Page 269 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo II

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aCta
what Warden call the “essential organic functions” (food, oil, electricity), then infrastructures
(roads, airports), then the population, then lastly enemy armed forces.
For most of strategic bombing theoreticians, population is nearly always a center of gravity
and therefore a legitimate objective, leaving naturally aside the legal aspects of this question.

strategic bombing and civiLians
For more clarity, we should distinguish here the theories of strategic bombing, developed
th
in the 20 century by the proponents of air power, and their various applications during mili-
tary conflicts.
A) The theories of strategic bombing
For the classic theoreticians of air power, strategic bombing can be justified by a context
of total war between nation states where all means available to win the war can legitimately
be used.

douhet
General Giulio Douhet is an Italian military thinker which had an important influence on
american doctrine through his main book Il dominio dell’Aria. While Douhet did not only
contemplate attacks on civilian as the main strategy for winning the war (he also advised
striking transportation and industrial vital centers), he is unfortunately only considered as
the advocate of the bombing of civilians. We find in particular in Il dominio dell’Aria many
dramatic and apocalyptic descriptions of the effect that bombing of cities would have on
civilians.
As far as the method of bombing is concerned, Douhet advocated the use of three kinds
of bombs : first, explosive bombs would destroy the buildings and houses of enemy cities,
then incendiary bombs would complete destruction, before a last category of bomb, poison
gas bombs would prevent firemen to enter into the destruction area in order to put out the
fires. although poison gas was not used during the Second World war, it is remarkable that
the combined use of explosive and incendiary bombs was used extensively by the Allies, in
particular during the bombing of Dresden in February 1945.
Concerning the purpose of strategic bombing, Douhet considers bombing as an instru-
ment acting onto the will of the enemy people which should then, facing such punishment,
turn against his own government and forces him to sue for peace.

mitcheLL
Unlike Douhet, American Brigadier General William Mitchell ideas were not original.
Probably influenced by Douhet, which he met in Italy in 1921, Mitchell considers the popula-
tion as a “vital center” worthy of attack, but more that the Italian strategist he advocates also
bombing of factories, harbours, etc. In his last book, Skyways, he emphasised bombing of
cities with toxic gazes in some very douhetian terms, considering that bombing cities would
end war quickly and thus save lives in the long term.