Giulio Douhet (1869-1930), an Italian military theorist and advocate of the air superiority theory, is known as the "Father of Strategic Air Force". He was the first to systematically expound on the ideas of building and using the air force, and was praised by the West as a pioneer of air force military academics. His air force strategic theory had a profound impact on the air force construction of various countries around the world and the form of world war.
Famous Quotes
Having the right to dominate the air means ensuring victory. Without air supremacy, you are doomed to defeat, and you have to bow your head and accept whatever conditions the winner imposes.
Considering these advantages brought by air supremacy, it should be recognized that air supremacy will have a decisive impact on the outcome of the war.
Life introduction
On May 30, 1869, Douhet was born in Caserta, a town in southern Italy. In his youth, Douhet became an artillery lieutenant after graduating from the Artillery Engineering School in Turin. But he was not satisfied and soon entered Army University for further study. After graduation, he entered Trino Technical School to specialize in electricity.
After the aircraft came out, it quickly attracted Douhet's attention. He paid close attention to every new trend in the development of aircraft, and began to explore the feasibility of using aircraft in war from the perspective of military aviation. At that time, Mahan's theory of sea power was popular among major Western countries. It not only influenced the United States' military building policy, but also quickly aroused strong repercussions in maritime powers such as Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, and they all competed to develop and Expand the navy. However, Douhet proposed that "the acquisition of air superiority will be more important" through research on military aviation and aircraft. He predicted that the use of aircraft in warfare would completely change the face of warfare, leading to the emergence of a new military branch - the air force, as well as air battlefields, air warfare and air combat theory. However, at a time when the military potential of aircraft had not been fully realized and the theory of sea power was still dominant, Douhet's views on air supremacy failed to gain widespread support.
However, the practice of Italian aircraft on the battlefield two years later quickly confirmed Douhet's conclusion. On October 23, 1911, Captain Piazza, commander of the Tripoli Flying Base in Italy, took off from the base in a Brelio XI aircraft and conducted the world's earliest combat reconnaissance flight over the Aziziya Turkish Army position in the Tripoli area. It caused great panic among the Turkish army. On November 1, another Italian pilot, Lieutenant Gavoti, flew an Etlich monoplane to conduct the world's first air raid on Turkish army positions in Ain Zara, North Africa, setting the precedent for aircraft bombing.
With the increasing use of aircraft on the battlefield, Britain took the lead in establishing two flying wings on April 13, 1912 - the "Royal Flying Corps" and the "Royal Naval Air Service". Later, the air fleets of military powers such as France, Germany, and Russia were also established one after another. On June 27, 1912, the Italian government formally established Italy's first air force, the Air Group, in the army, and Douhet was appointed as the first commander. During his nearly three years in office, he organized and participated in flight training while concentrating on the theory of air control, and presided over the compilation of the first aviation combat instruction. He also actively supported the famous Italian aircraft designer Caproni in developing heavy bombers to enhance air attack capabilities. However, at a time when the battlefields were still dominated by land and sea, and the military was still focused on developing the army and navy, Douhet's loud call for the development of the air force seemed quite inappropriate. Moreover, he expressed strong dissatisfaction with the War Department's failure to pay due attention to military aviation, and often expressed opinions that were contrary to the views of the military authorities. As a result, he was dismissed. But Douhet was not discouraged and continued his research.
After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Douhet was re-appointed as chief of staff of the Milan Division and promoted to lieutenant colonel. He advocated organizing aviation units to carry out a thorough offensive to destroy the enemy's military facilities and industrial systems, demoralize the enemy's military and civilians, and force them to surrender. He also strongly suggested the formation of a special bombing force to participate in the war, and wrote to the Italian Supreme Command many times, criticizing its mistakes in strategic guidance. Because his words were too violent, he angered the high command. As a result, Douhet was sentenced to one year in prison by a military court in December 1916 and was released in October 1917.
On October 24, 1917, under the powerful offensive of the Austro-German coalition, the Italian army suffered a disastrous defeat in the Battle of Caporetto. The whole country of Italy was shocked. Not only were military commanders replaced, but a new government was formed. After the new government and parliament investigated the reasons for the defeat, they believed that Douhet's criticism of the Supreme Command was correct, so they restored his reputation in 1918 and appointed him Minister of Aviation in the early summer of that year.
With the further exploration of the military potential of aircraft, fighter jets, bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and carrier-based aircraft have appeared and entered the battlefield. The extensive use of aircraft from both opposing sides made Douhet's view of air supremacy understood and valued by more people.
November 1920. After careful deliberation, the Supreme Court-Martial Council of the Italian Army and Navy formally adopted Douhet's theory of air supremacy. In 1921, Douhet, who had been promoted to brigadier general, systematically organized his views and published them under the title "Air Dominance" by the War Department.
After the publication of the book, it caused great repercussions and was translated into many languages. Some countries even ranked "Air Dominance" with Clausewitz's "On War" and Mahan's "The Influence of Sea Power on History". A must-read for military commanders, staff officers and researchers. In order to further improve his theory, Douhet resigned as Minister of Aviation in 1923 and devoted himself to writing until his death in Rome on February 15, 1930.
