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DTIC ADA444145: The Myth of Strategic Airpower: Ignoring the Nature of War

In the aftermath of the carnage of World War I, military theorists struggled to come to grips with the changing character and conduct of war. The full effects of industrialization had led to warfare on a scale and scope far surpassing any pre-war conceptions. The quick victory envisioned in 1914 was lost in the realities of stalemate on the Western Front, the cold waters of the North Atlantic, and for the first time in the skies over all of the belligerents. Could this new third dimension of aerial warfare fulfill the quest for the quick decisive victory that had eluded commanders in World War I? From early air power theorists came the resounding answer -- yes! The vision of the advocates of warfare in this new dimension offered a new panacea. Free from the constraints of the mud and gore of ground combat, and able to strike in depth directly at strategic targets, air power promised a swift decision. Unfortunately, these new prophets, while correctly recognizing the changes in the character and conduct of warfare, had ignored the enduring nature of war, which was first addressed by the 19th century military strategist Carl von Clausewitz. For this enduring nature would expose their

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