The origins of military thought : from the Enlightenment to Clausewitz

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

The origins of military thought : from the Enlightenment to Clausewitz

Azar Gat

(Oxford historical monographs)

Clarendon Press , Oxford University Press, 1989

Available at  / 7 libraries

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Note

Rev. and enl. version of the author's thesis (doctoral), St. Antony's College, Oxford University, 1984

Includes bibliographical references

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This book sets out to shed new light on the origins and nature of modern military thinking. The ideas of Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831), which remain at the heart of strategic analysis today, have hitherto been examined in isolation from their cultural and philosophical roots in the 18th century. In this study, the author examines the extent to which culture affects military theory. He relates a series of military thinkers to their cultural background, and contrasts the worldview of the Enlightenment with that of the German Movement. He provides a critique of Clausewitz's classic work "On War" and demonstrates how the major currents of modern military thought have evolved from the cultural frameworks and historical outlooks of the German movement and the Enlightenment. In the process, the book offers an insight into a great period of European culture and into warfare during the Napoleonic Age.

Table of Contents

  • Introduction: Machiavelli and the classical notion of the lessons of history in the study of war. Part 1 The military school of the Enlightenment: Montecuccoli - the impact of proto-science on military theory
  • the military thinkers of the French Enlightenment - the quest for a general theory of war - De Saxe, Puysegur, Turpin, de Crisse, Maizeroy, Guibert
  • the military thinkers of the German "Aufklarung" - Lloyd, Bulow
  • through the Napoleonic Age - Archduke Charles and the Austrian Military School, Jomini. Part 2 The German movement - Clausewitz and the origins of the German Military School: the reaction against the Enlightenment - new perspectives on military theory - Berenhorst
  • Clausewitz - demolishing and rebuilding the theoretical ideal
  • the nature of war. Appendix: Clausewitz's final notes revisited.

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