As I mentioned before, I have a tendency to jump back and forth between many different books. So I'm still reading the books I mentioned in this post (with the exception of Alan Millett and Williamson Murray, which I finished), but I've started reading some new books as well.
- Archer Jones, Elements of Military Strategy: A Historical Approach, 1996.
- Aleksandr A. Svechin, Strategy, orig. published 1927, 1993 reprint.
- Chaim Herzog, War of Atonement: The Inside Story of the Yom Kippur War, orig published 1975, 2009 reprint.
- Martin Kitchen, Rommel's Desert War: Waging World War II in North Africa, 1941-1943, 2010.
- Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1-2 Campaigning, 1997.
I've read about a third of Jones, nearly half of Kitchen, half of MCDP 1-2, and just started Svechin and Herzog.
Some brief capsule comments: Jones's book expands on his unique strategic theory and typology he introduced in The Art of War in the Western World. Svechin's book is a work of strategic theory by the Soviet Union's perhaps most brilliant theoretician-practitioner outlining his view of the shift away from a Napoleonic way of warfare to a "modern" style. Herzog's is a dated but valuable (so far) overview of the Yom Kippur war from an Israeli and primarily military perspective. Kitchen continues the emerging historical consensus of Rommel as a good tactician but a massively flawed commander in other respects. MCDP 1-2 is a good document to begin from when looking at campaign planning and its role in the larger processes of strategy.
I'll try to review each, like Zenpundit, when I finish. I'm also looking forward to Starbuck's review of the new Kilcullen book.
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