In a doctoral thesis, Ikle suggested that the proponents of airpower had overestimated the relationship between the intensity of aerial bombing and the density of a city’s surviving population. “Ikle devised a simple formula to predict how overcrowded the houses of a bombed-out city might become. If P1 = population of a city before destruction,… Read More
In a doctoral thesis, Ikle suggested that the proponents of airpower had overestimated the relationship between the intensity of aerial bombing and the density of a city’s surviving population. “…the Royal Air Force strategy of targeting residential areas and ‘de-housing’ civilians proved disappointing. The supply of urban housing was much more elastic than expected, as… Read More
In a doctoral thesis, Ikle suggested that the proponents of airpower had overestimated the relationship between the intensity of aerial bombing and the density of a city’s surviving population. “Before the Second World War, British planners had assumed that for every metric ton of high-explosive bombs dropped on a city, about seventy-two people would be… Read More
“In 1949, [Fred Charles] Ikle left his studies in Chicago and travelled through bombed-out Germany. The war hadn’t touched his family directly, and he wanted to know how people coped with devastation on such a massive scale. One of the cities he visited, Hamburg, had suffered roughly the same number of casualties as Nagasaki [target… Read More
“‘It was Schlieffen who coined the apothegm: ‘Great achievements, small display: more reality than appearance,’ and this was a recognition of the qualities of Moltke and his school.” (Guderian, 1990, 454). Apothegm: a concise saying or maxim; an aphorism. Heinz Guderian, a World War I junior officer and World War II General. Creator, trainer and leader of… Read More
“‘First weigh the considerations, then take the risks.’ is a German adage first coined by Field-Marshal Moltke.” (Guderian, 1990, 439). Heinz Guderian, a World War I junior officer and World War II General. Creator, trainer and leader of Germany’s armoured forces during the Second World War. Reference Guderian, H. & Fitzgibbon, C. (trans) (1990) Panzer Leader.… Read More
“A lesson learned from the First World War had taught us that it is necessary to be patient about committing new weapons and that they must be held back until they are being produced in such quantities as to allow their employment in mass. In the First World War the French and British used their… Read More
Boot Camp & Military Fitness Institute 