Essay on The Role of the Royal Air Force in World War II

The technological developments that assisted bombing, the impact of bombing on the German economy, the impact of bombing on the German civilian morale and also the effects on the German war effort all help explain why the Allied strategic bombing of Germany during the Second World War was significant to quite a far extent. Each of the following paragraphs will analyse the impacts of the Allied strategic bombing on different aspects of Germany and also what factors assisted the Allied bombing campaign in creating a significant impact on Germany during the Second World War.

Beginning with the economic aspect, by bombing Germany, the Allies strived to damage their economy, as well as

The vastly improved technology on the B-29 bomber allowed it to do something no other plane could do before. This was easily and safely invading enemy airspace (“bomber”). It easily invaded enemy airspace by flying higher than other planes could easily dispatch and flying faster than it took the enemies to realize there had even been a bomber until the bomb struck and the bomber was safe and sound away from the blast. That way many less dogfights had to take place and entire armies did not have to be sent to attack a target that could be brought down much more efficiently (Powell 417). The planes abilities were used to target weak points of the other side and terrorise the enemies of the Allied powers. There was much less deaths of attackers and much more success when they used airplanes.

Strategically for the allies, the North African campaign was very significant. Britain had retained control of Egypt and the Suez Canal; important as it provided a quick route to India and the Far East where allied forces were fighting the Japanese. This was particularly important as Singapore had already been lost in the Far East. The allies held the Middle-Eastern oil fields and supplies and denied Germany any access. The shortages of resources on the Axis

In this essay I will assess the significance of strategic bombing of Germany. I will do this by evaluating four key areas of the German war effort. This will include German and British moral, German economy, its effect on the outcome of the Eastern Front and the results of the preparation for D-Day. Overall allied bombing did not have a significant impact on the outcome of the war as for the majority of the war bombing techniques and technology were primitive and so had little effect. It only became a threatening tool latter on in the war, when the allies had effectively won.

When the United States entered the war in 1941 the conflagration had been raging for two years. The strategic decision made by the allied powers was “Germany First” (Morton 11). That is to say that they allies decided to concentrate resources in Europe before turning towards the Pacific. One of the key strategies employed was strategic bombing (Stockings 6-20). In this the allies would attack from the air, the enemies ability to wage war by destroying infrastructure, war production, fuel supplies and the like. A prime target on the attack list was the German oil production facilities at Ploesti in Romania.

Allied strategic bombing during the Second World War did not achieve its intended objective, which was to break German morale and bring about the swift defeat of Germany. However it did have a very significant impact and assisted the allied victory. There are diplomatic and economic reasons why the bombing campaign was significant. It also had a large impact on morale both in Germany and in Britain and effected outcomes on the fighting fronts in Second World War by impairing the German forces. The significance of the strategic bombing campaign has to be measured in terms of its effect as compared with the effect of other actions taken by the allies. This essay will argue that the real significance of allied strategic bombing was in capping

In the years since 1945, it has become increasingly evident that the alliance between the British and the United States was often in disagreement over the correct strategy to insure the final defeat of the Axis powers. Early on, both British and American staffs could agree that Germany represented a greater military threat than Japan, but they did not often see eye to eye on the strategy that would most efficiently defeat them.

The development of the allied military strategy in World War II (WWII) presented challenges for the U.S. and Great Britain as they worked together to defeat the Axis powers. First, this paper will review the environment at the time of WWII when Admiral Stark penned the “Plan Dog” memorandum and MAJ Wedemeyer’s War Defense Team put together the “Victory Plan”. Next, it will look at the advantages and disadvantages of coalition operations with supporting examples. Then, a review of two major meetings between U.S. and Great Britain will identify what strategic decisions were made and the effects they have on the war. Finally, this paper will explore the foundations of strategy (Clausewitz and Sun Tzu) by which the allied forces used and

c. Option Two: Maintain aerial supremacy on a local basis, and utilize our heavy bombers to disrupt targets in France, and lighter aircraft for rapid close air support to prevent any counterattack of the German forces, with the specific objective of furthering the immediate advance of the Allied armies. In addition, close air support has proven to be the most effective means of combating the German Panzers, with our own armored units experiencing difficulty due to insufficient

During the Great War bombing was a new idea that was just spawned. The idea of throwing bombes out of planes was the beginning of a new way of warfare. As time advanced bombs were mounted on the bottom of bigger planes with small turret gunners to protect the bomber from enemy planes. During the thirties there was new ideas about ways of using bombers and how it would affect warfare. In Overy it says that many people like H.G. Wells in his book War in the Air shows how terrifying and chaotic bombers can be in war to civilians. Others like the Bomber Command loved the idea of bombing and thought it would be a way to win the war by devastating

In 1943, the British and American Allies shared a common language and a common enemy, but they disagreed on the war’s grand strategy. These strategic differences culminated in the Sicily Campaign when Allied Command and Control exercised by General Eisenhower, Allied Commander, failed to employ the three essential attributes of Mission Command: commander’s intent, full understanding, and mutual trust among partners, as discussed in General Dempsey’s white paper. These failures in Mission Command also limited the Allies’ ability to effectively integrate the vital and complementary joint functions of Fires, as well as Movement and Maneuver. This essay will evaluate the Allies’ Command and Control function, their integration of the

Both the Axis and Allies saw overseas French forces as the decisive advantage that would allow them to achieve their differing objectives in the Mediterranean.

The decision to invade North Africa “reflected the triumph of British strategic arguments over those of the Americans” as the Americans were pushing for an invasion in northern France as early as 1942. American military leadership, however, was not sold on the logic or necessity of a North African campaign. General George C. Marshall, the architect of American military strategy, wanted no part of a US commitment to a Mediterranean campaign. The decision to commit American troops in North Africa came directly from President Roosevelt, who overruled the advice of Marshall and his military advisers on this point.

The Battle of Crete began May 20th, 1941. Nazi Germany launched an airborne attack called Operation Merkur or Operation Mercury on the island of Crete. This battle will be important because it will hold great influence over the course of the war in the means of power. The Greek, Allied forces and even civilians attempted to defend the island and after day one the Germans suffered heavy casualties. The next day, the Allies were confident they could gain control back but they would have miscommunications that would lead to Germany gaining Maleme Airfield and flying in reinforcements to overwhelm the defenders of the island. This research is being used to answer the question why the