Editing Strategic bombing (section)

===World War I===
{{main|Strategic bombing during World War I|German strategic bombing during World War I}}
[[File:Air Raid rehearsal 1918.jpg|thumb|A 1918 Air Raid rehearsal, evacuating children from a hospital.]]
Strategic bombing was used in World War I, though it was not understood in its present form. The first [[aerial bombing of cities|aerial bombing of a city]] was on 6 August 1914 when the German Army Zeppelin Z VI bombed, with artillery shells, the Belgian city of [[Liège]], killing nine civilians.<ref>{{harvnb|Boyne|2003|p=[https://archive.org/details/influenceofairpo0000boyn/page/99 99]}}</ref> The second attack was on the night of 24–25 August 1914, when eight bombs were dropped from a German airship onto the Belgian city of [[Antwerp]].<ref>{{harvnb|Flight|1914|p=906<!-- later Paris on 28 August (see page 920)-->}}</ref>

The first effective strategic bombing was pioneered by the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] (RNAS) in 1914.<ref>{{harvnb|Tucker|Wood|Murphy|1999|p=13}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Benbow|2011|p=29}}</ref> The mission was to attack the [[Zeppelin]] production lines and their [[airship hangar|sheds]] at [[Cologne]] (Köln) and [[Düsseldorf]]. Led by [[Charles Rumney Samson]], the force of four aircraft inflicted minor damage on the sheds. The raid was repeated a month later with slightly more success. Within a year or so, specialized aircraft and dedicated [[bomber]] squadrons were in service on both sides. These were generally used for tactical bombing; the aim was that of directly harming enemy troops, strongpoints, or equipment, usually within a relatively small distance of the front line. Eventually, attention turned to the possibility of causing ''indirect'' harm to the enemy by systematically attacking vital rear-area resources.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

The most well known attacks were those done by Zeppelins over England through the course of the war. The first aerial bombardment of English civilians was on January 19, 1915, when two Zeppelins dropped 24 fifty-kilogram (110-pound) [[high-explosive]] bombs and ineffective three-kilogram incendiaries on the Eastern England towns of [[Great Yarmouth]], [[Sheringham]], [[King's Lynn]], and the surrounding villages. In all, four people were killed and sixteen injured, and monetary damage was estimated at £7,740 (about US$36,000 at the time). German airships also bombed on other fronts, for example in January 1915 on [[Liepāja]] in Latvia.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-2008-0051, Frankreich, Bombardierung Calais.jpg|thumb|upright|left|German airship bombing [[Calais]] on the night of 21–22 February 1915]]
In 1915 there were 19 more raids, in which 37 tons of bombs were dropped, killing 181 people and injuring 455. Raids continued in 1916. London was accidentally bombed in May, and in July the Kaiser allowed directed raids against urban centers. There were 23 airship raids in 1916, in which 125 tons of ordnance were dropped, killing 293 people and injuring 691. Gradually British air defenses improved. In 1917 and 1918, there were only 11 Zeppelin raids against England, and the final raid occurred on August 5, 1918, which resulted in the death of KK [[Peter Strasser]], commander of the German Naval Airship Department.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

By the end of the war, 51 raids had been undertaken, in which 5,806 bombs were dropped, killing 557 people and injuring 1,358. These raids caused only minor hampering of wartime production, by later standards. A much greater impact was the diversion of twelve aircraft squadrons, many guns, and over 10,000 men to air defenses. The raids generated a wave of hysteria, partially caused by media. This revealed the tactic's potential as a weapon that was of use for propagandists on both sides. The late Zeppelin raids were complemented by the [[Gotha G.IV|Gotha]] bomber, which was the first<ref>{{harvnb|Castle2017}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|O'Connell|1990}}</ref> [[heavier-than-air]] bomber to be used for strategic bombing.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

The French army on June 15, 1915, attacked the German town of [[Karlsruhe]], killing 29 civilians and wounding 58. Further raids followed until the Armistice in 1918. In a raid in the afternoon of June 22, 1916, the pilots used outdated maps and bombed the location of the abandoned railway station, where a circus tent was placed, killing 120 persons, most of them children.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

The British also stepped up their strategic bombing campaign. In late 1915, the order was given for attacks on German industrial targets, and the 41st Wing was formed from units of the RNAS and [[Royal Flying Corps]]. The RNAS took to the strategic bombing in a bigger way than the RFC, who were focused on supporting the infantry actions of the Western Front. At first, the RNAS attacked the German submarines in their moorings and then steelworks further in targeting the origin of the submarines themselves.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

In early 1918 they operated their "round the clock" bombing raid, with lighter bombers attacking the town of [[Trier]] by day and large [[Handley-Page O/400|HP O/400s]] attacking by night. The [[Independent Force, RAF|Independent Force]], an expanded bombing group, and the first independent strategic bombing force, was created in April 1918. By the end of the war, the force had aircraft that could reach [[Berlin]], but these were never used.{{cn|date=April 2025}}