AIRPOWER STUDIES LESSON PLAN
AS 501: AIRPOWER IN WORLD WAR I
(Lesson 19)
LESSON THESIS:
Before men of vision developed airpower theory there were men like Alfred Thayer Mahan and Sir Julian Corbett who contributed to the growth of naval power through their writings and influence. They believed in control of the sea in much the same way that the interwar theorists you will learn about in the next lesson believed in control of the air.
The Campaign Planning Model describes the contextual elements that are important to understand before strategic objectives can be translated into military objectives and the operational arts that determine what courses of action (COAs) are feasible. These contextual elements and operational arts are essential for the students to understand and keep in mind as they review the military history of the twentieth century. It is by these elements and arts that wars are won and lost.
Over the course of World War I airpower evolved from its infancy, as a "high-ground" observation platform, to embrace essentially all of the modern functions of airpower. This lesson summarizes World War I and traces the evolution of the air arm by exploring the origin of airpower theory as a war-fighting concept through World War I.
World War I presented military leaders and theorists with the problem of positional or trench warfare. Military innovators desperately groped for alternatives to massed frontal assaults on prepared enemy positions. This lesson looks at a combined arms theory known as blitzkrieg, which combined infantry, armor, and airpower to make trench warfare a thing of the past.
LESSON OBJECTIVE(S) (LO) & SAMPLES OF BEHAVIOR(S) (SOB):
LO 501.1 Comprehend airpower development and how it influenced World War I.
SOB 501.11 Explain how naval theory of sea control relates to air superiority.
Alfred Thayer Mahan and Sir Julian Stafford Corbett both believed during their time that gaining control or command of the sea was vital to a nation’s growth, prosperity, and security. They believed that by fielding a dominant Navy, one could assure victory in war by reducing the enemy country’s ability to wage war. This could be achieved not only by defeating that country in a standoff but by also cutting off commerce, communication, and other interest of value. Corbett agreed with Mahan’s theory except that he believed ground forces were also needed. The views and theories of these Naval pioneers shaped Naval warfare much in the same way that Douhet, Trenchard , and Mitchell shaped early air power theory and doctrine. Simply put, "Eventually he who controls the sea can influence, though not totally, what goes on land" (Gough p.6) could be changed to state; "Eventually he who controls the air can influence, though not totally, what goes on land" (Boswell after 3-4 beers). It is important to note that while revolutionary at the time, Mahan and Corbett’s theories had numerous flaws (Weaknesses of Principles pg 12-13). The same would hold true for early air superiority doctrine.
SOB 501.12 Describe the way airpower was used in World War I.
With the development of the airplane, war entered a third dimension. Initially, the airplane was intended only for observation of enemy movements and artillery spotting. By the end of the war aerial photography of enemy trench lines was an indispensable tool of military planners. Of course, such a valuable tool had to be denied to the enemy, and as a result aerial combat began shortly after the war commenced. Airplanes also strafed enemy troops at the front and conducted bombing raids in rear areas. (Snow & Drew pg 34)
From the video:
Neuve-Chapel Offensive, 10 March 1915
- Trenchard and the new combined arms
- Integrated air plan
- Interdiction
Over the Front, 1915-1918
- From shared to contested airspace
- Interdiction
- Close air support
- Controversy and Friction
Bombing Campaigns
- Industry
- Morale
- Air Defense
Anti-submarine Warfare
SOB 501.13 Explain how technology (operational art) affected World War I airpower development.
The transportation revolution was caused by the invention and application of the internal combustion engine that ultimately led to the development of the heavier-than-air aircraft. Also as mentioned earlier, the development of the machine gun interrupter gear smoothed out air-to-air combat.
From the video:
Reliable Technology – escape the landing field
Engines – fly faster, higher, and lift more
Flush Deck Carrier – HMS Argus, Sep 1918 – brought the airplane to the sea
Doctrine
- Counter-air
- Counter-land
- Independent Operations
- Aircraft and Functional Specialization
LO 501.2 Comprehend how the problem of positional warfare influenced the course of war theory and the doctrine of World War I.
SOB 501.21 Explain the problem of positional warfare as confronted by military theorists and commanders during World War 1.
Technological advancements in defensive firepower, combined with linear defense lines that had no tactical flanks, created huge problems for theorists and commanders in the field. There was little to no mobility on the battlefield once the trench-lines were established and firmly in place. This created a new challenge – how to mount offensive operations that could effectively restore mobility to the battlefield. Commanders, by their lack of ingenuity, simply resorted to throwing more soldiers and ammunition to the front line trenches and paid dearly in human life. WWI ended up being a war of attrition, and the side that could no longer supply the front lines would eventually be defeated.
