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104 ai r p o w e r in 20 t H Ce n t u ry do C t r i n e s a n d em p l o y m e n t - nat i o n a l ex p e r i e n C e s IV. The German air war doctrine did not provide for a strategic air war and area bombing raids aimed at terrorizing the enemy population in accordance with the considerations of Douhet, Mitchell or Trenchard. This was in line with their omission to develop and produce heavy, four-engine, large-range bomber aircraft. German air warfare during World War II was, however, shifting between “Douhetism on the one hand and complete subordination to Army operations on the other“. 53 For in addition to direct army support operations, the German Air Force, contrary to its air war doctrine, was also waging a strategic air war with the attacks on the cities of Bath, York and Canterbury and later with the V1 and V2 leaflet bombs, thus conducting a dehumanizing war of terror in line with the conception of a “total war”. 53 Michael Forget, Die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Luftwaffe und Heer bei den französischen und deutschen Luftstreitkräften im Zweiten Weltkrieg, in: Boog, Luftkriegführung im Zweiten Weltkrieg (see Note 3), p. 490.
Jo H n Pe at y * The Place of Douhet: A Reassessment Gran Bretagna In this piece I intend to reassess the relationship between Italian General Giulio Douhet and Britain’s Royal Air Force before World War II. Bernard Brodie, in his piece “The Heritage of Douhet”, declared that Douhet (author of “The Command of the Air”) “possessed the largest and most original mind that has thus far addressed itself to the theory of airpower”. Ironically, however, Douhet’s name is certainly more widely known, and his writings are certainly more often read, today than during his own lifetime. Our view of the extent and nature of Douhet’s influence on the thinking of airmen in the 20s and 30s has changed over the years. At one time, during and immediately after WWII, it was widely believed that Douhet’s influence on the air forces of the Great Powers had been pervasive and all-embracing. Hence, it was said, the faith in the bomber that was more or less common to all countries interested in the development of airpower in the inter-war years. Brodie strongly endorsed this view in his piece. Robin Higham later challenged this view, arguing that, on the contrary, Douhet was unknown and of no consequence. Higham’s seemingly definitive assessment has stifled serious debate on this question for decades. In this piece I intend to examine critically the prevailing orthodoxy as to the extent and nature of knowledge and influence of Douhet’s ideas in Britain before WWII, a view epitomised by Higham in an appendix entitled “The Place of Douhet” in his “The Military Intellectuals in Britain”. This piece is based upon research carried out some years ago at the Public Record Office, London and the Caproni Archives, Rome. At the latter I was privileged to be given access to the diaries of aircraft designer Gianni Caproni, Douhet’s supporter and advocate. Inevitably, given the nature of much of the evidence, this piece will raise rather more questions than it can provide answers for. My aim in writing it has been to provoke a debate, a debate in which this subject is seriously addressed, and which will hopefully lead to a thorough examination of all the surviving evidence, both official records and private papers, both in Britain and Italy. I am confident that * Dr John Peaty FRGS FRHistS is International Secretary of the British Commission for Military History. He sits on the Council of the Society for Army Historical Research and is a founder member of the RAF Historical Society. He holds a PhD in War Studies from King’s College London. He has lectured and written widely on military history including airpower.
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National Experiences - British Commission for Military History

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