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“Rhetoric and Reality in Air Warfare: the Evolution of British and American Ideas About Strategic Bombing, 1914-1945” by Tami Davis Biddle
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How much do our own ideas shape our perspectives? Can our own rhetoric become an insulating hubris, shielding us from the objective truth? Biddle tackles these questions through the case of Allied strategic bombing campaigns through both World Wars. Many speculated that the airplane would change warfare by holding entire populations at risk, bringing their governments to the negotiating table once enough pain had been endured. These theories grew into a religion as British & American airmen pushed for independent bombing campaigns against civilian and industrial targets. The true efficacy of these campaigns has been hotly debated but one thing is clear: no amount of bombs can kill an idea. An airplane can certainly degrade an industrial center or cripple a nation, but people are tougher stock than these early strategic bombing zealots gave them credit for. Despite this fact, the hubris carried through well after WWII and is still being debated today. While the battle for an independent Air Force was won long ago, airmen still grapple with the justifications used nearly a century ago. Does bombing compel people to submit in war? Ask the Germans, Japanese, or more specifically, the occupants of Dresden and Tokyo. Their stories may surprise you. 💣🔥☢️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
How much do our own ideas shape our perspectives? Can our own rhetoric become an insulating hubris, shielding us from the objective truth? Biddle tackles these questions through the case of Allied strategic bombing campaigns through both World Wars. Many speculated that the airplane would change warfare by holding entire populations at risk, bringing their governments to the negotiating table once enough pain had been endured. These theories grew into a religion as British & American airmen pushed for independent bombing campaigns against civilian and industrial targets. The true efficacy of these campaigns has been hotly debated but one thing is clear: no amount of bombs can kill an idea. An airplane can certainly degrade an industrial center or cripple a nation, but people are tougher stock than these early strategic bombing zealots gave them credit for. Despite this fact, the hubris carried through well after WWII and is still being debated today. While the battle for an independent Air Force was won long ago, airmen still grapple with the justifications used nearly a century ago. Does bombing compel people to submit in war? Ask the Germans, Japanese, or more specifically, the occupants of Dresden and Tokyo. Their stories may surprise you. 💣🔥☢️