Overview of his writings
There are four main works by Douhet on air control: "Air Control" revised in 1921, which comprehensively elaborated his theoretical views; "Air Control" published in 1928 which emphasized the importance of new weapons in the future "The Possible Face of Future War" that played a role in combat; the polemical work "A Brief Retelling" published in 1929; and "The War of 19××" published in 1930 describing the possible face of the future European war. In 1937, these four works were compiled and published in Rome under the name "Supremety of the Air". This book comprehensively expounds the basic viewpoints of its air superiority theory and is the foundation work of bourgeois air force military theory. The main viewpoints include:
1. The use of aircraft in war will lead to a revolution in the style of war. The aircraft enjoys full freedom of movement and direction. It can fly to and from any location along any convenient route in the shortest possible time. People on the ground cannot do anything to interfere with aircraft flying freely in the air. All factors that have historically defined and affected the characteristics of war are powerless against activities in the air. All of this will inevitably bring profound changes to the style of future wars, and the main characteristics of wars will be fundamentally different from any previous wars. It will completely change the face of war and be an important turning point in the history of war development.
2. In the future, war will become a new type of war involving all people, as a whole, without distinction between front and rear, and without distinction between combatants and non-combatants. Future wars will be global in character and scope, and the battlefield will extend to the entire borders of the belligerent countries. All citizens will become a fighting people, because they will be exposed to enemy air attacks. There will no longer be a clear distinction between soldiers and civilians. Defenses on land and sea will no longer protect the country. No victory on land or sea will be possible. One cannot protect one's own people from enemy air attacks unless such victory can capture the enemy's territory and destroy the foundation on which its aviation forces depend. In future wars, one victory or multiple victories on the battlefield will not be enough to determine the outcome of the war. The country's ability to resist depends on all the capabilities, all resources and all the beliefs of both warring parties. The war requires the gathering of huge material and spiritual strength across the country. , while air power can crush the enemy's physical and spiritual resistance.
3. In future wars, the struggle to gain air supremacy is extremely important. Only by hindering the enemy's flight can you ensure your own flight. To gain control of the air is victory, and to lose it is defeat. Seizing air supremacy gives one's own capabilities in four aspects: the ability to carry out large-scale and intense offensive operations against the enemy beyond what people have imagined; the ability to cut off the enemy's land and navy from their base areas, and not only deprive the enemy of the opportunity to fight; possibility, and can deprive the enemy of the possibility of survival; be able to use reliable and resolute methods to defend its territory and territorial waters from any attack; be able to maintain the combat capabilities of its own army and navy, so that its country can operate in the calmest environment Live and build.
Four. Establish an independent air force as powerful as possible. Unless we have an air force that can seize air supremacy in war, adequate national defense cannot be guaranteed. An air force that can maintain supremacy is, by its very nature, independent in structure and independent of the army and navy in operations. . The air force should logically be given the same importance as the army and navy, and an independent air force should be established independent of and alongside the army and navy to ensure the centralized use of air power. The Air Force should always cooperate with the Army and Navy but must remain independent of both. Gradually reduce the army and navy forces while correspondingly increasing the air force until the air force is strengthened enough to seize air supremacy. The air force is the main and decisive force in future wars, but it does not mean that the air force is the only factor in victory.
5. The army, navy and air force constitute an indivisible whole of the country’s armed forces. The use of land, sea and air force in war should be for the same purpose - victory. In order to obtain maximum effect, these forces should be fully coordinated and coordinated with each other. These three forces should be used as ingredients (or elements) of the same product. Only by appropriately selecting the proportion of ingredients can the best results be achieved. The more correct the proportion of these elements, the less the country will spend on national defense. However, even if the proportion of these three elements is correct, if they cannot perfectly coordinate with each other, the maximum effect cannot be obtained. Therefore, on the one hand, the respective commanders of the army, navy and air force are allowed to enjoy maximum freedom of action, and at the same time, in the interests of national defense, the three services are required to implement coordination under the leadership of the highest authority. To this end, an authoritative body is needed to study national defense needs, determine and allocate national resources in correct proportions to the three armies of the army, navy and air force. This body will become the highest command of the three armies and coordinate their activities. It can gain insight into the overall nature of the war, measure the value of the three services without prejudice, and achieve maximum results through their collaboration.
Character Comments
Douhet was the first to systematically propose the theory of air force construction and combat. He was the main founder of the air war theory and had strong foresight and innovative spirit. .
Douhet's ideas on establishing an independent air force, seizing air supremacy, concentrated use of air power, and air offensive have been tested by World War II and have been recognized by many countries. Douhet's "Supremety of the Air" is a foundational work of bourgeois air force military theory. It occupies an important position in the history of military academics and has had a wide impact on the development of air forces in various countries around the world. Some people put "Air Dominance" alongside the famous work "The Influence of Sea Power on History, 1660-1783" by the American naval theorist Mahan, and called Douhet "the Mahan of the Air Force". Due to the limitations of the times, the shortcomings of Douhet's air supremacy theory are also relatively obvious. He exaggerated the status and role of the air force to an inappropriate degree. Many of his views have also been denied by war practice, such as believing that the air battlefield is the decisive battlefield. , mastering air supremacy and carrying out strategic bombing can win victory, etc., all of which are obviously one-sided.