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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2009
War has been such a shaping force in human history that no period has escaped its influence. This century seems especially cursed with the burden of two World Wars, not to mention the Russian and the German revolutions. To satisfy current interest in military affairs, armies, and the conduct of war, the following survey of military literature has been prepared. Books in English have been emphasized as much as possible though there is a more abundant literature in foreign languages. So vast is this literature that some limitations have been made necessary: the field of international law, the issue of disarmament, peace-making, and conquest have not been considered. Only incidental references have been made to the economics of war, which is a field embraced by the popular concept “Total War.” Except for a few books no attempt has been made to discuss the important problem of the relation of government and armies in peace and war. The sociology of war, a proper topic, cannot be treated in detail here: ample discussion of this subject will be found in the works of Arnold Toynbee, A Study of History (London, 1934 ff. 6 v.); Pitirim Sorokin, Social and Cultural Dynamics (New York, 1937, especially v. 3); Max Weber, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft (Tübingen, 1925); and Werner Sombart, Der moderne Kapitalismus (Munich, 1921–1927, 3 v., 4th ed.).
1 Part II of this survey, which will appear in the July issue, will deal with books about the French Revolution and Napoleon, the nineteenth century, World War I and World War II, as well as about the philosophy and ethics of war.
2 See Phillips, Thomas R., Roots of Strategy (Harrisburg, Pa., 1940), pp. 21–63Google Scholar, and Giles, Lionel, ed., Sun Tzu on the Art of War (London, 1910)Google Scholar.
3 Field Saxe, Marshal Count, Reveries or Memoirs upon the Art of War (London, 1757), p. iiiGoogle Scholar.
4 Consult Erben, Wilhelm, Kriegsgeschichle des Mittelallers (Munich and Berlin, 1929), Chap. III, pp. 31–51Google Scholar.
5 Polybius (201–120 B.C.), the important historian of Roman warfare, had an excellent treatise on tactics. Another of the ancient military writers was Xenophon, (430–355 B.C.), famous for his account of cavalry, Hipparchicus, and also for his Cyropaedia which treated generalship and the art of war.
6 Machiavelli, N., The Prince (New York, 1940, Modern Library ed.) p. 45Google Scholar.
7 Carnot, of course, deserves mention as a military organizer but his literary efforts were less notable than those of Scharnhorst or the Archduke Charles. No one man can be given credit for rebuilding the French army; it was a process that began after the Seven Years' War. Napoleon, as the greatest military figure of the era, left only scattered writings.
8 Consult Lehmann, Max, Scharnhorst (Leipzig, 1886, 2 v.)Google Scholar.
9 See Militärische Schriflcn von Scharnhorst (von der Goltz, Frhr. Colmar, ed, Berlin, 1881)Google Scholar.
10 Consult Criste, Oskar, Erzherzog Carl von Österreich (Leipzig, 1912, 2 v)Google Scholar.
11 Yet the “universal service laws” of 1801 and 1804 were effective only in the crown lands of the Hapsburgs.
12 Cf. Irvine, Dallas D., “The French Discovery of Clausewitz and Napoleon,” Journal of the American Military Institute (now Military Affairs), IV (1940), 143–161CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
13 It first appeared in the Hinterlassene Werke über Krieg und Kriegführung (Berlin, 1832–1837, 10 v)Google Scholar. In English, see von Clausewitz, Carl, On War (Graham, Col. J. J., trans., London, 1940, 3 v., 4th ed.)Google Scholar.
14 Cf. Puleston, Capt. W. D., Mahan, (New Haven, 1939)Google Scholar.
15 Cf. Puleston, Capt. William. “A Re-Examination of Mahan's Concept of Sea Power,” U. S. Naval Inslilule Proceedings, LXVI (1940), 1229–1236Google Scholar.
16 Cf. Sigaud, Louis A., Douhet and Aerial Warfare (New York, 1941)Google Scholar. Reference should also be made to the work of Ernst Jünger, who is very important in the ideological development of the totalitarian state and totalitarian war methods. Consult Jünger, Ernst, “Die Totale Mobilmachung,” Krieg and Krieger, (Berlin, 1940)Google Scholar, and Der Arbeiler, Herrschafl und Gestalt (Hamburg, 1932)Google Scholar.
Cf. Barth, Hans, “Reality and Ideology of the Totalitarian State,” Review of Politics, 1939Google Scholar.
17 Of special value is Albert Lauterbach's, T.Modern War—Its Economic and Social Aspects A Bibliography, issued by the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New JerseyGoogle Scholar.
18 Gindely, Anton, History of the Thirty Years' War (New York, 1884, 2 v.)Google Scholar; Schiller, Johann, History of the Thirty Years' War (London, 1857)Google Scholar, and many other editions.
19 SirFortescue, John, A History of the British Arms (London, 1899–1930, 13 v.)Google Scholar.
20 Cf. de Guibert, Jacques Antoine Comte, Essai général de iactique (Liège, 1775)Google Scholar.
21 The presentation of Frederick the Great's strategy in this official history is criticized by Delbrück, H. in his Geschichte der Kriegskumi (Berlin, 1920), IV, 376–77, 443Google Scholar.