Giulio Douhet Quotes

Giulio Douhet was born in Caserta, Campania, Italy. He was an Italian general and air power theorist. He was a key proponent of strategic bombing in aerial warfare. He studied science and engineering at Polytechnic Institute in Turin. In 1912 he assumed command of the Italian aviation battalion at Turin, where he wrote a set of Rules for the Use of Airplanes in War—one of the first doctrine manuals of its kind. Trained as an artillery officer, from 1912 to 1915 he served as commander of the Aeronautical Battalion, Italy’s first aviation unit. Largely because of his efforts, the three-engine Caproni bomber was ready for use by the time Italy entered World War I. He soon grasped the potential of air power and at every opportunity expounded his theories. His severe criticism of the conduct of the war resulted in his court-martial, imprisonment, and retirement. But investigation of the Italian defeat at Caporetto in 1917 justified his criticisms; his conviction was reversed, and he was appointed head of the aviation service.