From Douhet's terror theory to area bombing

Paul uses Coventry to question the assumption that destroying cities would break civilian morale. Alex places that expectation in early air-power theory and attributes to Giulio Douhet a vision of overwhelming attacks on cities, including biological weapons, presented as an alternative to another Somme. The exact figures and formulation are his characterization here, rather than a quotation checked against Douhet's text. The practical argument then turns to navigation: attacking an industrial facility is difficult when aircraft cannot reliably find and mark it. Workers' housing becomes a larger indirect target, with displacement expected to disrupt factory labor. Alex adds that sustained disruption would require repeat attacks every few weeks to frustrate rebuilding, making the campaign more prolonged than a promise of quick surrender suggests.