Overview

The Oxford Companion to Military History is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how our world has been shaped, and continues to be shaped, by conflict. It is a comprehensive A-Z guide to warfare from the classical period to the present day. Over 1,300 entries, by a team of more than 150 specialists, cover subjects such as weapons and equipment, people - military leaders, theorists, inventors - wars, campaigns, and battles, strategy and tactics, logistics, fortifications, life in the military, military literature, and medicine. In addition wide-ranging contextual entries discuss topics as diverse as animals in war and pacifism. There are over 70 specially commissioned maps, which show the course of major battles and campaigns in detail, and 15 pages of diagrams ranging from missiles to manoeuvres. This book is already becoming a point of first reference for any question of military history. There is nothing quite like it in print.

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9780198606963

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Reviews

Anyone with a point to clarify on military matters, or a simple curiosity about military affairs, would do well to turn to this volume first. This lecturer in military history will certainly be doing so regularly. William Philpott, King's College, London

Think of almost any aspect of warfare from classical times to the present and you'll find it listed here in surprising detail. Every major battle and war is covered along with a multitude of conflicts and minor skirmishes of which most people have never heard but which helped shape the world we know. There are even such unlikely entries as venereal diseases as they affected soldiers, the part that animals have played in war, and what duties a Quartermaster Sergeant was meant to perform on the frontline. More than 150 contributors, all experts in their fields, look at warfare in its social, political and economic contexts but the major focus is on strategy and how battles were won and lost. The monster of a book manages to accomplish all this without skimping on detail. This isn't just an appetite-whetter that points the reader in other directions for further research - it tries to do the whole thing at one go and succeeds to an amazing extent. Only scholars who need to know the minutest details will want a reference book that covers more ground than this. Maps and other illustrations - such as different forms of artillery - are plentiful and complement the text perfectly. Richard Holmes, Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University and the Royal Military College of Science, is a familiar figure on TV. He presented the BBC series War Walks and part of The Western Front, and wrote the accompanying books. In this latest venture he has marshalled his own forces well. The index is super-comprehensive and allows for easy cross-referencing. Thus it is possible for the reader to look up biographical details on military leaders such as Napoleon, Julius Caesar and Eisenhower, and quickly locate details of the battles in which they played their parts. Holmes modestly states, 'No companion can claim to be comprehensive.' Maybe not, but this is as close as it gets. Here we have one of the most important single-volume reference works on military matters to have appeared for many a year. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Richard Holmes is Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University and the Royal Military College of Science. He presented the entire BBC-TV series War Walks and one part of The Western Front.

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