Podcast: The Syrian update
An examination of the situation in Syria and between Turkey/NATO on one side and Russia/Syria on the other in light of recent events.
War Theory
Podcast: Victory in War: What is it?
This is a somewhat rambling podcast that deals with Victory in war and what it really is. I submit that victory is not achieving stability as some recent pundits have asserted but defeating your enemy. I explain why I mean defeat in the Clausewitzean terms of “compelling your enemy to do your will“. I also examine the idea that war tends to extremes but never reaches those extremes because victory is achieved before the logical extreme is reached.
Proportionality in War
What is proportionality and should it be applicable in wartime? Ironically I recorded this last week before the Paris attacks. I find that is is somewhat topical given the events of the Friday night. I plan on recording another discussing war theory more frankly and relating it to current events this week for publication around Friday or so.
CSA PRL Book Review: The Utility of Force by Rupert Smith
The new 2014 US Army Chief of Staff Professional Reading List (PRL) was released in the Summer of 2014 and I was relieved in the extreme to see that there was only one novel on the list, Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer. The list is different than earlier lists because it is organized topically instead of by position as earlier lists were. I have read many of the books on the list already and decided to read the ones I have not and post my thoughts on the books on the list. This review is the third in that series. The Utility of Force: The Art of War in the Modern World is … More after the Jump…
Book Review: The Bombers and the Bombed: Allied Air War Over Europe 1940-1945 by Richard Overy
[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] The Bombers and the Bombed: Allied Air War Over Europe 1940-1945 is one of those books that is going to end up a standard work for a long time to come. It is the single most comprehensive history of the Allied bombing of Germany and occupied Europe during WWII that I have seen since the strategic bombing survey published by the US government in the immediate post-war years. I have a review copy of the book so the page counts may be a … More after the Jump…
Book Review: No End Save Victory by David Kaiser
[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] No End Save Victory: How FDR Led the Nation into War is one of those books that at first glance looks like it is going to be one of those dry, difficult to read history books that is nothing more than a litany of dates and facts. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is an interesting and compelling account of the events in America during the 18 months prior to American entry into WWII. Oddly, this period is mentioned in every … More after the Jump…
The Evolution of Warfare and the Crimea
“History” is a problematic concept because it is very much tied to a specific culture. History departments derive from the medieval university culture of Europe and we have to accept that most people, at most of the time, have lived without any notion of it. Perception is a key to understanding this phenomena: in the history of warfare, violent confrontations have in large part been endemic. Two parties confront each other and display a show of brutal force and often the conflict is resolved symbolically by a single dual or one side is hidden behind a fortification, while tribute is discussed. A perfect example of endemic warfare would be the … More after the Jump…
Book Review: Verdun – The Longest Battle of the Great War by Paul Jankowski
[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] Verdun: The Longest Battle of the Great War is one of the flood of new works coming out about World War I this year in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the world’s first truly mechanized war. This book explores the ten month (or eleven, depending on how you count it) battle of Verdun between the Germans and French from February to November 1916. It consists of eleven chapters arranged thematically that examine different aspects of the battle from the operational … More after the Jump…
Machiavelli? Try Clausewitz!
Full disclosure: I consider the NYT to be a gang of flabby, post-modernist girlymen who stroke each other(‘s egos) all day long, and try to get an emotional response out of their dwindling readership. So today I saw a comment on one their articles that fully describes my opinion of what is wrong with America. Who do we want to emulate? A bunch of tribalist beach bums who sing “O Sole Mio” while thinking about how to poison their uncle in order to take over his restaurant, or the Iron Will of Prussian Steel??? Here is the comment from the unworthy-to-read article: Do we really need to be told that … More after the Jump…
Book Review: The True German: The Diary of a World War II Military Judge
[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] The True German: The Diary of a World War II Military Judge by Werner Otto Müller-Hill is one of those rare books that come out of war. A diary written by someone to satisfy themselves with no expectation that it will ever get published. As such, it provides an almost unique view into the mind of the person writing it. The vast majority of war memoirs are self-serving and written to make a point. Diaries tend to be less so, and this one … More after the Jump…
Book Review: Operation Barbarossa: Nazi Germany’s War in the East by Christian Hartmann
[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] Operation Barbarossa: Nazi Germany’s War in the East, 1941-1945 is one of those rare books about WWII written by a German historian and translated into English. That is not to say that there are not plenty of books in German about WWII and examining its myriad aspects, there are, it is just that most are never translated into English. There is generally a flood of new WWII histories every year and almost of all of them are written by English speakers. That … More after the Jump…
A rebuttal to “Killology”
In the past 100 years man has gone from a man, to a killer ape, to a man again. I find it hard to believe that he ever was a killer or lover of mankind, but more like a hungry creature who needed a reason to do anything other than satiate himself. First of all, we don’t have evidence to prove that the Battle of Gaugamela was “a giant shoving match.” We do have evidence that modern soldiers have misfired their rifles on purpose in order to avoid shooting the enemy, but many conclusions can be drawn from this. I would argue that Europeans have gone through four stages in … More after the Jump…
The Christ of Nations, 1920
In Polish history, war usually comes down to two conflicting scripts. From the Polish side, pushing geographical boundaries out in all directions, as far as possible. From the opposing side: eliminating the irritating roadblock begrudgingly acknowledged as “Poland.” This theme is perennial. It has not only been steel and fire that has determined if the land of the White Eagle was to be a flesh and blood state, or merely a state of mind; it was also the petitioning of the fighting spirit through ideological appeal. Literature in Poland has served such a purpose. Polish literature is not meant to appeal to outsiders. It is generally so nationalistic that neighboring … More after the Jump…
Support the Syrian Rebels?: How stupid can the West be?
 Video shows Islamist rebels executing 11 Syrian soldiers:  Yet for some unfathomable reason the Administration is talking about providing support to the rebel groups in Syria.  The video is below (Warning, it is graphic). After watching just contemplate that these are the folks some in the West want us to help.  How they differ from the regime thugs I have no idea. Compare the picture in the linked article with the video.  Notice there is no mention of the cries of Allahu Akbar in the article although they do mention in passing that the group is Islamist.  Now also remember the constant refrain about Islam being a Religion of Peace, which Muslim’s give the lie … More after the Jump…
Book Review: Dresden: A Survivor’s Story by Victor Gregg
[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] Victor Gregg’s Dresden: A Survivor’s Story is a short work describing the author’s experience as  POW who got caught in Dresden in February, 1945 when the Allies bombed the city in what would become known as the Firebombing of Dresden.  The attack essentially destroyed the city center and killed an estimated 25,000 German’s.  Wikipedia has a pretty good article on the attacks that also discusses the controversy surrounding them that has grown up since the war.  To sum up the controversy, general anti-war people claim they were a crime and … More after the Jump…