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The allure of battle : a history of how wars have been won and lost / Cathal J. Nolan.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2017]Description: viii, 709 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780195383782
  • 0195383788
Subject(s):
Contents:
Battle in history -- Battle retarded -- Battle remembered -- Battle reformed -- Battle with reason -- Battle restored -- Battle decisive -- Battle defeated -- Battle exalted -- Battle of annihilation -- Annihilation of battle -- Annihilation of strategy -- Annihilation of nations -- Annihilation of mercy -- Annihilation at sea -- Annihilation of illusions -- Conclusions.
Subject: "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--played 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 defenses. 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."--Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Dr. James Carlson Library NonFiction 355.409 N787 Available 33111008590800
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 355.409 N787 Available 33111008727337
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

We tend to measure war's winners and losers in terms of major engagements. Gettysburg, Trafalgar, Midway, Waterloo, Agincourt, Dien Bien Phu - all resonate in the literature of war and in our imaginations as either tide-turning or decisive. But what actually signifies a "decisive" battle? The Allure of Battle by Cathal J. Nolan systematically examines a series of great battles, each traditionally perceived as the "turning point" of the war in which they occurred and shows how and where these battles fit into the histories of those wars, and into military history as a whole. In each case, even large and important battles have only contributed to victory or defeat by accelerating the erosion of the other side's defences. In massive conflicts, a shared characteristic emerges: prolonged stalemate created from an uneven military balance, broken only over time and by a series of smaller engagements.Rather than claim to have discovered linear or universal laws about warfare, or some overarching "theory of war," this book places battles within the context of the wider conflict in which they took place. In the process it help corrects a distorted view of battle's place in war - replacing popular images of the "decisive battle" with somber appreciation of the commitments and human sacrifices made in war. Accessible, provocative, and entertaining, The Allure of Battle will sparks fresh debate about the history, strategy, and conduct of warfare.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Battle in history -- Battle retarded -- Battle remembered -- Battle reformed -- Battle with reason -- Battle restored -- Battle decisive -- Battle defeated -- Battle exalted -- Battle of annihilation -- Annihilation of battle -- Annihilation of strategy -- Annihilation of nations -- Annihilation of mercy -- Annihilation at sea -- Annihilation of illusions -- Conclusions.

"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--played 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 defenses. 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."--Provided by publisher.

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