G-Planes, R-Planes, and Zeppelins: Germany’s Strategic Bombing Campaign in the First World War

The Nazis’ attempt to bomb Great Britain into submission in 1940 and 1941 represented Hitler’s most destructive method of forcing Britain out of the Second World War, but it was not the first time London and other cities had experienced such attacks. From 1915 to 1918, aircraft from Imperial Germany’s army and navy sought to circumvent the need to continue the ground war by employing then then-new technique of aerial bombing to break the will of the British people to continue the war. The experiences of both the bombers and the bombed offered many lessons for those curious enough to look for them.

Tom Hanson is a professor of military history at the US Army’s Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Minnesota, and master’s and doctoral degrees in history from The Ohio State University. He previously served on the faculties of the US Military Academy at West Point, New York; George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia; the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Canberra, Australia; the School of Advanced Military Studies’ Advanced Strategic Leadership Studies Program; and as director of the CGSC Department of Military History in 2017 and 2018. He is the author of several articles and book chapters on various historical subjects and of the book Combat Ready? The Eighth US Army on the Eve of the Korean War 1949-1950 (2010), which earned a place on the US Army Chief of Staff’s Professional Reading List in 2017.  He retired from the US Army in 2017 after more than 28 years of service.

The Ft. Leavenworth Series is an annual roster of lectures focusing on significant historical events, usually with an emphasis on military history. Each lecture is presented by faculty from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. Established by General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1881, the CGSC is the graduate college for U.S. Army and sister service officers. The esteemed faculty and guests of the CGSC provide unique and captivating insights into the history of military conflict from the ancient to the modern ages at the Dole Institute of Politics.

The opinions expressed herein are those of the individual and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency.