How The War Was Won: Air-sea Power And Allied V... May 2026

: He argues that land battles were relatively minor in terms of equipment losses and that the Red Army primarily engaged in a war of personnel, while the Anglo-Americans conducted the decisive high-tech material war. Phases of Attrition

: O'Brien defines the true conflict as a thousand-mile-long air-sea "super-battlefield" where the Allies used their industrial might to inhibit Axis movement. How the War was Won: Air-Sea Power and Allied V...

Instead, O'Brien argues that the war was a global struggle for air and sea supremacy, won through production, technology, and the systematic destruction of Axis equipment before it ever reached the "battlefield". Core Arguments : He argues that land battles were relatively

: He posits that air and sea power destroyed over 50% of Axis military equipment during pre-production, production, and transit phases. Core Arguments : He posits that air and

O'Brien categorizes the destruction of Axis fighting power into three distinct phases: : Blocking or destroying raw materials. Production : Strategic bombing of manufacturing facilities.

: Some historians, such as those on WW2Talk , argue that O'Brien underestimates the psychological and physical necessity of land armies to actually "kill the will" of the enemy and occupy territory.

: Attacking equipment while it was in transit to the front lines. Reception and Perspectives