Chronicles the history of battlefield air attack from 1911, when the airplane was first used in war, to the end of World War II.
ForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroductionTHE FIRST WORLD WARThe Military and the AirplaneThe Birth of Military Aviation, 1903–1914The Nature of Conflict in the Great WarThe Air War and Aviation TechnologyGround Attack on the Western Front, 1917–1918From the Somme to CambraiThe 1918 OffensiveSt. MihielThe Palestine Campaign of 1918Setting the StageWadi el Far'aGreat War Air Support in RetrospectAircraft and OperationsIdentification and CommunicationsAircraft and TanksSMALL CONFLICTS OF THE INTERWAR YEARSEmergent Ground-Attack Doctrine and TechnologyAttack Aircraft Development in the Interwar YearsGround-Attack Aviation and Military ThoughtSmall Wars of the 1920s and 1930sThe Russo-Polish War of 1920The British “Air Control” ExperienceThe Rif War in MoroccoThe Sandino War in NicaraguaABYSSINIA, SPAIN, AND WAR IN ASIAThe Abyssinian WarBackground to WarThe Air CampaignThe Spanish Civil WarMyths, Realities, and the Nature of the Air WarThe Beginnings of Spanish Air SupportThe Battle of GuadalajaraThe Maturation of Spanish Air Support: Bilbao, Brunete, Teruel, and the EbroThe Spanish LegacyLessons Read and MisreadFranceGermanyThe Soviet UnionWar in AsiaThe Sino-Japanese WarThe Nomonhan IncidentTHE SECOND WORLD WARThe BlitzkriegThe Invasion of PolandThe Battle for FranceThe Allied RiposteThe Lessons of BlitzkriegThe Genesis of Anglo-American Air Support: The British Experience in the Western DesertFrom Peace to WarWestern Desert BeginningsThe Crusader ExperienceFrom Crusader to El AlameinThe Necessary Interlude: Doctrine and the American Experience in the Pacific, Tunisian, and Italian CampaignsThe Pacific Experience: Guadalcanal, New Guinea, and BougainvilleKasserine and Its AftermathFM 100–20: The AAF's “Declaration of Independence”The Aftermath of Tunisia and FM 100–20Sicily……and ItalyA Deadly Efficiency: Anglo-American Air Support in Western EuropePreparations for Overlord and the Götterdämmerung of the LuftwaffeThe Allied Tactical Air ForcesThe Invasion and the Structure of Air SupportAir Pro and Contra ArmorAllied Air over the BattlefieldCobra: The Heavy Bomber in Air SupportTacAir Omnipotent: Mortain and the Falaise-Argentan PocketAnglo-American Tactical Air Power: A Retrospective ViewBattlefield Air Support in the East: The Case of KurskThe Nazi Blitz and Soviet ReactionRestructuring and Rebuilding the Soviet Army Air ForceGerman Schlachtflugzeug in the EastSetting the Stage for Kursk: Soviet Air Support Developments, 1941–1943Preparations for CitadelThe Battle of KurskAftermathEPILOGUE: WHERE WE HAVE COME, WHERE WE ARE, WHERE WE ARE GOINGGlossarySource NotesSelected BibliographyIndex
Richard P. Hallion retired as Senior Advisor for Air and Space Issues, Directorate for Security, Counterintelligence and Special Programs Oversight at the Pentagon. Among other works he is also the author of The Naval Air War in Korea, Rise of the Fighter Aircraft, 1914-1918, and Legacy of Flight: The Guggenheim Contribution to American Aviation.
Air Vice-Marshal R. A. Mason, RAF, CBE, was air secretary and director general of Personnel Management for the Royal Air Force Ministry of Defence and coauthor of Air Power in the Nuclear Age and The Soviet Air Forces.
