War in evaluation and retrospect in this period was the length it went on; it became a war of attrition.10 This fuelled a desire to shorten the wars by any means necessary, regardless of the moral consequence. Other psychological mechanisms such as Mutually assured destruction, and the strike first mentality allowed a theoretical and physical development of bombing in the years to come. One particular player in the field of the theory behind strategic bombing was Giulio Douhet, an influential thinker and General of the Italian Military. In his revolutionary book The Command of the Air he argued11 in favor of war crimes, saying that appropriate amounts of bombing would end wars earlier, that the right amount of pressure on towns and cities would force civilian populations to lose the will to wage war, and that if necessary, begin a revolution and overthrow the government, bringing a quicker victory to the bombers.12 His proposed strategy involved an initial dropping of explosives to knock down large structures, then dropping incendiaries to burn down remains, and finally, poison gas to kill rescuers. He also argued in favor of delayed explosion bombs to explode hours after being dropped so that eventually, rescue missions and repair
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_bombing, world war 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_bombing, world war 1

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Carlin, Logical Insanity, Part 1 Carlin, Logical Insanity, Part 1 9 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations#Failure_of_disarmament 10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attrition_warfare 11 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giulio_Douhet
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Carlin, Logical Insanity, Part 1

would cease.13 Although these strategies were highly inhumane and considered the highest of war crimes, Douhet argued that regardless, the Strike First mechanism would prevail, meaning that if they didnt do it, someone else would. These developments in the interwar period from 1919-1939 were revolutionary as well as being influential, and their significance in coming war would be seen. In the second war from 1939-1944, strategic bombing proceeded to horrify and devastate in both European and Pacific theatres. Strategic bombing began on the first day of the war on 1 September 1939, however it escaladed heavily upon the German loss of the Battle of Britain in October 1940 when the Luftwaffe gave up a military invasion the British homeland14 and started The Blitz, an attempt to bring a British surrender through damaging the war economy and damaging the civilian population into submission. The bombing occurred primarily in British cities and industrial ports and towns.15 The campaign supposedly took place as a retaliation of early RAF strategic bombing, with Adolf Hitler stating I have tried to spare the British. They have mistaken my humanity for weakness, and have replied by murdering German women and children. If they attack out cities, we will simply erase theirs.16 This approach blurs the lines between Morale Bombing and Terror Bombing, with the nature of the attack to be determined by the attacker. At this point in the war, most civilian attacks on both sides were being claimed as attacking military installations, as most bombing took place at night, meaning to hit anything, you had to hit everything.17 More than one million London homes were destroyed, and by the end of the campaign, 40,000 civilians were killed, almost half in London. However, these were relatively low in comparison to RAF bombings on Germany, with more than 42,000 being killed in the Hamburg bombings alone.18 In the end, neither of the German objectives, economic or morale depletion occurred and the campaign was considered a failure.19 In return, the Allies bombed huge territories of Germany beginning in February 1942, stating operations should now be focused on the morale of the enemy civilian population, and in particular, the industrial workers20 Working class homes especially were targets, as they were the most flammable and dense for an incendiary firebombing raid.21 The attacks were persevering and effective, with on average 50%-60% of most German cities being completely destroyed. In total, around 2.7 million tons of explosives were dropped on Germany, with an estimated 305,000-600,000 civilian casualties, and rendering 7.5 Germans homeless.22 These strategic bombing offensives dealt a significant and
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Carlin, Logical Insanity, Part 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Britain - introduction 15 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_blitz - introduction 16 Carlin, Logical Insanity, Part 2 17 Carlin, Logical Insanity, Part 2 18 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Hamburg_in_World_War_II - introduction 19 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_blitz - introduction 20 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_bombing_during_World_War_II - the British later in the war 21 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_bombing_during_World_War_II - The British later in the war 22 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_bombing_during_World_War_II - Europe - Casualties

