Editing Giulio Douhet (section)

== Biography ==
Born in [[Caserta]], [[Campania]], [[Italy]], from a family of [[Savoy]]ard exiles who had migrated there after the [[Treaty of Turin (1860)|cession of Savoy to France]]<ref name="airpower">Douhet, Giulio ''The Command of the Air'' (Editors' Introduction), Coward McCann (1942), Office of Air Force History 1983 reprint, 1993 new imprint by Air Force History and Museums Program, {{ISBN|0-912799-10-2}}, p. vii-viii</ref> he attended the [[Military Academy of Modena]] and was [[commissioned officer|commissioned]] into the [[artillery]] of the Italian Army in 1882.<ref name="airpower"/> Later he attended the [[Polytechnic Institute in Turin]] where he studied science and engineering.<ref>Col. Phillip S. Meilinger, The Paths of Heaven: The Evolution of Air Power Theory (Alabama, 1997), p.1.</ref>

Assigned to the General Staff, after the beginning of the new century, Douhet published lectures on military mechanization.<ref name="Meilinger"/> With the arrival of [[airship|dirigibles]] and then fixed-wing aircraft in Italy, he quickly recognized the military potential of the new technology. Douhet saw the pitfalls of allowing air power to be fettered by ground commanders and began to advocate the creation of a separate air arm commanded by airmen. He teamed up with the young aircraft engineer [[Gianni Caproni]] to extol the virtues of air power in the years ahead.<ref name="Meilinger"/>

In 1911, Italy went to war against the [[Ottoman Empire]] for control of [[Libya]]. During the war, aircraft operated for the first time in reconnaissance, transport, artillery spotting and even limited bombing roles. Douhet wrote a report on the aviation lessons learned in which he suggested high altitude bombing should be the primary role of aircraft.<ref name=Meilinger>{{cite book|last1=Meilinger|first1=Philip S.|title=The Paths Of Heaven: The Evolution Of Airpower Theory|date=2000|publisher=Lancer Publishers|location=New Delhi, India|isbn=9788170622826|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pb5KxjjN64gC&pg=PP1}}</ref>{{rp|3}} In 1912, Douhet assumed command of the Italian aviation battalion at Turin and wrote a set of ''Rules for the Use of Airplanes in War'' (''Regole per l'uso degli aeroplani in guerra'') — one of the first doctrine manuals of its kind.<ref name="Meilinger"/> However, Douhet's preaching on air power marked him as a radical. After an incident in which he ordered construction of Caproni bombers without authorization, he was exiled to the infantry.

When [[World War I]] began, Douhet began to call for Italy to launch a massive military build-up, particularly in aircraft. "To gain command of the air," he said, was to render an enemy "harmless".<ref name="Meilinger"/> When [[Military history of Italy during World War I|Italy entered the war]] in 1915 Douhet was shocked by the army's incompetence and unpreparedness.<ref name="Meilinger"/>{{rp|5}} He proposed a force of 500 bombers<ref name="airpower"/> that could drop 125 tons of bombs daily<ref name="Meilinger"/> to break the bloody stalemate with Austria, but he was ignored.<ref name="airpower"/> He corresponded with his superiors and government officials, criticising the conduct of the war and advocating an air power solution.<ref name="Meilinger"/>{{rp|5}} Douhet was court-martialed and was imprisoned for one year for criticizing Italian military leaders in a memorandum to the cabinet.<ref name="airpower"/>

Douhet continued to write about air power from his cell, finishing a novel on air power and proposing a massive Allied fleet of aircraft in communications to ministers.<ref name="Meilinger"/>{{rp|6}} He was released and returned to duty shortly after the disastrous [[Battle of Caporetto]] in 1917.<ref name="Meilinger"/>{{rp|6}} Douhet was recalled to service in 1918 to serve as head of the Italian Central Aeronautic Bureau.<ref name="airpower"/>

He was exonerated in 1920 and promoted to general officer in 1921. The same year, he completed a hugely-influential treatise on [[strategic bombing]], ''The Command of the Air'' (''Il dominio dell'aria''), and retired from military service soon after. Except for a few months as the head of aviation in [[Benito Mussolini]]'s government in 1922, Douhet spent much of the rest of his life theorizing about the impact of military air power.<ref name="airpower"/>

Douhet died of a heart attack in 1930 in [[Rome]], Italy.<ref name="airpower"/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giulio-Douhet|title=Giulio Douhet}}</ref>