Download or read book Unconventional Warfare from Antiquity to the Present Day written by Brian Hughes and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-07-03 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume addresses the problem of small, irregular, and unconventional war across time and around the globe. The use of non-uniformed and often civilian combatants, with tactics eschewing pitched battles, is the most common form of warfare throughout history and comes in many forms. The collection works back in time beginning with the ‘Long War’ in present day Afghanistan and concluding with warfare in classical Greece. Along the way it engages with conflicts as diverse as the American Civil War and regional rebellion in Tudor England. Each case study provides unique insights into the practices, experiences, and discourses that have shaped this ubiquitous type of conflict. Readers interested in rebellion and repression, cultural and tactical interpretations of conflict, civilian strategies in wartime, the supposed ‘western way of war’, and the ways in which participants have framed and related their actions across a variety of spheres will find much of interest in these pages.

Download or read book Invisible Armies An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present written by Max Boot and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2013-01-15 with total page 809 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As fitting for the 21st century as von Clausewitz's "On War" was in its own time, "Invisible Armies" is a complete global history of guerrilla uprisings through the ages.

Download or read book Conventional and Unconventional War written by Thomas R. Mockaitis and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers a comprehensive history of warfare since 1648, covering conventional and unconventional operations and demonstrating how most modern wars have been hybrid affairs that involved both. The book uses a broad range of conflicts to explore the societal forces that have shaped wars. Written by noted military historian Thomas R. Mockaitis, this book explores conventional and unconventional conflicts and considers the relationships between them. It considers how epic struggles like the American Civil War, World Wars I and II, and the conflicts in the Middle East, among many others, shaped human history. The coverage serves to highlight four themes: the relationship between armed forces and the societies that create them; the impact of technology (not just armaments) on warfare; the role of ideas and attitudes towards violence in determining why and how wars are fought; and the relationship between conventional and unconventional operations. The book also covers the advent and evolution of unconventional warfare, including counterinsurgency, the War on Terror, and current conflicts in the Middle East. It concludes with consideration of the forms armed conflict will take in the future. The book includes valuable excerpts from the writings of military thinkers such as Clausewitz and Sun Tzu, an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources, and supporting maps and diagrams.

Download or read book Invisible Armies An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present written by Max Boot and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2013-01-15 with total page 616 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller A Washington Post Notable Book (Nonfiction) Named one of the Best Books of the Year by Foreign Policy A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection “Destined to be the classic account of what may be the oldest... hardest form of war.” —John Nagl, Wall Street Journal Invisible Armies presents an entirely original narrative of warfare, which demonstrates that, far from the exception, loosely organized partisan or guerrilla warfare has been the dominant form of military conflict throughout history. New York Times best-selling author and military historian Max Boot traces guerrilla warfare and terrorism from antiquity to the present, narrating nearly thirty centuries of unconventional military conflicts. Filled with dramatic analysis of strategy and tactics, as well as many memorable characters—from Italian nationalist Guiseppe Garibaldi to the “Quiet American,” Edward Lansdale—Invisible Armies is “as readable as a novel” (Michael Korda, Daily Beast) and “a timely reminder to politicians and generals of the hard-earned lessons of history” (Economist).

Download or read book Unconventional Warfare Special Forces Book 1 written by Chris Lynch and published by Scholastic Inc.. This book was released on 2018-11-27 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "All the sizzle, chaos, noise and scariness of war is clay in the hands of ace storyteller Lynch." -- Kirkus Reviews for the World War II series Discover the secret missions behind America's greatest conflicts.Danny Manion has been fighting his entire life. Sometimes with his fists. Sometimes with his words. But when his actions finally land him in real trouble, he can't fight the judge who offers him a choice: jail... or the army.Turns out there's a perfect place for him in the US military: the Studies and Observation Group (SOG), an elite volunteer-only task force comprised of US Air Force Commandos, Army Green Berets, Navy SEALS, and even a CIA agent or two. With the SOG's focus on covert action and psychological warfare, Danny is guaranteed an unusual tour of duty, and a hugely dangerous one. Fortunately, the very same qualities that got him in trouble at home make him a natural-born commando in a secret war. Even if almost nobody knows he's there.National Book Award finalist Chris Lynch begins a new, explosive fiction series based on the real-life, top-secret history of US black ops.

