Military Theory

Book Review: Why Germany Nearly Won: A New History of the Second World War in Europe by Steven D. Mercatante

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[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received my copy of this book free from the author. I was not paid for this review and the opinion expressed is purely my own] At first glance Why Germany Nearly Won: A New History of the Second World War in Europe is another of the rehashing’s of WWII in the East and West that have become so popular since the fall of communism in the 1990’s and the opening of previously closed Russian archives.   That first glance would be wrong.   Steven Mercatante has produced a very well written history of the war in the East that goes to the heart of why the Eastern … More after the Jump…

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Given that I generally try to concentrate on the German Wars of Unification when I do any serious research I thought I would toss this link out there.   I ran across the following article about the Battle of Lundby in 1864 today.   It is probably the best description of any single action from the Danish War of 1864 I have ever seen.   What makes it so great for my purposes is that it is in English and I can direct my readers to it.   The first of the German Wars of Unification, the Danish War of 1864, is practically ignored in English scholarship and thus finding something like this is a treasure as it sheds light on the development of Prussian tactical and operational methods that is not generally open to the English speaking world.

The Marian Legion

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I haven’t touched on anything about antiquity for a while so I thought I would put this up as I have been thinking about this for the last week or two. This is the Marian Legion or the Reforms of Marius, whichever you choose to call it. These reforms are important because they set the stage for the Legion of the period of the Civil War and early Imperium, especially the time of the Pax Romana.   These reforms are probably not a direct result of the genius of Gaius Marius, he just gets credit for implementing them.   That being said, he is the one who implemented them and … More after the Jump…

Periodic World Craziness Update # 5

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The last month’s wackiness in the world of international relations and brinkmanship. Israel becomes a target in Egypt’s presidential vote:  Stories such as this highlight two things.  1. The true nature of the supposed Arab Spring of 2011 and the way Islamists are subverting an infant democratic process if one ever existed and… 2. Why Israel should be worried.  Even supposed moderate candidates gain political traction from demonizing Israel thus illustrating the level of mainstream support for what the west like to call extremists but who are actually not within an Arab context. Can Obama Safely Embrace Islamists?:  I don’t quite know what to think about this quote from the state department informant. “The war on terror … More after the Jump…

The Moral Quandary?

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Lately I have been somewhat preoccupied thinking about the geostrategic position the US and even the wider Western world find themselves in.  While I do not believe that the world is on the cusp of some massive catastrophe, it does seem to me that the rise of Militant Islam in the last ten years presents problems that are new or that at least have not been faced on such a scale by Western countries since before the rise of the modern nation state. Essentially, I think that Islam is facing the West with a crucial choice, one the West would rather not have to make as it goes against all … More after the Jump…

Periodic World Craziness Update # 4

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The latest installment of updates on the wackiness of Iran and the wider Muslim World.  I have also decided to change the title of this series and just make it a monthly installment, it will be an aggregation of what I consider the most relevant news pieces with my analysis and criticisms attached. George Kerchner and the Lessons of Afghanistan: This is not strictly about Iran and their idiocy but a good point is made about the lack of strategic focus of US and Western War Planning over the past decade. Obama Needs to Stay the Course in Afghanistan:  This article contains perhaps the most asinine sentence I have read regarding the deaths of our soldiers in a long time, perhaps … More after the Jump…

Honey or Salt?

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There is an old adage that “you can catch more flies with honey than with salt.” The truth of that adage is being put to the test daily in Afghanistan and being to shown to be false under certain circumstances at least. ISAF is not winning currently, but they are not exactly losing either. At best from what I read, see, and hear ISAF is fighting a delaying action against the inevitable fall of the central government and rise of whatever Islamic extremist group bubbles up out of the morass of internal Afghan politics. I can almost guarantee it won´t be the Taliban, but probably someone very much like them. … More after the Jump…

Periodic Iran Craziness Update #3

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The next round of news and intelligence updates about Iran and their seemingly stupid game of brinksmanship with Israel and the West. DM: Iran Has Defensive Secrets for Rainy Days Bluster, but maybe all they need to keep the US out of the initial stages of any conflict before the Presidential election is over. Iran diplomats see suspects in Thai bombings Apparently proof of some level of Iranian complicity in the recent bombing campaign against Israeli diplomats. Iran’s underground nuclear sites not immune to U.S. bunker-busters, experts say Signal or bluster? I cannot tell but tend to think the latter. I get the sense that the current Admin. actually likes … More after the Jump…

