The Allure of Battle: A History of How Wars Have Been Won and Lost - Hardcover

Nolan, Cathal J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195383788 ISBN 13: 9780195383782

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2017

Synopsis

History has tended to measure war's winners and losers in terms of its major engagements, battles in which the result was so clear-cut that they could be considered "decisive." Marathon, Cannae, Tours, Agincourt, Austerlitz, Sedan, Stalingrad--all resonate in the literature of war and in our imaginations as tide-turning. But were they? As Cathal J. Nolan demonstrates in this magisterial and sweeping work, victory in major wars usually has been determined in other ways. Even the most legendarily lopsided of battles did not necessarily decide their outcomes. Nolan also challenges the hoary concept of the military "genius," even of the Great Captains--from Alexander to Frederick and Napoleon--mapping instead the descent into total war.

The Allure of Battle systematically recreates and analyzes the major campaigns among the Great Powers, from the Middle Ages through the 20th century, from the fall of Byzantium to the defeat of the Axis powers, tracing the illusion of "short-war thinking," the hope that victory might be swift and conflict brief. Such has almost never been the case. Even one-sided battles have mainly contributed to victory or defeat by accelerating erosion of the other side's defenses, resources, and will.

Massive conflicts, the so-called "people's wars," beginning with Napoleon and continuing until the end of World War II, have been more fundamentally determined by prolonged stalemate and attrition, wars in which the determining factor was not tactical but industrial.

Nolan's masterful book places battles squarely and mercilessly within the context of the wider conflict in which they took place. In the process it help corrects a distorted view of their role in war, replacing popular images of "decisive battles" with somber appreciation of the sacrifice and endurance necessary to victory. Accessible, provocative, exhaustive, and illuminating, The Allure of Battle will spark fresh debate about the history and conduct of warfare.

About this title

About the Author:

Cathal J. Nolan is Associate Professor of History and Executive Director of the International History Institute at Boston University. In addition to editing six books on international history, Nolan is the author of Principled Diplomacy: Security and Rights in U.S. Foreign Policy and Wars of the Age of Louis XIV. He is also the sole author of several multi-volume encyclopedias on military and international history.

Review:

Allure of Battle is winner of the 2017 Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History. This major book prize “recognizes the best book on military history in the English-speaking world distinguished by its scholarship, its contribution to the literature, and its appeal to both a general and an academic audience.”

"With considerable elegance, Mr. Nolan disposes of iconic military genius, putting particular stress on the importance of defensive battle.... He suggests that his book is not written for military historians but for the wider public, in part to alert the general reader to the distorted image of decisiveness in battle. He is too modest: Everyone can benefit from what is a particularly fine history of war." -- Ian Beckett, The Wall Street Journal.

"Fascinating. I cannot remember reading anything in the last few years that has made me reconsider so many basic questions -- What wins wars? What is the most illuminating way to relate military history? Are our generals flailing because they try to substitute battlefield skill for strategic understanding?" Thomas E. Ricks, The New York Times.

"This is one of the most valuable military histories in years. A must-read for students of military history. " -- Kirkus Reviews (Starred review).

"One of the most stimulating and controversial books on military history in a long time. Challenging, well written, well-sourced ... there is a great deal of food for thought for military historians and professionals in this volume." -- New York Journal of Books.

"Brilliant new book ... sets narrative force firmly against romantic nonsense. Keeps before readers the central fact that earlier, grander military histories - for which Nolan's book is a worthy but distinctly modern counterpart - were so often at pains to obscure: that the allure of battle is nightmare." -- The National.

"Nolan does not merely write from the point of view of the commander. He recreates the atmosphere of battle, the valor and misery of common soldiers and bystanders caught in the tempest of war. His masterful writing and attention to detail, combined with a rare ability to write succinctly and never lose the larger picture, will fascinate historians and general readers alike." -- Danny Orbach, History and Asian Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

"Crisply written, well-designed and executed ... Cathal Nolan's work is a monumental effort. Highly recommended to serious students of war, especially senior officers who must balance the planning of wars with the material resources needed to execute them. As we reenter an era marked by the potential scale of great power competition, it would behoove our policymakers to read and consider Professor Nolan's findings." -- Modern War Institute at West Point, Frank Hoffman, Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies.

"In a sweeping narrative that ranges from the Middle Ages through World War II, Cathal Nolan dismantles an illusion that has persistently distorted our understanding of armed conflict - that of the decisive battle engineered by the genius general. But the importance of this brilliantly provocative book is not merely historical. Its conclusions apply directly to war and military policy in the present day." -- Andrew J. Bacevich, Author of America's War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History.

"A lyrical, sweeping, and fast-paced return to grand military history with the important proviso that the allure of battle has constantly misled generals, politicians and historians to mistake rousing tactical victories for long-term and enduring strategic gains. In exacting detail, Cathal Nolan pushes myopia aside and the result is a trenchant reappraisal of decisive battles in Western warfare." -- Michael L. Gross, The School of Political Science, University of Haifa, the author of Moral Dilemmas of Modern War and The Ethics of Insurgency.

"This is a book that military planners and general/flag officers should read, and it should be required reading for anyone assigned to the National Security Council. Most military professionals like to think of themselves as maneuver warriors; this book shows the dark side of maneuver warfare." -- Gary Anderson, Elliott School of International Affairs.

"Why do so many generals over promise and under-deliver, from Breitenfeld to Basra? We buy the hype because we want quick results at low cost. Yet the blood-sodden reality is almost always quite different. In seeking the Allure of Battle, Cathal Nolan draws on the broad sweep on Western military history. He explains what went wrong, and why, with wit, insight, and a knowing eye for the heroes and cads who made it so. Battles rarely deliver convincing results. But Cathal Nolan sure does." -- Daniel P. Bolger, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army, Retired, author of Why We Lost: A General's Inside Account of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.

The Allure of Battle provides new and fresh insights into war studies and offers new and fresh perspectives on military history. This is a very well-researched book. Nolan's credentials on the subject are unmatched. It will change the way you have looked at military history up until now. It is a must-read for both students and experts of military history.-- The Washington Book Review

"This is a really interesting book. It is thought-provoking and offers readers numerous side suggestions on places to go if they are interested in exploring various topics at greater length. Buy it. Read it." RealClearBooks.com

"Nolan provides an important historical overview for modern military and political leaders tempted by the siren song of war and under the delusion that conflict will be short-lived under the right commander." Military History

"Nolan’s book offers insight to the business strategist and the war strategist.
We see the tangible takeaways in business through both insight into the limitations of decisive battle mentalities, and the power of what a deep capacity for logistics can bring to an organization’s staying power capabilities." MinimumViableStrategy.com

"A significant and welcome contribution to the scholarship of military history and theory by clarifying the seductions of short-war thinking and lionized military 'geniuses.'" Michigan War Studies Review

"Can be read as a kind of frontal assault on Clausewitz’s domination of the way Westerners think about war, and the way most popular historians write about it, i.e., with a very heavy emphasis on battles. It’s a plea to remember that battles are but one of many factors that explain how and why wars are won and lost. Grand strategy —where political and military spheres intermix—industrial mobilization and management, logistics, the maintenance of public support for the government, attrition of forces in the field—all these factors, and more, ultimately affect war’s trajectory and outcome. To focus intensively on battles is to oversimplify war’s inherent complexity." thedailybeast.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0195383788
• ISBN 13: 9780195383782
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 728