ABSTRACT
A raid by 14 German Gotha aircraft on London in June 1917 had a special impact on British appraisals of the potential of strategic bombing. The man who many later credited with having the greatest influence on the theory of strategic air power was the Italian general Giulio Douhet. He visualized bombing raids that would paralyze industry and civilian morale and make continued resistance impossible. These raids actually caused more difficulty for the advancing Allied troops than for the German defenders. Even in Britain, where enthusiasm for strategic bombing ran highest, the Royal Air Force (RAF) made little progress toward the development of an adequate bomber force prior to the war. Roosevelt and Churchill agreed at the Casablanca conference in January 1943 that Allied air forces would continue both approaches to strategic bombing. This would be referred to as Operation Pointblank, the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO), or Round the Clock Bombing.
