Giulio Douhet — Italian Soldier born on May 30, 1869, died on February 15, 1930

General Giulio Douhet was an Italian general and air power theorist. He was a key proponent of strategic bombing in aerial warfare. He was a contemporary of the 1920s air warfare advocates Walther Wever, Billy Mitchell and Sir Hugh Trenchard... (wikipedia)

The one effective method of defending one's own territory from an offensive by air is to destroy the enemy's air power with the greatest possible speed.
To conquer the command of the air means victory; to be beaten in the air means defeat and acceptance of whatever terms the enemy may be pleased to impose.