Europe
The Survey was formed on 3 November 1944 by Henry Stimson in response to a directive by President Roosevelt. The Survey was tasked with producing an impartial report on the effects of the bombing against Nazi Germany, in order to:
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- aid the upcoming campaign against the Japanese home islands,
- to establish a basis for evaluating the importance and potentialities of air power as an instrument of military strategy,
- for planning the future development of the United States armed forces, and
- for determining future economic policies with respect to the national defense.
The Report, along with some 200 supporting documents, was released on 30 September 1945. The major conclusion of the report was that strategic bombing, particularly the destruction of the oil industry and truck manufacturing had greatly contributed to the success of the Allies in World War II. However, despite the overall contribution of the bombing, the survey concluded that the impact of strategic bombing could not be separated from the general collapse of Germany in 1945.
Read more about this topic: Strategic Bombing Survey
Famous quotes containing the word europe:
“I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards to avenge even a look that threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone. That of sophisters, economists and calculators has succeeded; and the glory of Europe is extinguished forever.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)
“Of all the errors which can possibly be committed to the education of youth, that of sending them to Europe is the most fatal. I see [clearly] that no American should come to Europe under 30 years of age.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“Should the German people lay down their arms, the Soviets ... would occupy all eastern and south-eastern Europe together with the greater part of the Reich. Over all this territory, which with the Soviet Union included, would be of enormous extent, an iron curtain would at once descend.”
—Joseph Goebbels (1897–1945)