European Armies and the Conduct of War

by Hew Strachan

Discussing the key issues of modern warfare, Hew Strachan s work examines the theory and practice of land warfare in Europe since 1700.Looking at warfare in the context of social and political change, Dr. Strachan interprets his subject matter as widely as possible, and European Armies and the Conduct of War considers the roles of air power and the impact of the United States on European military developments.Through the eyes of the major theorists of the day, European Armies how the social and political influences which shape armies, also mould the attitude of those armies to warfare* the story of techicnal innovation* the mounting pace of industrialization and its impact of warfare.Recent military history has tended to focus on the relationship between armies and society and there has been much original research on the subject of the conduct of war. This book brings these approaches together, providing information and insight vital to the study of this fascinating era.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, War

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 1983

About the author

Hew Strachan was born and brought up in Edinburgh, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 2003 and awarded an Hon. D.Univ., (Paisley) 2005. He is also Life Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he was successively Research Fellow, Admissions Tutor and Senior Tutor, 1975-92. From 1992 to 2001 he was Professor of Modern History at the University of Glasgow, and from 1996 to 2001 Director of the Scottish Centre for War Studies.

Reviews

[JerryDeanHalleck · Rating 2 out of 5]

A survey of land warfare in Europe starting in the 18th century and going through WW II. Covers logistics, technology, communications, etc. Quite a few errors. I doubt the Russian Army estimated it needed 250 million shells a month in 1915 (!) or that WW I machine guns had EFFECTIVE ranges of 1,500-2,400 yards.

But on the whole, full of interesting analysis.

[Zak]

The maps are not very useful.

[Jeffrey Greening · Rating 5 out of 5]

The basis for a lot of my History 10/20 classes. This is another book I need to reread.

[Tia Wang]

chapt. 2,3,4

[Antonio López Sousa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Publicado en 1985 por el Servicio de Publicaciones del Estado Mayor del Ejército, forma parte de su "Biblioteca Básica del Militar Profesional", así que ya os podéis imaginar que se trata de una obra muy rigurosa, con mucha teoría militar y, por ende, algo densa.
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Aun así es un libro que se lee muy bien gracias al buen hacer del señor Strachan y con el que comprendes con nitidez cómo evolucionaron los ejércitos, las estrategias y las tácticas militares europeas entre los siglos XVIII-XX, desde Marlborough hasta la Guerra Total, pasando por Napoleón, Clausewitz o la Blitzkrieg.
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Lo más destacado de este libro, en mi opinión, es que su autor no aisla la guerra de aquello que la rodea, sino que la integra en el mundo del que en definitiva es parte: demografía, política, economía, tecnología... Strachan no se limita a enumerar batallas, guerras y sus circunstancias intrínsecas, que al fin y al cabo es lo que se suele hacer cuando se habla para el público general, sino que analiza y explica las condiciones sociales que derivaron en los cambios que sufrieron los ejércitos y en la forma en que fueron dirigidos. Y solo después, con las bases bien asentadas, analiza la guerra propiamente dicha, sus personajes y sus batallas. Y todo de una forma tan amena como académica, sin sentimentalismos, dejando de lado valoraciones éticas o morales acerca de quienes fomentaron esos cambios o protagonizaron los hechos descritos.
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No os engaño, para mí es un gran libro, pero reconozco que solo lo disfrutarán historiador@s o aquello@s que estén muy interesados en este tema.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not a bad book by any means, but it was a very dry book that was very hard to get through at times. In terms of readership this is aimed at academic or very serious audiences who are looking for a strong overview of European military strategy and the development of it. Since this books is more about the strategy than anything else the details about surrounding events can be a bit thin at times (i.e. you are expected to know them from elsewhere) but from that standpoint it does a good job of what it sets out to do.

[Sean Chick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful and concise account of how European's conception of land warfare shifted. It is not a minute study of tactics nor strategy, but a work that considers them on the whole. Strachan is at his best in describing the limitations of the figures involved and he is thankfully lacking in the tacit jingoism of most British military historians.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

By my old Prof. You were an awesome teacher.