" OBLITERATION " BOMBINb
Snt,—Air warfare presents an entirely new aspect of war to the super- ficial observer and a curious instance of this is provided by the letter of Mr. Johnstone in your last issue. All the objections he raises against air attacks on German cities apply to other forms of attack, but Mr. Johnstone does not appear to notice it. The tfuth is, of course, that war means the breakdown of law and reason and the substitution of force. It is crude and barbarous, yet, what is the alternhtive? -If we had been handicapped throughout this war by civilised considerations, where should we be now? Probably a vassal of Germany. The price we have to pay for being master in our own, house is a temporary lapse into barbarism ; it is horrible and humiliating, but the death of men, women and children in German cities is no greater horror than a tor- pedoed ship in icy waters, an aeroplane brought down in flames, or a mortally wounded soldier lingering on the torrid sands of Africa.
Before 1914 we did not understand the realities of war. We were able to confine it to the wild and unconsidered corners of the earth. We only saw a bowdlerised version through the medium of the illustrated Press, the Adelphi and Drury Lane, set to the stirring music of "Tommy Atkins" and "The Soldiers of the Queen." We saw it as "The Thin Red Line," with every soldier wounded in a mentionable place. Now we know better. War embraces us all, and it is right that it should be
so. In a world of suffering, the German nation cannot claim exemption. Forty years ago we should have thought the heroism that is necessary to make an air attack outside the bounds of possibility, and reason. Let us at least respect this heroism. An air attack is no coward's blow. Our men, in attacking a German city, take greater risks and face greater terrors than those whom they attack. If men can endure so much for a cause they believe to be right, there is hope for the world. To those of feeling and imagination, life today is bleak indeed, but we have gained something if we understand more fully the real meaning of war.—Yours truly, FREDK. WILLIS. 40 Wodeland Avenue, Guildford, Surrey.
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