Friday, January 01, 2010

Why Air Forces Fail - Anatomy of Defeat


Biggest test of government is whether or when war occur it is able to maintain a strategic reality on, through resources, manpower, etc, by understanding the nature and vulnerability of both the enemy and of itself.

Air Force is particularly vulnerable in this context, because of the relatively small part of the warrior section, because of the vulnerability of bases, and of course the high technology and the level of complexity. This creates a dependency of the Air Force and binds the whole civil defense system.

Air Force failures in history come from, as a result, not so much from due date, but due to circumstances. Not technology but foresight caused the failure. Understanding and managing air equation correctly, recognition of the importance of the factors that support, played a central role.

Despite that defeat of air forces may be fast, and instill the feeling that they are fragile, the simplicity of the ultimate end is only a tip of the iceberg of the many complex factors. Therefore two immediate questions arise: Is the loss of air superiority caused the loss of protection for the entire country, and whether it was the only reason.

So for the leaders of the war the question of what are the security margins of air superiority is critical. When the state in war felt that she was going to lose its air space superiority she certain will take every step possible to prevent it.

Air Force can hurt each and every place. At the same, the sense of flight is central to the human soul. As a result, a sense of vulnerability intensifies as a result of air superiority among the citizens, making them full partners to the leadership upheaval. The birds carrys the voice, and a slight change in the balance of air superiority immediately finds expression among the citizens.

Air historian described it this way: "The fact is that bombs from the sky has the unique power of terrorism. When bombs are dropped from a great height, it seems that, quite accidentally, they seem to fall on top of everyone ... exposed to uncontrolled destruction feeling soldeirs fear, as in natural holocaust, that they are tempted to feel that they are completely defenseless, though in reality, if someone is hiding in a trench or even lay on the ground, he is protected fair enough from explosions."

Nazi Germany had strategic failures in grand scale. You can connect the strategic blunders to the moral: The inability to understand the nature of war in the air, as well as incorrect management of the war economy, were bound with her inability to understand human nature, whuch led to the order of final solution and the Holocaust.

The main strategic failure of the Nazis was a lack of evaluation of the potential strategic bomber, born passionately during war, and causing shrinking German space so that every plant had become vulnerable, so the German air defense demanded unlimited resources of manpower and weapons.

Heavy bombing on German soil began some time before the order of final solution was signed. You can see that the trigger of strategic bomber was the last drive for Goering about it. Terminology of the imagination suggest that air bomber harbinger thick clouds of terrible storm, a powerful sense of vulnerability. No wonder Goering felt the need to defend himself in any way, including meanest way.

When the war was before his eyes in the context of rumors, some of which may be based, local Jews directed the Allied bombers at the important goals in Germany.

These days, attempts of al Qaeda to blow up airplanes are parallel to Nazi attempts to gain dictatorial power worldwide through air superiority.

Bibliography: Why Air Forces Fail - Anatomy of Defeat