A History of Military Thought

A History of Military Thought

Author: Azar Gat

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 916

ISBN-13: 9780199247622

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From the ideas of Clausewitz to contemporary doctrines of containment and cold war, this is a definitive history of modern military thought. A one-volume collection of Azar Gat's acclaimed trilogy, it traces the quest for a general theory of war from its origins in the Enlightenment.Beginning with a provocative critique of Clausewitz's classic work On War, the author unravels the endemic difficulties in Clausewitz's work that have baffled scholars for so long, clearly explaining the development of his ideas against the background of the Napoleonic revolution in war and theRomantic critique of the Enlightenment. He continues the story through the strategic ideas of the Prussian-German military school during the nineteenth century, the factors that shaped the 'cult of the offensive' in the French Army before the First World War, and the competing doctrines whichdominated naval warfare during the ages of sail and steam. In the final part of the trilogy, he shows how theories of mechanized war emerged throughout the industrial world in the first decades of the twentieth century and explains why their leading exponents were associated with fascism.Drastically re-evaluating B.H. Liddell Hart's contribution to strategic theory, the author argues that in the wake of the trauma of the First World War, and in response to the Axis challenge, Liddell Hart developed the doctrine of containment and cold war long before the advent of nuclear weapons.He reveals Liddell Hart as a pioneer of the modern western liberal way in warfare which is still with us today.


The Conduct of War

The Conduct of War

Author: Colmar Goltz (Freiherr von der)

Publisher:

Published: 1899

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13:

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Principles and rules that guide the conduct of warfare.


Military Thought in Early China

Military Thought in Early China

Author: Christopher C. Rand

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 2017-05-11

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1438465173

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Provides a systematic and comprehensive survey of writings on military philosophy in early China. This study of the philosophy of war in early China examines the recurring debate, from antiquity through the Western Han period (202 BCE–8 CE), about how to achieve a proper balance between martial (wu) force and civil (wen) governance in the pursuit of a peaceful state. Rather than focusing solely on Sunzi’s Art of War and other military treatises from the Warring States era (ca. 475–221 BCE), Christopher C. Rand analyzes the evolution of this debate by examining a broad corpus of early Han and pre-Han texts, including works uncovered in archeological excavations during recent decades. What emerges is a framework for understanding early China’s military philosophy as an ongoing negotiation between three major alternatives: militarism, compartmentalism, and syncretism. Military Thought in Early China offers a look into China’s historical experience with a perennial issue that is not only of continuing relevance to modern-day China but also pertinent to other world states seeking to sustain strong and harmonious societies. “With its close engagement with and nuanced interpretation of a truly impressive range of sources, this book illuminates a field that gets too little serious attention.” — Charles Sanft, author of Communication and Cooperation in Early Imperial China: Publicizing the Qin Dynasty


The End of the Old Order

The End of the Old Order

Author: Frederick Kagan

Publisher: Da Capo Press, Incorporated

Published: 2006-07-10

Total Pages: 816

ISBN-13: 9780306811371

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Looks at the Corsican general's rise to power in France, the impact of his quest for conquest on the changing face of Europe, the seminal events of the period, and the lives of key personalities and their roles during this time.


Studies in British Military Thought

Studies in British Military Thought

Author: Brian Holden Reid

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 9780803239272

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Bogens tema er britisk militærhistorie personificeret ved mellemkrigstidens to store militære tænkere J.F.C.Fuller og B.H.Liddell Hart. Antologien indeholder 11 essay's. Af disse er de fem alene helliget Fuller, der spænder fra hans bidrag til teorien om mekaniseret krigsførelse til hans vision om et særligt operativt niveau (Operational level of war). Kun en enkelt essay vedrører Liddell Hart og desuden T.E.Lawrence. De resterende fem essay's indeholder en sammenlignede analyse af Fuller's og Liddell Hart's tilgang til samme emner - spændende fra deres holdning til facisme til deres behandling af antikkens krigsførelse og den amerikanske borgerkrig...Bogen indeholder tillige en særlig bibliografi over de vigtigste værker af Fuller og Liddell Hart.