Book Review: The Anabasis by Xenophon

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I read part of this work in High School over twenty years ago and decided a few weeks ago to finish reading it. Now that I am done, I wonder why I waited so long. The book was written by Xenophon, and ancient Greek soldier and general, in the late 4th Century BC. Xenophon’s account in The Anabasis is one of the first true (in several senses of the word) adventure stories to be transmitted from antiquity. There is as much adventure here as will be found in any modern day work of fiction. One of the things that makes this book so great is that as I was reading … More after the Jump…

Tactical Aspects of Battle: A Discussion

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There is a very interesting pair of essays in the Baen free non-fiction compendium for 2011. The essence of these two pieces is the geo-strategic position of the United States in the early 21st Century and what the American prospects for maintaining global dominance are. This piece is not necessarily about geopolitics but it did get me thinking about another idea I have been tossing around in my head for the past few years, and that is tactics. Specifically tactics and the way their use affects the course of battles both classical and contemporary. Too often, tactical considerations are given short shrift in accounts of battle. For example, it is … More after the Jump…

Periodic Iran Craziness Update #2

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The next in the series of updates on doings with Iran. I even half thought about putting up some kind of war countdown clock. I then decided against it because I am not sure I can read the tea leaves well enough to really judge how close to war we are. US officials believe Iran sanctions will fail, making military action likely This article says an Israeli attack will likely come in September or October because of political factors. I think an attack is likely but it will be based more on perceptions of Iran’s capabilities and intents with politics being a minor concern, The sad fact is that Israel … More after the Jump…

Periodic Iran Craziness Update # 1

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Links to articles of interest about Irans continuing hijinks and the World’s response. Intel Official: Iranian Missiles Could Hit Nearby U.S. Targets, Europe, Now what would happen were Iran to launch a missile at Israel or a US warship? At this point I am only certian that if they hit Israel, Iran would regret it. Thailand: Iranians’ targets were Israeli diplomats, Aparrently the Iranians are not so good at actually carrying out Terrorist attacks as the three essentially failed attacks in India, Georgia, and Thailand this week show. Perhaps they should have got some of their Hezbollah puppets support. On the plus side, if these attacks were carried by members … More after the Jump…

The Developing Situation with Iran – The Craziness Continues

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I don’t necessarily want to make a habit of talking contemporary issues on a regular basis but the events in, around, and about Iran over the past few weeks have really got me thinking.  There are a couple of points I would like to bring up. The US administration and European leaders don’t seem to really have a clue what they are doing.  They keep making statements about what they will not tolerate, and hen tolerate it anyway.  This has been going on for years and on the US side started with the Clinton administration as far as I can see.  A clear line has not been drawn and stuck to, that is probably the root of Iran’s boldness, … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Julius Caesar: Lessons in Leadership from the Great Conqueror by Bill Yenne

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[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received my copy of this book free from the publisher. I was not paid for this review and the opinion expressed is purely my own] I am someone who loves the ancients and loves reading the their stories. That being said, I am much more likely to read Caesar’s Commentaries or Plutarch’s Life of Caesar than a modern day biography derived from those sources. In fact, I have read all those ancient works, most in both English and the original Latin. This book was a pleasure to read anyway.   Bill Yenne has put together a comprehensive account of Caesar’s life that someone unfamiliar with Caesar’s exploits … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Makers of Ancient Strategy – Edited by Victor David Hanson

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This book was conceived as being a sort of prequel to the modern classic, Makers of Modern Strategy, edited by Peter Paret and first published in the 70’s and updated in the 90’s. As Dr Hanson states in his foreword the scholars who wrote the various essays presented in the book did so with an eye to drawing lessons from antiquity that are relevant to the challenges faced by modern states and statesmen. They have succeeded admirably. It is not as hard to do as you might think despite the fact that modern war is fought with the benefit of tanks, night vision, aircraft, and satellite communications. Modern commanders Face … More after the Jump…

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