the Air (1907) grasped the full implications of aerial warfare and air power and how it would revolutionize warfare. Many of the book's predictions - such as the devastating strategic bombing of cities or how bombing from the air would make surface dreadnoughts obsolete in naval warfare - only came about in the Second World War rather than the First which broke out a few years after the book's publication. Kite warfare The earliest documented aerial warfare took place in ancient China, when a manned kite was set off to spy for military intelligence and communication. Balloon warfare Balloon warfare in ancient China In or around the second or third century, a prototype hot air balloon, the Kongming lantern, was invented in China, serving as a military communication station. Balloon warfare in Europe Some minor warfare use was made of balloons in the infancy of aeronautics. The first instance was by the French Aerostatic Corps at the Battle of Fleurus in 1794, who used a tethered balloon, L'entreprenant, to gain a vantage point. Balloons had disadvantages. They could not fly in bad weather, fog, or high winds. They were at the mercy of the winds and were also very large targets. Austrian use at Venice in 1849 The first aggressive use of balloons in warfare took place in 1849. Austrian imperial forces besieging Venice attempted to float some 200 paper hot air balloons each carrying a 24–30-pound (11–14 kg) bomb that was to be dropped from the balloon with a time fuse over the besieged city. The balloons were launched mainly from land; however, some were also launched from the side-wheel steamer SMS Vulcano that acted as a balloon carrier. The Austrians used smaller pilot balloons to determine the correct fuse settings. At least one bomb fell in the city; however, due to the wind changing after launch, most of the balloons missed their target, and some drifted back over Austrian lines and the launching ship Vulcano. American Civil War Union Army Balloon Corps The American Civil War was the first war to witness significant use of aeronautics in support of battle. Thaddeus Lowe made noteworthy contributions to the Union war effort using a fleet of balloons he created In June 1861 professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe left his work in the private sector and offered his services as an Aeronaut to President Lincoln, who took some interest in the