Battle: Understanding Conflict from Hastings to Helmand

by Graeme Callister, Rachael Whitbread

What are the critical factors that determine the outcome of battles? Which is more decisive in a clash of armies or the societies they represent? How important is the leadership of the commanders, the terrain over which the armies fight, the weapons they use and the supplies they depend on? And what about the rules of war and the strategic thinking and tactics of the time? These are among the questions Graeme Callister and Rachael Whitbread seek to answer as they demonstrate the breadth of factors that need to be taken into account to truly understand battle.

Their book traces the evolution of warfare over time, exploring the changing influence of the social, political, technological and physical landscape on the field of battle itself. They examine how the motivation of the combatants and their methods of fighting have changed, and they illustrate their conclusions with vivid, carefully chosen examples from across a range of Western European military history, including the Norman Conquest, the Hundred Years War, the Wars of Religion, the Napoleonic Wars and the world wars, and beyond.

By exploring the wide range of interconnected factors that influence the results of battles, the authors broaden the study of this aspect of military history from a narrow focus on isolated episodes of conflict. Their original and thought-provoking writing will be fascinating reading for all students of warfare.

288 pages, Hardcover

Published October 7, 2022

Reviews

[Jeff Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Battle:Understanding Conflict from Hastings to Helmand discusses the strategy, tactics and other factors that go into battle. There are numerous examples of each factor given which is quite interesting because you read about one factor of battle and then right after that is an example of a historical battle where that factor is relevant. Very easy to read and very interesting!