Understanding Victory And Defeat In Contemporary War

Author : Jan Angstrom,Isabelle Duyvesteyn
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 273 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2006-12-05
Category : History
ISBN : 9781134137664

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Understanding Victory and Defeat in Contemporary War by Jan Angstrom,Isabelle Duyvesteyn Pdf

Bringing together leading contributors in the field, this new volume analyzes how victory and defeat in modern war can be understood and explained. It does so by confronting two inter-related research problems: the nature of victory and defeat in modern war and the explanations of victory and defeat. By first questioning the extent to which the concepts of victory and defeat are meaningful to describe the outcomes of modern wars, and whether the contents of these concepts are changing, it then evaluates different theories purporting to explain the outcomes of war and the impact of variables, ranging from technology to culture. The book tackles several key questions: What is the definition of victory in the ‘War on Terror’? What is the meaning of victory and defeat in contemporary insurgencies, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan? Are the counterstrategies that were developed in the mid-twentieth century valid in order to deal with present and future conflicts? With case studies ranging from the Malayan Emergency to the current conflict in Iraq, Understanding Victory and Defeat in Contemporary War will be of great interest to students of war and conflict studies, security studies, military history and international relations.

Author : Stephen Biddle
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2010-12-16
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781400837823

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Military Power by Stephen Biddle Pdf

In war, do mass and materiel matter most? Will states with the largest, best equipped, information-technology-rich militaries invariably win? The prevailing answer today among both scholars and policymakers is yes. But this is to overlook force employment, or the doctrine and tactics by which materiel is actually used. In a landmark reconception of battle and war, this book provides a systematic account of how force employment interacts with materiel to produce real combat outcomes. Stephen Biddle argues that force employment is central to modern war, becoming increasingly important since 1900 as the key to surviving ever more lethal weaponry. Technological change produces opposite effects depending on how forces are employed; to focus only on materiel is thus to risk major error--with serious consequences for both policy and scholarship. In clear, fluent prose, Biddle provides a systematic account of force employment's role and shows how this account holds up under rigorous, multimethod testing. The results challenge a wide variety of standard views, from current expectations for a revolution in military affairs to mainstream scholarship in international relations and orthodox interpretations of modern military history. Military Power will have a resounding impact on both scholarship in the field and on policy debates over the future of warfare, the size of the military, and the makeup of the defense budget.

Author : Trevor Nevitt Dupuy
Publisher : Paragon House Publishers
Page : 328 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 1990
Category : History
ISBN : UOM:39015018985138

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Understanding Defeat by Trevor Nevitt Dupuy Pdf

Author : Carl von Clausewitz
Publisher : Good Press
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2023-08-22
Category : Science
ISBN : EAN:4066339538344

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On War by Carl von Clausewitz Pdf

"On War" by Carl von Clausewitz (translated by J. J. Graham). Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Author : Carl von Clausewitz
Publisher : Princeton University Press
Page : 29 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 1989-06-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781400841158

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On Victory and Defeat by Carl von Clausewitz Pdf

The seemingly endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have renewed the age-old debate over what constitutes military victory. Will the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan be seen as a sign of victory or defeat? Although the nature of warfare has changed dramatically since Clausewitz's On War was first written, this selection from his classic work remains an invaluable source of insight for understanding what it means to achieve victory in war and how to recognize defeat. Princeton Shorts are brief selections excerpted from influential Princeton University Press publications produced exclusively in eBook format. They are selected with the firm belief that while the original work remains an important and enduring product, sometimes we can all benefit from a quick take on a topic worthy of a longer book. In a world where every second counts, how better to stay up-to speed on current events and digest the kernels of wisdom found in the great works of the past? Princeton Shorts enables you to be an instant expert in a world where information is everywhere but quality is at a premium. On Victory and Defeat does just that.

Author : Cathal Nolan
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2017-01-02
Category : History
ISBN : 9780199874651

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The Allure of Battle by Cathal Nolan Pdf

