Overview

This cogent global history traces the evolution of land warfare since the start of the Crimean War. Jeremy Black argues that although it has always been critical to the outcome of conflicts worldwide, land warfare has become undervalued in comparison to air power in modern military thinking. In practice, land warfare was crucial during the American Civil War, the two world wars, and the conflicts of the Cold War. Indeed, the revival of great power confrontation has led to an urgent need to re-examine the entire contemporary period. Looking to the future, the book shows convincingly that we must consider the nature of the military for non-state actors as well for as the major powers. Ultimately, Black contends, there is no substitute for the control over territory provided by boots on the ground.

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9781442276895

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Reviews

Jeremy Black has done it again. In clear, concise, yet comprehensive terms, he has brought the history of the soldiers' wars to us in one fine volume. This is essential reading for all who seek to follow the evolution of ground warfare as seen from the shifting perspectives of the wars into which the soldier has been thrust. Wars change at a dizzying rate, but once more Black helps us to focus on the immutable without fixation. This is a true joy to read, and his attention to the way the regional focus of warfare since the mid-nineteenth century seems to have again returned to Asia causes us all to look again at neatly fitted timelines and geographic frames. -- Theodore F. Cook, William Paterson University of New Jersey Land conflict is warmaking's most protean, complex, and diverse form. The challenge of presenting a comprehensive analysis is correspondingly formidable, and Jeremy Black is fully up to the task. With the mid-nineteenth century as his starting point, he synergizes operational, doctrinal, and cultural perspectives on ground combat in a global context, with the comprehensive scholarship and perceptive sophistication characteristic of his work. This is Black at his best! -- Dennis Showalter, Colorado College In this crisp, incisive book, Jeremy Black illuminates the key challenge of warfare since the Charge of the Light Brigade. No playbook will serve. Militaries great and small that prepare exclusively for nuclear or conventional war will be undone by `wars among the people' and vice versa. There is an intractability to warfare in every age, which, Black reveals, can only be addressed by supple techniques and doctrine and a solid grasp of history. -- Geoffrey Wawro, University of North Texas

Jeremy Black has done it again. In clear, concise, yet comprehensive terms, he has brought the history of the soldiers' wars to us in one fine volume. This is essential reading for all who seek to follow the evolution of ground warfare as seen from the shifting perspectives of the wars into which the soldier has been thrust. Wars change at a dizzying rate, but once more Black helps us to focus on the immutable without fixation. This is a true joy to read, and his attention to the way the regional focus of warfare since the mid-nineteenth century seems to have again returned to Asia causes us all to look again at neatly fitted timelines and geographic frames.--Theodore F. Cook, William Paterson University of New Jersey Land conflict is warmaking's most protean, complex, and diverse form. The challenge of presenting a comprehensive analysis is correspondingly formidable, and Jeremy Black is fully up to the task. With the mid-nineteenth century as his starting point, he synergizes operational, doctrinal, and cultural perspectives on ground combat in a global context, with the comprehensive scholarship and perceptive sophistication characteristic of his work. This is Black at his best!--Dennis Showalter, Colorado College

Author Information

Jeremy Black is professor of history at the University of Exeter and a 2018 Templeton Fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Land Warfare is the capstone book in Black’s global warfare series, which includes Air Power: A Global History, Naval Warfare: A Global History since 1860, Insurgency and Counterinsurgency: A Global History, Combined Operations: A Global History of Amphibious and Airborne Warfare, and Fortifications and Siegecraft: Defense and Attack through the Ages.

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