Arms Commander

L.E. Modesitt, Jr.'s Arms-Commander continues his bestselling fantasy series the Saga of Recluce, which is one the most popular in contemporary epic fantasy. The keep of Westwind at the Roof of the World, faces attack by the adjoining land of Gallos. Arthanos, son and heir to the ailing Prefect of Gallos, wishes to destroy Westwind because the idea of a land where women rule is total anathema to him. Westwind dispatches Saryn, their Arms-Commander, a neighboring land to seek support against the Gallosians. To secure their aid, Saryn must pledge her personal support—and any Westwind guard forces she can raise—to the defense of its ruler. The fate of four lands, including Westwind, rest on Saryn's actions. “An intriguing fantasy in a fascinating world.”—Robert Jordan, New York Times bestselling author of The Wheel of Time® series Saga of Recluce #1 The Magic of Recluce / #2 The Towers of Sunset / #3 The Magic Engineer / #4 The Order War / #5 The Death of Chaos / #6 Fall of Angels / #7 The Chaos Balance / #8 The White Order / #9 Colors of Chaos / #10 Magi’i of Cyador / #11 Scion of Cyador / #12 Wellspring of Chaos / #13 Ordermaster / #14 Natural Order Mage / #15 Mage-Guard of Hamor / #16 Arms-Commander / #17 Cyador’s Heirs / #18 Heritage of Cyador /#19 The Mongrel Mage / #20 Outcasts of Order / #21 The Mage-Fire War (forthcoming) Story Collection: Recluce Tales Other Series by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. The Imager Portfolio The Corean Chronicles The Spellsong Cycle The Ghost Books The Ecolitan Matter At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The rise of industrialization coupled with the growth of technology have contributed to creating a complexity to modern warfare that far exceeds the primitive conditions of earlier periods. Defined as the creative use of distributed operations for the purposes of strategy, success at the operational level requires that commanders practice operational art. Although current doctrine recognizes that the operational commander must link theater strategy to tactical operations through operational art, it fails to provide an adequate description of the commander role in campaign planning. Thus, this monograph examines the operational commander’s role in planning and executing a successful campaign. The monograph begins by describing how industrialized societies and technology affected the evolution of warfare thus creating a new medium known as operational art. Next it discusses suitable criteria for determining the commander’s role in operational campaigns followed by an explanation of the campaign analysis model consisting of the operational operating systems described in TRADOC Pam 11-9. The monograph then analyzes three successful campaigns: Field-Marshal Slim as the 14th Army commander in Burma; General MacArthur in the World War II Cartwheel Operation and General Ridgway as the 8th Army commander in Korea.

The idea of military necessity lies at the centre of the law of armed conflict and yet it is less than fully understood. This book analyses which legal limits govern the commander's assessment of military necessity, and argues that military necessity itself is not a limitation. Military necessity calls for a highly discretionary exercise: the assessment. Yet, there is little guidance as to how this discretionary process should be exercised, apart from the notions of 'a reasonable military commander'. A reasonable assessment of 'excessive' civilian losses are presumed to be almost intuitive. Objective standards for determining excessive civilian losses are difficult to identify, particularly when that 'excessiveness' will be understood in relative terms. The perpetual question arises: are civilian losses acceptable if the war can be won? The result is a heavy burden of assessment placed on the shoulders of the military commander.