Douhet was an Italian who formulated the theory of Air Power. According to Duhat, a favorable air situation from the air and a strategic shelling were the victory recipe in the war. It is no doubt that Dowet is a man who was witnessed in the distance and has made a contribution to the formulation of his theory on the Air Force.
However, Vietnam is a different fish hook and it is mysterious that Dout's assertion that aerodynamics is the only requirement for victory on the ground is correct. In Vietnam, the US Air Force certainly had full control over the sky situation and the sky. In addition, US President Lindon Johnson ordered a strategic shelling of military goals against North Vietnam.
The US Air Force militarily carried out a massive bombing from Guam and its base in Japan. Target & # 39; in a sustainable manner. However, this favorable aviation situation and deterrence by the B 52 bomber could not turn to a positive result on the ground. Vietnam, supported by North Korea, slowly annihilated the will of the United States in order to attack a massive amount of the US military and cause war in a hostile environment.
The study of Douhets theory shows that Vietnam is not a test case because the basic elements of aerodynamics are thoroughly ignored. First come to the bombing of North Vietnam. It was not a deterrent in itself, as the goal was carefully chosen. damage. In addition, Johnson and his colleague chose the goal in mind of the epidemic political situation and world viewing against the US bombing of North Vietnam.
Thus, the US Air Force never had the targets and bombing of North Vietnam freely. His theory Douhet did not anticipate the restriction. Come to the second point of the favorable air situation in South Vietnam by air bombing. USAF certainly had a dominance, he was fully acquainted with the air. But the consistent topography of the thick tropical jungle provided natural camouflage to enemies that are difficult to track from the air.
The Douhets concept of a convenient air situation was pointing to the traditional meaning of battle between opposing troops. The war in Vietnam is a guerrilla war and cooked by irregular persons. Because the enemy could become a body of either, not the traditional war, the U.S. army on the ground was strongly asked to distinguish between friends and enemies.
The solution was all possible war because of political constraints. It is because the Douhets theory seems suspicious in Vietnam. However, as it has been pointed out that the United States has never applied the Douhets theory, he paid the price of half measures. In modern warfare, do not forget that there are no stop gaps or ambivalence in every field. .
