Spare Them the Fate of Warsaw! The Role of Coercive Airpower in the Capitulation of the Netherlands, May 1940

Abstract

This study comprises a historical analysis of the use of coercive airpower by the Luftwaffe during the invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940. A weakness is much of the existing scholarship on the invasion and the bombing of Rotterdam specifically is that authors tend to present binary views on the role of airpower within this operation. On the one hand, there is the common view that the German forces overwhelmed the Dutch defenders and airpower played a supporting role, executing a strategy of denial. On the other hand, some historians view the bombing of Rotterdam as an example of a German strategy of punishment. This debate is indicative of a larger debate in the discourse on airpower theory, which is historically divided in a strategic school and a tactical school. Through his research, the author finds middle ground in both the discussion on the German use of airpower in May 1940, as well as in the theoretical debate.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2019
Accession Number
AD1107514

Entities

People

  • Johannes G. Postma

Organizations

  • Air University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • C4I
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerial Warfare
  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Air Power
  • Attrition
  • Civil War
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Conflicts
  • International Law
  • Lessons Learned
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Second World War
  • Students
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Strategic Security Studies