Mass Combat: Militray Tactics Old and New!

Re: Re: Primer on Strategy and Tactics

I highly recommend The Art of Warfare on Land. It's an old book, but still in print because I recently saw a new copy in a bookstore. Unfortunately, I can't give you the author or publisher.
Amazon carries The Art of Warfare on Land by David G. Chandler. It sounds like the Penguin paperback edition is full of blurry black and white photos where the original edition had clear color photos.
I read it when I was 16 or 17, and it was an excellent introduction on the topic. It covers the various gambits I mentioned in my first post, looking at examples of them throughout history, giving easy to understand and informative diagrams and text.
Sounds good.
 

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Re: Re: Primer on Strategy and Tactics

Anything by Osprey is pretty good as well. They are a little expensive, and don't look much, but they're packed with good info in easy to read format.
Osprey books don't look like much? But they're the ones full of beautiful color plates! Maybe there are other Osprey books that are just text...

Sekunda's Caesar's Legions, by the way, was published by Osprey, and I didn't find it "packed with good info in easy to read format" -- but it was pretty. Hmm...
 

Re: Re: Re: Primer on Strategy and Tactics

mmadsen said:

Osprey books don't look like much? But they're the ones full of beautiful color plates! Maybe there are other Osprey books that are just text...

Sekunda's Caesar's Legions, by the way, was published by Osprey, and I didn't find it "packed with good info in easy to read format" -- but it was pretty. Hmm...

Oh well. The one's I've read/picked up were pretty handy. I guess with their volume and range of authors, they're bound to have some good stuff and some crap. :)

As for appearance, they do look quite small, especially for the price; and while sitting on a shelf give me the impression of kids books - although they certainly are not. Hence, "don't look like much".
 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Primer on Strategy and Tactics

Oh well. The one's I've read/picked up were pretty handy. I guess with their volume and range of authors, they're bound to have some good stuff and some crap. :)
Actually, the fellow who wrote The Art of Warfare on Land, David G. Chandler, has written (or co-written) quite a few Osprey books, so I can see why you liked them
As for appearance, they do look quite small, especially for the price; and while sitting on a shelf give me the impression of kids books - although they certainly are not. Hence, "don't look like much".
Ah, gotcha! Agreed. If they'd just compile them into larger volumes at a reasonable price, I'd scoop them right up.
 

Re: Primer on Strategy and Tactics

mmadsen said:
Can anyone recommend a good intro book on Strategy and Tactics? I've picked up bits and pieces from my reading over the years, but I'd think there'd be a nice book with simple diagrams, examples from various eras, explanations for why various tactics have come and gone with new technologies, and so on -- all in modern, metaphor-free language.

The closest I've seen has been Strategy, by Basil Henry Liddell Hart. Any other suggestions?



still best is sun tzu's Art of War. That and watch the History channel when it comes on with world war 2 conflicts. You can pick up an awful lot by the visuals that come across the screen and the maps and detail that the History channel uses. I learned allot from just sitting in front of the boob tube watching a marathon on world war I and II...
 

Re: Primer on Strategy and Tactics

You can pick up an awful lot by the visuals that come across the screen and the maps and detail that the History channel uses. I learned allot from just sitting in front of the boob tube watching a marathon on world war I and II...
I think that most people who know anything about strategy and tactics learn it that way, by osmosis. If you read about various wars and watch documentaries from time to time, you just pick it up. It sure would be nice to have a succinct primer though, the kind of book you can hand to your nephew or little brother to get him up to speed.
 

Greetings!

Well, I'm afraid that most any book covering strategy isn't meant for children!:) It is just that children are not the target audience of books on strategy. Members of the military, scholars, veterans, history buffs, and a few other intellectuals are the target audience. That means that the general public is excluded. Most of the books on strategy deal with an aspect of warfare that the average reader isn't even aware of, let alone seriously interested in.

However, I might add the following books to a list to learn about strategy in warfare:

(1) Caesar's Commentaries

(2) The Persian Wars

(3) "War As I Knew It" by General George S. Patton Jr.

(4) "The Wars of America" by Robert Leckie

(5) "There's A War To Be Won" by Geoffrey Perrett

(6) "First To Fight" by General Victor H. Krulak

(7) "Panzer Battles" by General F.W. von Mallenthin

(8) "Lost Victories" by Field Marshal Erich von Manstein

(9) "Panzer Leader" by General Heinz Guderian

(10) "When Titans Clashed" by Colonel David M. Glantz & Lt. Colonel Jonathan House (Note: This exhaustive book covers World War II on the Eastern Front from the Soviet perspective. Colonel Glantz is an American soldier, and an expert in Soviet history and warfare. He also uses never before seen Soviet documentation.)

(11) "Eagle Against The Sun" by Ronald Spector

(12) "At War At Sea" by Ronald Spector

(13) "Downfall" by Richard B. Frank

(14) "Infantry Attacks!" by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel

This list should prove invaluable to anyone interested in strategy. Even where such books delve into the tactical, strategic concepts can also be seen at work. In general, these books provide an excellent framework in which to learn how to think "strategically." They cover sytrategy as they dealt with it, and the lessons to be learned are plain to see. I recommend all of these excellent books!:)

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK
 

Well, I'm afraid that most any book covering strategy isn't meant for children! :)
We may have to rectify that! Seriously though, I don't pretend to be normal, but I would've loved a book like that (a strategy primer) in junior high.
It is just that children are not the target audience of books on strategy. Members of the military, scholars, veterans, history buffs, and a few other intellectuals are the target audience. That means that the general public is excluded.
What might you recommend for the typical 18-year-old recruit? (Not that they're making any strategic decisions...)
 
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You also need to hold ground as well as kill enemy soldiers. Even if you kill their garrison you still need to put your own troops there to hold the town, or what was the point in fighting the war?
Looting the town and bringing back slaves for a start...
 

Greetings!

Well, mmadsen, to be honest, I started reading many of the books I listed when I was in Junior High School. I just kept on reading and reading and reading! I personally believe that kids should be challenged, and force themselves to master more articulate, demanding reading. In the long run, it pays off quite well.:) About when I was in Junior High, I used to dig into a dictionary every week, making a list of about ten words per week or so, that I committed to mastering. I would read it, and re-read it, practicing pronouncing the word, and memorizing its definition, and usage. I would practice writing several sentences with the new word in it to get familiar with using it in writing, then I would consciously include it in my thinking and speech throughout the weeks, adding it to my knowledge as a vocabulary builder.:)

Thus, I say, hit the books for the big dogs!:)

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK
 

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