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

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

You can find further analysis of his arguments in discussions at the U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons or via expert lectures on YouTube .

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

: The book highlights that the vast majority of military production for all major belligerents—including Germany—was devoted to air and sea warfare rather than land forces. For instance, air and sea weapons accounted for at least two-thirds of German weapons production.