MILITARY HISTORY

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MILITARY HISTORY

• 00 Introduction

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• Anyone who clings to the historically untrue -
  and thoroughly immoral - doctrine that violence
  never settles anything I would advise to conjure
  up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke
  of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost
  of Hitler would referee. Violence, naked force,
  has settled more issues in history than has any
  other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful
  thinking at its worst. Those that forgot this
  basic truth have always paid for it with their
  lives and their freedoms.
• Robert Heinlein

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What IS Military History?

• Military history is composed of the events in the
  history of humanity that fall within the category
  of conflict.

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• This may range from a melee between two tribes
  to conflicts between proper militaries to a world
  war affecting the majority of the human
  population.

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• Military historians record (in writing or
  otherwise) the events of military history.

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• Military activity has been a constant process
  over thousands of years.
• However, there is little agreement about when it
  began.

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• Some believe it has always been with us others
  stress the lack of clear evidence for it in our
  prehistoric past, and the fact that many
  peaceful, non-military societies have and still
  do exist.

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• In the book War Before Civilization, Lawrence H.
  Keeley, a professor at the University of
  Illinois, calculates that approximately 90-95 of
  known societies engaged in at least occasional
  warfare, and many fought constantly.

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• The essential tactics, strategy, and goals of
  military operations have been unchanging
  throughout the past 5,000 years of our
  90,000-year human history.

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• An example of one notable maneuver is the double
  envelopment, considered to be the consummate
  military maneuver, executed by Hannibal at the
  Battle of Cannae in 216 BC, over 2,200 years ago.

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• This maneuver was also later effectively used by
  Khalid ibn al-Walid at the Battle of Walaja in
  633 AD, Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens
  over 1100 years later, and was described by the
  Chinese military theorist Sun Tzu, who wrote at
  roughly the same time as the founding of Rome.

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• By the study of history, the military seeks to
  not repeat past mistakes, and improve upon its
  current performance by instilling an ability in
  commanders to perceive historical parallels
  during battle, so as to capitalize on the lessons
  learned.

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• The purpose of this class is to take a critical
  look at decisive battles through out the ages,
  evaluate how the world was changed at that time
  and how it effects us today.

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• The criteria for including a battle as decisive
  are defined as including any or all of the
  following

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• 1. The outcome of the battle brought about a
  major political or social change.

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• 2. Had the outcome of the battle been reversed,
  major political or social changes would have
  ensued.

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• 3. The battle marks the introduction of a major
  change in warfare.

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• We will look at battles ranging from the earliest
  known recorded battle to modern day warfare in
  Iraq.

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• Each week we will cover multiple battles arranged
  around certain time periods.
• The time periods and battles are as follows

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• Each of these battles will be followed by group
  discussion, quizzes, research papers, projects
  and guest speakers.

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• It is my hope that at the end of this class you
  have a greater appreciation of history and the
  men and women who have sacrificed so much to
  shape the world we inhabit now.

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• Those that fail to learn from history, are
  doomed to repeat it.
• Winston Churchill