The Development of Military Thought

Book excerpt: In this scholarly and original study of military thought during the nineteenth century Azar Gat continues and expands the themes he explored in his previous book, The Origins of Military Thought from the Enlightenment to Clausewitz (Oxford Historical Monographs, 1989). The present volume spans the period from the aftermath of the Napoleonic era to the outbreak of the First World War. Encompassing Prussia/Germany, France, Great Britain, the United States of America and the Marxist theory later to gain sway in Russia, The Development of Military Thought focuses on the wider conceptions of war, strategy, and military theory which dominated the West in this period. Dr. Gat's penetrating analysis uncovers the intellectual assumptions and picture of the past which underlay military policy and practice.