Air Power in War

Air, Land, and Sea Warfare: Sir Arthur Tedder on the Strategic Lessons of the World War

Air, LAnD AnD SeA wArfAre Sir Arthur Tedder on the Strategic Lessons of the World War general Sir Hastings ismay, K.C.B., D.S.o., took the chair at the royal United Service institution on January 9 when Marshal of the royal Air force Sir Arthur Tedder, g.C.B., (soon to be known by a still more august title) delivered a lecture on “Air, Land and Sea warfare.” general ismay, with his experience as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Defence, was a very suitable chairman for a lecture, which laid heavy stress on the need for all three Services to work together. Sir Arthur began by explaining that he had not written his lecture as Chief of the Air Staff, but as the recent Deputy Supreme Commander under general eisenhower, and the views[he would express were his personal opinions. He mentioned that after the San francisco Conference field Marshal Smuts had described the peace at which all were aiming as “Peace with Teeth.” Sir Arthur said that the teeth must be sound. we must analyse the lessons of the late war, and dig out the underlying truth. we must ask ourselves whether our national war effort had been employed in the most economical way, and also ask why the germans lost the war. By economy he meant efficiency, not doing things on the cheap. A nation at war was like a boxer, who must have the right muscles developed so that he gets each punch home with the maximum effect and the minimum effort. in the first great war we had started with a slogan of “Business as usual,” but we found it did not pay, and gave it up. in the recent war germany tried to maintain “Business as usual” in some respects up to 1944. ...