For centuries, the world has witnessed the development and use of
increasingly complex and powerful military systems and
technologies. In the process, the "art of war" has truly become the
art of combined arms warfare, in which infantry, artillery, air
support, intelligence, and other key elements are all coordinated
for maximum effect. Nowhere has this trend been more visible than
in the history of twentieth-century warfare.
Originally published as an essential "in-house" study for U.S.
Army officers during the 1980s, this much revised and expanded
edition remains the most complete study available on the subject.
Rewritten with a much wider readership in mind, it both retains its
enormous practical utility for military professionals and provides
a valuable and appealing introduction for scholars and general
readers.
Jonathan House, author of the original work, brings the story of
combined arms up to the present, covering among other things Desert
Storm, the war in Chechnya, and the rise of "smart weapons" and
related technologies. He traces the evolution of tactics, weapons,
and organization in five major militaries -- American, British,
German, Russian, and French -- over 100 years of warfare. Revealing
both continuities and contrasts within and between these fighting
forces, he also provides illuminating glimpses of Israeli and
Japanese contributions to combined arms doctrine. Expanding his
insightful analysis of the world wars and the wars in Korea and
Vietnam, House also offers much new material focused on the
post-Vietnam period. Throughout, he analyzes such issues as
command-and-control, problems of highly centralized organizations,
the development of special operationsforces, advances in weapons
technology -- including ballistic and anti-ballistic missile
systems -- the trade-offs involved in using "heavy" versus "light"
armed forces, and the enduring obstacles to effective cooperation
between air and land forces. (His strong critique of the "air
superiority" propaganda that came out of the Gulf War is sure to
spark some heated debates.)
Rigorously comparative, House's study addresses significant
questions about how nations prepare for war, learn or don't learn
its harsh lessons, and adapt to changing times and technologies.
Unique in the annals of the literature on warfare, it will be the
standard work on this subject for a long time to come.
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