Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in WarCan air bombardment break the morale of an enemy and force it to capitulate or does it strengthen the enemy's determination to resist? In the first major book since the Vietnam War on the theory and practice of airpower and its political effects, Robert A. Pape helps policy makers judge the purpose of various air strategies, and helps general readers understand the policy debates. Pape examines the air raids on Germany, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq as well as those of Israel versus Egypt, providing details of bombing operations and governmental decision making. His detailed narratives of the strategic effectiveness of bombing range from the classical cases of World War II to an extraordinary reconstruction of airpower use in the Gulf War, based on recently declassified documents. Pape argues convincingly that airpower is no "magic bullet" nor a way to win inexpensively. His conclusions will provoke debate from the highest military circles to the armchair generals in academia and Congress and have ramifications for questions from defense budget cuts to international policy in Bosnia. The wealth of systematically collected evidence should be a source of scholarly debates for years to come. |
Contents
Explaining Military Coercion | 12 |
Coercive Air Power | 55 |
Japan 19441945 | 87 |
Copyright | |
5 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
achieve air attack air campaign air interdiction air strategies aircraft Allied American areas atomic bomb attrition blockade bombers British casualties China Chinese cities civilian vulnerability Coalition coercer coercion coercive air coercive strategies combat Command Communists concessions conventional costs damage decapitation decision defeat defense denial strategies denial theory destroy Douhet strategy Easter Offensive economy effect enemy failure fighting front German Germany's goals ground forces guerrilla Gulf GWAPS Hanoi Hitler industrial inflict invasion Iraq Iraq's Iraqi Japan Japanese Ketsu-Go Korea Korean War Kuwait large numbers leaders Linebacker logistic Luftwaffe major military strategy military vulnerability morale Nazi negotiations North Korea North Vietnam nuclear coercion nuclear weapons offensive operations percent PGMs political population raids regime risk Rolling Thunder Saddam Soviet Union strategic bombing strategic interdiction success surrender Surrender of Japan tactical targets territory theater air threat tion United University Press USSBS victory Vietnamese World World War II York