SOB 501.22 Give examples of effectiveness of innovations in tactics and technology on the outcome of the war.
In the area of technology:
- Widespread use of rapid-fire weapons and heavy artillery pieces made defense much easier and
more effective.
- Machine guns and artillery fired more rapidly (200-400 RPMs for machine guns and 6-10
RPMs for artillery) and they were not as smoky as they had been in previous engagements so
they didn’t cloud the battlefield or muck up the weapons as much as the older guns.
-- Submarines
Surface propulsion that could also recharge batteries for running underwater.
Important part of German strategy to starve Britain out of the war
-- Airplanes
Enabled observation and spotting
Machine gun interrupter gears enabled air-to-air combat and strafing
Bombing was introduced
- Invention and application of the internal combustion engine
-- Cars, trucks, tanks, submarines, and heavier-than-air aircraft.
-- Trucks overcame weaknesses of railroads
Railroads were inflexible
Railroads tended to dominate strategy
Trucks provided flexibility
Large-scale battles could now be fought wherever there were roads.
In the area of tactics:
- Most innovative tactics developed by German General Oskar von Hutier (pg. 35)
-- Very short barrage combined with infiltration by assault troops who avoided strong points.
-- Regular infantry followed the assault troops and reduced the bypassed strong points
-- Used extensively in the final German offensive of 1918 with considerable success.
-- BUT, could not move artillery and supplies forward fast enough to sustain the attacks.
-- Foreshadowed Blitzkrieg tactics of WWII
WWI didn't have much new to bring to the battle field in the area of tactics.
SOB 501.23 Identify the contextual elements and operational arts that contributed to the evolution of blitzkrieg tactics.
Contextual Elements:
- Political: Hitler was committed to an expansionist foreign policy. Part of his program included discarding the Disarmament Clauses of the Versailles Treaty
- International Relationships: German officers to experimented with forbidden technologies, including tanks and aircraft, in the Soviet Union, while Russia received much-needed industrial and economic aid.
- Sociocultural Norms: Germany was not afraid to try new doctrine, they weren't bent on
tradition.
- Economics: Russia helped the Germans prepare for WWII in exchange for industrial and economic aid.
- Leadership: General Hans von Seeckt populated the officer corps with handpicked innovators. Heinz Guderian refined and perfected German armored doctrine and was the champion of the armored force within the much larger and ever-expanding army of the early Third Reich.
- Environment
Operational Arts:
- Logistics: The blitzkrieg theorists could not revolutionize the entire German army before WWII, so they put into place an exceedingly well trained and well led WWI style force with a mobile, armored tip.
- Technology: Armored tank, airplane, artillery (combined arms)
- Information
- Targeting Science: A swift armored thrust as part of a combined arms approach to rapidly punch through linear defenses and exploit newfound mobility.
- Deception:
- Measuring Success: German forces punched through Polish linear defenses in 2 days and were operating in the clear by the third day to complete the campaign. The Germans then routed the French within 6 weeks.
(Weaver/Pollock pg.19-22 Muller pg.40-46)
LESSON MATERIALS (Total page count-41, video viewing - 42:16 min.)
LESSON MATERIALS RATIONALE:
The course overview video introduces the Airpower Studies course and the lesson overview video previews AS 501: Airpower in World War I lesson.
The Gough reading introduces the naval theorists Mahan and Corbett whose theories of sea control set the stage for the development of theories on air superiority and later, space control.
The Weaver and Pollock reading explains the concept of contextual elements and operational arts which will be used through out this course to better understand how and why wars are won and lost.
The Snow and Drew reading provides a general political and military overview of World War I.
The Grumelli lecture shows the evolution of airpower doctrine, strategy and force structure.
The Muller reading addresses the major contextual factors, as well as the major historical influences, on the development of the mobile/mechanized warfare concepts known as blitzkrieg.
LESSON INTEGRATION & RATIONALE:
This lesson is key to understanding the beginnings of airpower. It takes the student through World War I where airpower was used in almost all the same roles as it is used today. It presents the seminal theories, technologies and events that formed airpower during this period. Students will see how airpower evolved from its very beginnings as a way to keep track of the enemy to the first theories on how to keep wars from deteriorating into positional warfare in the future.
LESSON OPR:
ACSC/DLC, Airpower Studies Division, DSN 493-6180.