Why did General Lemay abandon a war winning strategy that worked so well in Europe?
If you go back and read the detailed histories of who was on Lemay’s staff at the time you will discover that an operational analyst recommended the changing of the bombing campaign. A non-warrior in a backwater staff slot with relatively little rank actually changed the course of the war.
That was Robert Strange McNamara’s first venture into making war fighting policies. Don’t get me started on his second.
Yes you are correct about McNamara. He was our own worst enemy.
OTH. The changes in bombing strategy mostly had to do with the fact that almost all of Japan lived in matchstick houses. There were very few masonry/brick structures. LeMay rightly guessed that it wouldn’t take much to torch the place.
He was right.