On Wed, 11 Feb 2004 12:04:51 -0800, "W. D. Allen Sr."
wrote:

Which country first practised strategic bombing?

WDA

Here's the short bio of the guy I always thought was the theorist:

Douhet, Giulio, 1869–1930, Italian military officer and early advocate
of airpower. He was an early supporter of strategic bombing and the
military superiority of air forces. He served in World War I,
organizing Italy’s bombing campaign, but was court-martialed for
criticizing the Italian high command by publicly declaiming Italy’s
aerial weakness. He was released when his theories were proven true by
the defeat of Italian arms by the Austrian Air Force at Caporetto. He
was later recalled and was promoted (1921) to general. In 1922 he was
appointed head of Italy’s aviation program by Benito Mussolini. His
book Command of the Air (1921) was very influential, especially in
Great Britain and the United States and was regarded as a classic by
early airpower theorists. He argued that command of an enemy’s air
space and subsequent bombing of industrialized centers would be so
disruptive and destructive that the pressure for peace would be
overwhelming. He maintained that control of the air could win a war
regardless of land or sea power. Douhet’s theories remain very
popular, especially among military aviators. He is known as the father
of airpower.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8