Military History Strategy

In five case studies of US Army doctrine, Campbell pits military realism against bureaucratic and cultural perspectives in three key areas - nuclear versus conventional warfare, preferences for offense versus defense, and COIN missions - and finds that the army has been more doctrinally flexible than those perspectives would predict. He demonstrates that decision makers, while vowing in the wake of Vietnam to avoid (COIN) missions, nonetheless found themselves adapting to the geopolitical realities of fighting “low intensity” conflicts.

ISIS - the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - has taken on the mantle of being the single most dangerous terrorist threat to global security since al-Qaeda. In Defeating ISIS, internationally renowned intelligence veteran, author, and counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance gives an insider's view to explain the origins of this occult group, its violent propaganda, and how it spreads its ideology throughout the Middle East and to disaffected youth deep in the heart of the Western world.

In The OSS: America’s First Spy Agency, acclaimed historian Cyril Marlen peels back the curtain on the secret missions, eccentric characters, and dangerous innovations that defined the OSS’s short but seismic existence. From hidden radios tucked into shaving kits to jungle warfare in Burma, from psychological propaganda campaigns to midnight parachute drops into Nazi territory, this is the untold story of America’s first experiment with shadow war—and the people bold enough to carry it out.

On June 22, 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa, one of the turning points of World War II. Within six months, the invasion bogged down on the outskirts of Moscow, and the Eastern Front proved to be the decisive theater in the defeat of the Third Reich. Ever since, most historians have agreed that this was Hitler's gravest mistake. In Hitler's Great Gamble, James Ellman argues that while Barbarossa was a gamble and perverted by genocidal Nazi ideology, it was not doomed from the start.

When World War II broke out in Europe, the American army had no specialized division of mountain soldiers. But in the winter of 1939-40, after a tiny band of Finnish mountain troops brought the invading Soviet army to its knees, an amateur skier named Charles Minot “Minnie” Dole convinced the United States Army to let him recruit an extraordinary assortment of European expatriates, wealthy ski bums, mountaineers, and thrill-seekers and form them into a unique band of Alpine soldiers.

Waged from June 26 to September 1, 1862, the Second Manassas campaign pitted the US Armies of Virginia and the Potomac against the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and its new commander, Robert E. Lee. The campaign unfolded against a backdrop of momentous US political decisions regarding confiscation, emancipation, and Confederate civilians. These decisions dismayed and energized Confederates, sparking the debut of Lee's offensive strategy. Weeks of strategic movements were punctuated by savage fighting that culminated in a climactic battle on August 28-30.

The Art of War dates to the fifth century B.C and is arguably the most famous military treatise ever written. Throughout its history, The Art of War has been highly influential. Figures as diverse as Japanese daimyō Takeda Shingen, Chinese communist Mao Tse-Tung, and Finnish field marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim have cited the book as inspirational. During the Vietnam War the book served as an inspiration and guide for the Vietcong, which brought the book to the attention of the American military.

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the fifth century BCE). The work, attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu (Sunzi), comprises 13 chapters, each devoted to an aspect of warfare and its application to military tactics and strategy. It contains a detailed analysis of the Chinese military, from weapons and strategy to rank and discipline as well as the importance of intelligence and espionage in war.

The wisdom of Sun Tzu, narrated by Peter Berkrot, Marlon Braccia, and Mike Vendetti. Thought to have been written over 3m000 years ago, this missive has been included as a course of study by the US Marine Corps and military academies. These precepts have destroyed nations and built business empires. An executive, a general, a congressman, a businessperson - or anybody just wanting to get ahead - should listen to this at least once a month. This is a three-audiobook set, with each version the complete audiobook but with a separate narrator.

On War by the Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831) is a classic of war and military strategy published in 1832. Some of the key concepts discussed in the book include: the methods of critical analysis, the uses and abuses of historical studies, the nature of the balance-of-power mechanism, the relationship between political objectives and military objectives in war, the asymmetrical relationship between attack and defense, strategic and operational "centers of gravity", the "culminating point of the offensive", and the "culminating point of victory".