Practical Soldiers: Israel’s Military Thought and Its Formative Factors

Practical Soldiers: Israel’s Military Thought and Its Formative Factors

Author: Avi Kober

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2015-11-16

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 9004306862

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This book suggests a general framework for the analysis of formative factors in military thought and offers an account of the Israel Defense Force’s state of intellectualism and modernity. This account is followed by an attempt to trace the factors that have shaped Israeli military thought. The explanations are a mixture of realist and non-realist factors, which can be found at both the systemic and the state level of analysis. At the systemic level, realist evaluations focus on factors such as the dominance of the technological dimension and the pervasiveness of asymmetrical, low-intensity conflict; whereas at the state level one can find realist explanations, cultural factors, and societal influences. Moral and legal constraints also factor into both the systemic and state levels.


Strategy

Strategy

Author: Captain B. H. Liddell Hart

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2016-07-26

Total Pages: 547

ISBN-13: 1786259737

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This is the classic book on war as we know it. During his long life, Basil H. Liddell Hart was considered one of the world’s foremost military thinkers—a man generally regarded as the “Clausewitz of the 20th century.” Strategy is a seminal work of military history and theory, a perfect companion to Sun-tzu’s The Art of War and Carl von Clausewitz’s On War. Liddell Hart stressed movement, flexibility, and surprise. He saw that in most military campaigns dislocation of the enemy’s psychological and physical balance is prelude to victory. This dislocation results from a strategic indirect approach. Reflect for a moment on the results of direct confrontation (trench war in WWI) versus indirect dislocation (Blitzkrieg in WWII). Liddell Hart is also tonic for business and political planning: just change the vocabulary and his concepts fit.-Print ed. “The most important book by one of the outstanding military authorities of our time.”—Library Journal


In Pursuit of Military Excellence

In Pursuit of Military Excellence

Author: Shimon Naveh

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-04-03

Total Pages: 425

ISBN-13: 113630925X

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This book offers a scientific interpretation of the field of military knowledge situated between strategy and tactics, better known as operational art', and traces the evolution of operational awareness and its culmination in a full-fledged theory. The author, a Brigadier General (ret.) in the Israeli Defence Forces and Doctor of History, King's College, London, clarifies the substance of operational art' and constructs a cognitive framework for its critical analysis. He chronicles the stages in the evolution of operational theory from the emergence of 19th-century military thought to Blitzkrieg. For the first time the Soviet theories of Deep Operations' and Strike Manoeuvre' that emerged in the 1920s and 1930 are discussed. The author argues that it is these doctrines that eventually led to the crystallization of the American Airland Battle theory, successfully implemented in the Gulf War.


Military Thought of Asia

Military Thought of Asia

Author: Kaushik Roy

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-11-04

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 1000210790

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Military Thought of Asia challenges the assertion that the generation of rational secular ideas about the conduct of warfare is the preserve of the West, by analysing the history of ideas of warfare in Asia from the ancient period to the present. The volume takes a transcontinental and comparative approach to provide a broad overview of the evolution of military thought in Asia. The military traditions and theories which have emerged in different parts of Eurasia throughout history are products of geopolitics and unique to the different regions. The book considers the systematic and tight representation of ideas by famous figures including Kautlya and Sun Tzu. At the same time, it also highlights publications on military affairs by small men like mid-ranking officers and scattered ideas regarding the origin, nature and societal impact of organised violence present in miscellaneous sources like coins, inscriptions, paintings and fictional literature. In so doing, the book fills a historiographical gap in scholarship on military thought, which marginalises Asia to the part of cameo, and historicises the evolution of theory and the praxis of warfare. The volume shows that the ‘East’ has a long unbroken tradition of conceptualising war and its place in society from the Classical Era to the Information Age. It is essential reading for those interested in the evolution of military thought throughout history, particularly in Asia.