Warfare In The Twentieth Century

The twentieth century was dominated by war and by preparations for war in a way that is unparalleled in history. Originally published in 1988, this textbook highlights key themes of warfare throughout the world and emphasizes the gulf between the theory of war and its practice. The contributors are professional historians and strategists who consider the impact of war upon society, theories of insurgency and counter-insurgency and nuclear strategy, as well as more ‘traditional topics’ such as tactics and strategy on land, the role of sea power, the evolution of strategic bombing, colonial and revolutionary warfare. Each chapter discusses recent research on the topic and provides guides to further reading. Together they give a clear up-to-date overview of the conflicts which dominated the twentieth century. This textbook is useful reading for all students and teachers of strategic and war studies, military history and international relations and for all those concerned with the study of major conflicts in the twentieth century.

The original version of this text was published in 1984 as a textbook on military history for officers in the U.S. Army. The revised version includes an appendix of terms and acronyms, and concepts are explained in nontechnical terms, making it more comprehensible to the general reader. Also incorporated is a description of combined arms warfare from the late-1970s to the end of the 20th century, which takes into account developments that were not obvious in 1984. The main topics are how the major armies of the world fight on the battlefield; what concepts, weapons, and organizations have developed for this purpose; and how the different armies have influenced each other in these developments. House is a former military officer and analyst for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. c. Book News Inc.

France experienced four major conflicts in the fifty years between 1914 and 1964: two world wars, and the wars in Indochina and Algeria. In each the role of myth was intricately bound up with memory, hope, belief, and ideas of nation. This is the first book to explore how individual myths were created, sustained, and used for purposes of propaganda, examining in detail not just the press, radio, photographs, posters, films, and songs that gave credence to an imagined event or attributed mythical status to an individual, but also the cultural processes by which such artifacts were disseminated and took effect. Reliance on myth, so the authors argue, is shown to be one of the most significant and durable features of 20th century warfare propaganda, used by both sides in all the conflicts covered in this book. However, its effective and useful role in time of war notwithstanding, it does distort a population's perception of reality and therefore often results in defeat: the myth-making that began as a means of sustaining belief in France's supremacy, and later her will and ability to resist, ultimately proved counterproductive in the process of decolonization.

How war has been remembered collectively is the central question in this volume. War in the twentieth century is a vivid and traumatic phenomenon which left behind it survivors who engage time and time again in acts of remembrance. This volume, containing essays by outstanding scholars of twentieth-century history, focuses on the issues raised by the shadow of war in this century. The behaviour, not of whole societies or of ruling groups alone, but of the individuals who do the work of remembrance, is discussed by examining the traumatic collective memory resulting from the horrors of the First World War, the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War, and the Algerian War. By studying public forms of remembrance, such as museums and exhibitions, literature and film, the editors have succeeded in bringing together a volume which demonstrates that a popular kind of collective memory is still very much alive.

Another Century of War? is a candid and critical look at America’s “new wars” by a brilliant and provocative analyst of its old ones. Gabriel Kolko’s masterly studies of conflict have redefined our views of modern warfare and its effects; in this urgent and timely treatise, he turns his attention to our current crisis and the dark future it portends. Another Century of War? insists that the roots of terrorism lie in America’s own cynical policies in the Middle East and Afghanistan, a half-century of real politik justified by crusades for oil and against communism. The latter threat has disappeared, but America has become even more ambitious in its imperialist adventures and, as the recent crisis proves, even less secure. America, Kolko contends, reacts to the complexity of world affairs with its advanced technology and superior firepower, not with realistic political response and negotiation. He offers a critical and well-informed assessment of whether such a policy offers any hope of attaining greater security for America. Raising the same hard-hitting questions that made his Century of War a “crucial” (Globe and Mail) assessment of our age of conflict, Kolko asks whether the wars of the future will end differently from those in our past.

Succinct accounts of 21 guerrilla conflicts in the twentieth century Wars covered include the Boer War, the Philippine War, World War I, the Russian Revolution, World War II, Vietnam, the Algerian War, the Afghan-Soviet War, and more The exploits of men like Lawrence of Arabia, Orde Wingate, Mao Zedong, and Che Guevera In war, whenever one side outnumbers and outguns the other, the outnumbered and outgunned side often resorts to guerrilla warfare to address the asymmetry and frequently achieves victory. The twentieth century produced scores of such conflicts, whether as sideshows of the world wars or as the main events in wars of revolution or liberation. Guerrilla Warfare examines twenty-one of these conflicts, shedding light on the remarkable capabilities of unconventional fighters to outlast and defeat their enemies.

At the turn of the 21st Century, the world was immediately gripped by the War on Terrorism followed by the Iraq War. In reflection, the 20th Century was a period marked by tremendous technological and economic progress — but it was also the most violent century in human history. It witnessed two horrendous world wars, as well as the conflicts during the Cold War. Why do wars persistently erupt among nations, particularly the Great Powers? What are the primary factors that drive nations to violence — power, prestige, ideology or territory? Or is it motivated by pure fear and mistrust? Peering nervously at the 21st Century, we wonder whether American supremacy and globalization will help ensure peace and stability. Or will shifts in power with the emergence of new economic super-nations lead to further tensions and conflicts in this century? Together with 29 Peace Nobel laureates, an outstanding group of scholars gathered in Oslo, Norway, on December 6, 2001, for the three-day Nobel Centennial Symposium to discuss “The Conflicts of the 20th Century and the Solutions for the 21st Century”. Read this book for the scholars' candid insights and analyses, as well as their thought-provoking views on the factors that led to conflicts in the 20th Century and whether the 21st Century will be a more peaceful one. This is a rare — and possibly the best and only — book compilation of the highly intellectual analyses by world experts and Nobel Peace laureates on the perennial issues of War & Peace. Contents:Introduction: The Conflicts of the 20th Century and the Solutions for the 21st Century, Geir Lundestad & Olav Njølstad, The Norwegian Nobel InstituteDialogue and Cooperation to Achieve World Peace, Dae-Jung Kim, ex-President, The Republic of KoreaWar and Peace in the 20th Century, Eric Hobsbawm, Birkbeck College, University of LondonIdeologies and Polities: Liberal Democracy and National Dictatorship in Peace and, War Michael W Doyle, Princeton UniversityMaking Sense of Political Violence in Postcolonial Africa, Mahmood Mamdani, Columbia UniversityGlobal Inequality and Persistent Conflicts, Amartya Sen, University of Cambridge (UK), and the 1998 Nobel Prize winner in Economic SciencesThe Rise and Fall of Great Powers, Joseph S Nye, Harvard UniversityBeyond Militarism, Arms Races and Arms Control, Mary H Kaldor, London School of EconomicsRivalry over Territory and Resources and the Balance of Peace and War: The 20th Century, Louise Fawcett, St Catherine's College, Oxford UniversityMisperception, Mistrust, Fear, Akira Iriye, Harvard UniversityThe Nobel Peace Prize in Its Next Century: Old and New Dimensions, Geir Lundestad, The Norwegian Nobel Institute Readership: Students, researchers, academics, politicians, journalists, and anyone interested in 20th century history and peace and conflict studies. Keywords:War;Peace;20th Century;Conflicts and Solutions Nobel SymposiumReviews:“This beautifully produced and edited volume presents a fascinating collection of essays structured around the objectives engendered by the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize … this ensemble of contributions provides an excellent insight into the evolution of thinking about war and peace. As a reflection upon these crucial issues, it is readable, informative and highly recommended.”Journal of Peace Research