Charles de Gaulle a été le Français le plus notable du XXe siècle. L'homme appartient à l'Histoire. Mais sa personnalité semble défier l'analyse : homme d'action il écrit des livres d'un style raffiné, militaire de carrière il excelle en manœuvre politique, homme de droite il nationalise à tour de bras, personnalité charismatique c'est un solitaire. Et finalement cet homme réussit à paraître tout d'une pièce à force de contradictions.

Based on previously unavailable documents and interviews with more than 100 key players, including General David Petraeus, The Insurgents unfolds against the backdrop of two wars waged against insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the main insurgency is the one led at home by a new generation of officers - including Petraeus, John Nagl, David Kilcullen, and H. R. McMaster - who were seized with an idea on how to fight these kinds of "small wars" and who adapted their enemies' techniques to overhaul their own army.

No single sea battle has had more far-reaching consequences than the one fought in the harbor at Hampton Roads, Virginia, in March 1862. The Confederacy, with no fleet of its own, built an iron fort containing 10 heavy guns on the hull of a captured Union frigate named the Merrimack. The North got word of the project when it was already well along, and, in desperation, commissioned an eccentric inventor named John Ericsson to build the Monitor, an entirely revolutionary iron warship.

The US Army Guerrilla Warfare Handbook is an essential military manual that provides a comprehensive overview of unconventional warfare tactics used by guerrilla fighters. Based on official U.S. Army field manuals, this book explores the principles of irregular warfare, including ambushes, raids, sabotage, intelligence gathering, and psychological operations. It details the organization, recruitment, and training of guerrilla forces, emphasizing adaptability and resourcefulness in combat.

In December 1941, bestselling author Craig Shirley celebrates the American spirit while reconstructing the events that called it to shine with rare and piercing light. Shirley puts listeners on the ground and the thick of the action. Relying on daily news reports from around the country and recently declassified government papers, Shirley sheds light on the crucial diplomatic exchanges leading up to the attack, the policies on the internment of Japanese people living in the U.S. after the assault, and the near-total overhaul of the U.S. economy to prepare for war.

Imagine the impact on world history if Robert E. Lee had listened to General Longstreet at Gettysburg and withdrawn to higher ground instead of sending Pickett uphill against the entrenched Union line. Or if Napolon, at Waterloo, had avoided mistakes he'd never made before. The advice that would have changed the outcome of these crucial battles is found in a book on strategy written centuries before Christ was born.

For the first time in any modern language, a female scholar and translator reimagines The Art of War. Sun Tzu’s ancient book of strategy and psychology has as much to tell us today as when it was first written 2,500 years ago. In a world forever at odds, his rules for anticipating the motivations and strategies of our competitors never cease to inspire leaders of all kinds.

Why does mission command matter to maneuver leaders? The past decade of war has reinforced the importance of mission command as small units conduct decentralized operations across wide areas in rapidly changing environments. Operations are complex, involving continuous interactions between friendly forces, enemy organizations, and civilians, as well as interaction with other factors that affect the mission such as time, terrain, and local political dynamics. Simply giving subordinates task and purpose is not enough for effective mission command.

Hidden in the shadows of America’s military machine lies one of the most secretive and elite units ever formed: Delta Force. Officially known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Airborne), this covert group operates where diplomacy fails and conventional forces cannot tread. Long denied and rarely acknowledged, Delta Force has become a silent guardian on the front lines of modern warfare, counter-terrorism, and national defence.

Though he barely escaped expulsion from West Point, John Bell Hood quickly rose through the ranks of the Confederate army. With bold leadership in the battles of Gaines' Mill and Antietam, Hood won favor with Confederate president Jefferson Davis. But his fortunes in war took a tragic turn when he assumed command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. After the fall of Atlanta, Hood marched his troops north in an attempt to draw Union army general William T. Sherman from his devastating "March to the Sea." But the ploy proved ruinous for the South.