History has tended to measure war's winners and losers in terms of its major engagements, battles in which the result was so clear-cut that they could be considered "decisive." Cannae, Konigsberg, Austerlitz, Midway, Agincourt-all resonate in the literature of war and in our imaginations as tide-turning. But these legendary battles may or may not have determined the final outcome of the wars in which they were fought. Nor has the "genius" of the so-called Great Captains - from Alexander the Great to Frederick the Great and Napoleon - play a major role. Wars are decided in other ways. Cathal J. Nolan's The Allure of Battle systematically and engrossingly examines the great battles, tracing what he calls "short-war thinking," the hope that victory might be swift and wars brief. As he proves persuasively, however, such has almost never been the case. Even the major engagements have mainly contributed to victory or defeat by accelerating the erosion of the other side's defences. Massive conflicts, the so-called "people's wars," beginning with Napoleon and continuing until 1945, have consisted of and been determined by prolonged stalemate and attrition, industrial wars in which the determining factor has been not military but matériel. Nolan's masterful book places battles squarely and mercilessly within the context of the wider conflict in which they took place. In the process it help corrects a distorted view of battle's role in war, replacing popular images of the "battles of annihilation" with somber appreciation of the commitments and human sacrifices made throughout centuries of war particularly among the Great Powers. Accessible, provocative, exhaustive, and illuminating, The Allure of Battle will spark fresh debate about the history and conduct of warfare.

Author : Douglas MacGregor
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2016-06-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781612519975

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Margin of Victory by Douglas MacGregor Pdf

In Margin of Victory Douglas Macgregor tells the riveting stories of five military battles of the twentieth century, each one a turning point in history. Beginning with the British Expeditionary force holding the line at the Battle of Mons in 1914 and concluding with the Battle of Easting in 1991 during Desert Storm, Margin of Victory teases out a connection between these battles and teaches its readers an important lesson about how future battles can be won. Emphasizing military strategy, force design, and modernization, Macgregor links each of these seemingly isolated battles thematically. At the core of his analysis, the author reminds the reader that to be successful, military action must always be congruent with national culture, geography, and scientific-industrial capacity. He theorizes that strategy and geopolitics are ultimately more influential than ideology. Macgregor stresses that if nation-states want to be successful, they must accept the need for and the inevitability of change. The five warfighting dramas in this book, rendered in vivid detail by lively prose, offer many lessons on the tactical, operational, and strategic levels of war.

Author : John D. Caldwell
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 569 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2018-11-09
Category : History
ISBN : 9781538114780

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Anatomy of Victory by John D. Caldwell Pdf

This groundbreaking book provides the first systematic comparison of America’s modern wars and why they were won or lost. John D. Caldwell uses the World War II victory as the historical benchmark for evaluating the success and failure of later conflicts. Unlike WWII, the Korean, Vietnam, and Iraqi Wars were limited, but they required enormous national commitments, produced no lasting victories, and generated bitter political controversies. Caldwell comprehensively examines these four wars through the lens of a strategic architecture to explain how and why their outcomes were so dramatically different. He defines a strategic architecture as an interlinked set of continually evolving policies, strategies, and operations by which combatant states work toward a desired end. Policy defines the high-level goals a nation seeks to achieve once it initiates a conflict or finds itself drawn into one. Policy makers direct a broad course of action and strive to control the initiative. When they make decisions, they have to respond to unforeseen conditions to guide and determine future decisions. Effective leaders are skilled at organizing constituencies they need to succeed and communicating to them convincingly. Strategy means employing whatever resources are available to achieve policy goals in situations that are dynamic as conflicts change quickly over time. Operations are the actions that occur when politicians, soldiers, and diplomats execute plans. A strategic architecture, Caldwell argues, is thus not a static blueprint but a dynamic vision of how a state can succeed or fail in a conflict.

Author : Jan Angstrom,J.J. Widen
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 215 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2014-07-17
Category : History
ISBN : 9781136169205

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Contemporary Military Theory by Jan Angstrom,J.J. Widen Pdf

The book aims to provide the reader with a state-of-the-art introduction to classic and modern military theory. The text accounts for the most important theories within the field by developing and analyzing these theories, as well as problematizing both their normative and explanatory aims. While focusing on military theory, the book does not only reflect a single way of relating to knowledge of war and warfare, but furthers learning by introducing contrasting perspectives as well as constantly criticizing the theories. There is a clear need for an introductory text for the entire field of military theory that focuses whole-heartedly on the theories – not on their context or how they are expressed in practice during war. This book covers such questions as how we should understand the changing character of war, the utility of force and how the pursuit of political ends is achieved through military means. It draws upon and illustrates military thought through a wide-ranging number of examples from the Napoleonic Wars to the current war in Afghanistan. This book will be of great interest for students of military theory, strategic studies, security studies and defence studies.

Author : Jenny Macleod
Publisher : Palgrave MacMillan
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2008-11-03
Category : History
ISBN : STANFORD:36105131674652

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Defeat and Memory by Jenny Macleod Pdf

The legacy of defeat in war reverberates through private and collective memory and remains a sub-text in international relations and political discourse. This book examines the manner in which a series of military defeats have been understood and remembered by individuals and societies in the era of modern industrialised warfare.

