September 9, 2007
The Blitz II Posted by John Steele Gordon at 09:55 AM EST The book that caused me to abandon the conventional wisdom on the effect of bombing in World War II was Richard Overy’s Why the Allies Won, which I found compelling. It goes into much more than just the effects of airpower, of course. I’d be very interested in Fredric Smoler’s opinion of it. Overy makes the point that the allied bombing of Germany had significant military effects over and above the destruction of German manufacturing and transportation facilities it achieved and its morale effect on the German population. For one, it forced the Nazis to divert enormous resources in artillery and aircraft away from the Eastern Front, where they might have proved crucial to victory. And, of course, had the Germans developed a strategic bomber, capable of heavy loads and long range, the ability of the Soviets to move their armaments factories eastward, out of range of the Luftwaffe, would have been greatly complicated.
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