horrible blow to both sides of the Second World War, one that is still permeated in the hearts and minds of civilians today . In the pacific theatre strategic bombing took a particularly devastating and ugly form, both from the Japanese and American forces. Japanese air raids of Chinese cities, particularly Shanghai, Wuhan and Chonging were happening in incredible strength (about 5000 in total) before the war even formally began, in 1937.23 There were also air raids in the Philippines, and most notably, Pearl Harbour. Darwin, NT, was also attacked as the Japanese feared it would serve as a base to contest the invasions of Java and Timor.24 The attack was successful as the town was only lightly defended. The Americans strategic bombing campaign in Japan begun later, in 1942. Although, the most significant portion of it began with the seven months of firebombing from February 1945, due to the introduction of the B-29 SuperFortress.25 In the Tokyo bombings alone, around 100,000 civilian casualties were estimated.26 The primarily wood and paper buildings caught aflame very easily, and as a result the firebombings had a detrimental effect on both economy and morale, killing around 500,000, although estimates vary. In the end these attacks in the pacific theatre, in China, Japan, the pacific and even Australia were demoralizing as well as highly destructive, and were consequential in bringing an end to the war quicker. Finally, the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 were central in bringing a Japanese unconditional surrender. Towards the end of the war the US were looking for a Death-Blow of sorts to bring a Japanese surrender, rather than a homeland invasion, possibly killing tens of thousands on either side.27 At this point, Nazi Germany had signed its instrument of surrender on the 8th of May, but the war in the Pacific continued.28 Together with China and the United Kingdom, the Unites Stated an ultimatum, threatening prompt and utter destruction as a consequence of non-surrender. The ultimatum was ignored and the two bombs, Little Boy and Fat Man, developed by the Manhattan project, were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively.29 Within several months, acute effects killed from 150,000246,000 people. Six days afterwards, on the 15th of August, with the Emperor stating Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is indeed incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives. Should we continue to fight, it would not only result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization.30 The morality of dropping this new and mysterious weapon remains a hotly debated topic today, with some saying the attack was largely
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_bombing_during_World_War_II - Asia - Japanese Bombing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Darwin_(February_1942) - introduction 25 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_bombing_during_World_War_II - Asia - conventional bombing 26 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_firebombing - introduction 27 Carlin, Logical insanity, Part 3 28 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki - introduction 29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki - introduction 30 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki - introduction

unprecedented and having longstanding repercussions, while others say it paled in comparison to the firebombing that occurred previously.31 This final death-blow of the Second World War in the form of the new nuclear weapon had dealt a final means of surrender to a long and tired Japanese war machine. In summation, strategic bombing from 1910-1945 was a complex and devastating military occurrence with areas still affected today. The morality of the attacks is largely controversial, but it can be determined by its long and detailed history that often, the attacks themselves are logical, its just the situations themselves that are difficult and require such violence. These justifications have spanned from situations predating the first world war, through the interwar period, and culminating in the end of the second world war, and have had significant effect in shaping the world into what it is today.

Annotated Bibliography Lindqvist, Sven. A History of Bombing. New York: New, 2001. Print. Lindqvist provides a complete and detailed look into the entire history of strategic bombing. It was useful to me for general use but was difficult to sift through most historical fact. It is very likely to be a valid source because it is a) written by a professional historian, b) remarkably well sourced and c) lacking a large, hugely noticeable bias. Carlin, Dan. "Show 42 - (BLITZ) Logical Insanity." Audio blog post. Hardcore History. Orator LLC, 31 Mar. 2012. Web. 25 May 2012. Dan Carlin offers a unique and admittedly biased perspective on strategic bombing. It was highly useful in formulating historical opinions and topic sentences, etc. The source is likely to be valid in some areas, and others may need supporting sources. He admits areas where he is expressing opinion and areas where he is expressing fact. Overall, he is a professional historian and provides multiple sources for his work.

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Carlin, Logical Insanity, Part 3

Wyman, Richard H. "The First Rules of Air Warfare." The First Rules of Air Warfare. Air University Review, Mar.-Apr. 1984. Web. 27 June 2012. <http://www.airpower.au.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1984/mar-apr/wyman.html>. Wyman writes detailed and experienced prose about the origins of bombing, particularly useful for before the First World War. It was used as backup sources for Carlin and Lindqvist. It is well sourced, but could be biased as it is written by and for a US government institution, a major player in the events carried out. Wikipedia Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_bombing Accessed 19/6/12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giulio_Douhet accessed 19/6/12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_blitz accessed 19/6/12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations#Failure_of_disarmament accessed 20/6/12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_bombing_during_World_War_II accessed 20/6/12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Britain accessed 20/6/12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_in_the_Air accessed 20/6/12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Darwin_(February_1942) accessed 20/6/12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_firebombing accessed 21/6/12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki accessed 22/6/12 Wikipedia provides a usually unbiased view into the events it describes. In this essay I used Wikipedia never as a primary source, but mainly as a secondary source to back up information provided by Carlin or Lindqvist. Wikipedia is not traditionally described as a valid source by the establishment, as it is not often written by professionals, however, it is almost always well sourced and peer reviewed and edited. This makes it a satisfactory second source.