Author : David Jordan,James D. Kiras,David J. Lonsdale,Ian Speller,Christopher Tuck,C. Dale Walton
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 499 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2016-07-14
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781107134195

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Understanding Modern Warfare by David Jordan,James D. Kiras,David J. Lonsdale,Ian Speller,Christopher Tuck,C. Dale Walton Pdf

A fully revised and updated new edition of this leading introduction to the theory and conduct of warfare in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The book combines analysis of key concepts, theory and military doctrine with reference to relevant examples from history, and integrates the land, sea and air environments.

Author : Andrew R. Hom,Cian O'Driscoll,Kurt Mills
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Law
ISBN : 9780198801825

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Moral Victories by Andrew R. Hom,Cian O'Driscoll,Kurt Mills Pdf

Annotation What does it mean to win a moral victory? A host of scholars and soldiers, including Augustine, Cicero, Clausewitz, Napoleon, and MacArthur have claimed that victory is the very object of war. Yet what victory means, and what might render it moral, have always been problematic and may well have become unsustainable in today's security environment. This book examines how we can discern a just from an unjust victory, how best to balance the duty to fight justly withthe obligation to win, and what the changing nature of war means for moral judgment. The wide-ranging collection of essays covers the intellectual and historical traditions of victory as well as thecontemporary challenges it poses in light of changing ways of war. It will be of interest to military professionals and political practitioners as well as those interested in strategy, the just war tradition, international relations, and security.

Author : William C. Martel
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 593 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2011-06-13
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781139499705

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Victory in War by William C. Martel Pdf

War demands that scholars and policy makers use victory in precise and coherent terms to communicate what the state seeks to achieve in war. The failure historically to define victory in consistent terms has contributed to confused debates when societies consider whether to wage war. This volume explores the development of a theoretical narrative or language of victory to help scholars and policy makers define carefully and precisely what they mean by victory in war in order to achieve a deeper understanding of victory as the foundation of strategy in the modern world.

Author : Margaret MacMillan
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 333 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2020-10-06
Category : History
ISBN : 9780735238039

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War: How Conflict Shaped Us by Margaret MacMillan Pdf

NATIONAL BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED for the 2021 Lionel Gelber Prize Thoughtful and brilliant insights into the very nature of war--from the ancient Greeks to modern times--from world-renowned historian Margaret MacMillan. War--its imprint in our lives and our memories--is all around us, from the metaphors we use to the names on our maps. As books, movies, and television series show, we are drawn to the history and depiction of war. Yet we nevertheless like to think of war as an aberration, as the breakdown of the normal state of peace. This is comforting but wrong. War is woven into the fabric of human civilization. In this sweeping new book, international bestselling author and historian Margaret MacMillan analyzes the tangled history of war and society and our complicated feelings towards it and towards those who fight. It explores the ways in which changes in society have affected the nature of war and how in turn wars have changed the societies that fight them, including the ways in which women have been both participants in and the objects of war. MacMillan's new book contains many revelations, such as war has often been good for science and innovation and in the 20th century it did much for the position of women in many societies. But throughout, it forces the reader to reflect on the ways in which war is so intertwined with society, and the myriad reasons we fight.

Author : Dominic D. P. Johnson,Dominic Tierney
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 358 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2009-07-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780674039179

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Failing to Win by Dominic D. P. Johnson,Dominic Tierney Pdf

How do people decide which country came out ahead in a war or a crisis? Why, for instance, was the Mayaguez Incident in May 1975--where 41 U.S. soldiers were killed and dozens more wounded in a botched hostage rescue mission--perceived as a triumph and the 1992-94 U.S. humanitarian intervention in Somalia, which saved thousands of lives, viewed as a disaster? In Failing to Win, Dominic Johnson and Dominic Tierney dissect the psychological factors that predispose leaders, media, and the public to perceive outcomes as victories or defeats--often creating wide gaps between perceptions and reality. To make their case, Johnson and Tierney employ two frameworks: "Scorekeeping," which focuses on actual material gains and losses; and "Match-fixing," where evaluations become skewed by mindsets, symbolic events, and media and elite spin. In case studies ranging from the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and the current War on Terror, the authors show that much of what we accept about international politics and world history is not what it seems--and why, in a time when citizens offer or withdraw support based on an imagined view of the outcome rather than the result on the ground, perceptions of success or failure can shape the results of wars, the fate of leaders, and the "lessons" we draw from history.