Download or read book Greek Fire Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs written by Adrienne Mayor and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2008-12-30 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A comprehensive look at WMD's antecedents, from flamethrowers of the Peloponnesian War to plague-bearing booby traps.... Rich and entertaining." -Newsweek Featuring a new introduction by the author. Flamethrowers, poison gases, incendiary bombs, the large-scale spreading of disease... are these terrifying agents and implements of warfare modern inventions? Not by a long shot. Weapons of biological and chemical warfare have been in use for thousands of years, and Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs, Adrienne Mayor's fascinating exploration of the origins of biological and unethical warfare draws extraordinary connections between the mythical worlds of Hercules and the Trojan War, the accounts of Herodotus and Thucydides, and modern methods of war and terrorism. Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs will catapult readers into the dark and fascinating realm of ancient war and mythic treachery-and their devastating consequences.

Download or read book War in the Shadows written by Robert B. Asprey and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two thousand years of the guerrilla at war from ancient Persia to the present.

Download or read book Brill s Companion to Bodyguards in the Ancient Mediterranean written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2022-12-19 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brill’s Companion to Bodyguards in the Ancient Mediterranean is the first scholarly volume dedicated to examining the political, religious, social and cultural role bodyguards played in civilizations across the ancient Mediterranean world.

Download or read book On Violence in History written by Philip Dwyer and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2020-01-10 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is global violence on the decline? Scholars argue that Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker’s proposal that violence has declined dramatically over time is flawed. This highly-publicized argument that human violence across the world has been dramatically abating continues to influence discourse among academics and the general public alike. In this provocative volume, a cast of eminent historians interrogate Pinker’s thesis by exposing the realities of violence throughout human history. In doing so, they reveal the history of human violence to be richer, more thought-provoking, and considerably more complicated than Pinker claims. From the introduction: Not all of the scholars included in this volume agree on everything, but the overall verdict is that Pinker’s thesis, for all the stimulus it may have given to discussions around violence, is seriously, if not fatally, flawed.The problems that come up time and again are the failure to genuinely engage with historical methodologies; the unquestioning use of dubious sources; the tendency to exaggerate the violence of the past in order to contrast it with the supposed peacefulness of the modern era; the creation of a number of straw men, which Pinker then goes on to debunk; and its extraordinarily Western-centric, not to say Whiggish, view of the world. Complex historical questions, as the essays in this volume clearly demonstrate, cannot be answered with any degree of certainty, and certainly not in a simplistic way. Our goal here is not to offer a final, definitive verdict on Pinker’s work; it is, rather, to initiate an ongoing process of assessment that in the future will incorporate as much of the history profession as possible.

Download or read book Routledge Handbook of the Global History of Warfare written by Kaushik Roy and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-01-23 with total page 654 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This handbook examines key aspects of the development of the global history of warfare and the changing patterns of warfare over time. Although scholarship has long eschewed a chronological narrative of the evolution of warfare that privileges the Western experience, global histories of warfare have had difficulty avoiding an overemphasis on the West. The present volume is a collection of themes rather than a history per se; it provides important perspectives on the emergence of warfare as a global historical experience from the ancient past to the present day. Drawing together numerous experts, it tells a broader, more inclusive story of the global, human experience with wars and warfare. The 35 cahtpers are organised in eight thematic parts: Part I: Origins of Warfare Part II: Polities and Armed Forces in the Pre-Modern Era Part III: Steppe Nomads of Eurasia Part IV: Naval Warfare and Piracy in the Pre-Industrial World Part V: The Impact of Gunpowder Part VI: Transition from Industrial to Total War Part VII: Wars of Decolonisation and Cold War Part VIII: Postmodern/New Wars These Parts offer an overview of the global experience of warfare to help readers understand how the wars and the militaries we see today have been shaped by historical developments across the globe. This handbook will be of great interest to students of military history, naval history, strategic studies and world history in general.

Download or read book The Utility of Force written by Rupert Smith and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2007-01-16 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a highly decorated general, a brilliant new way of understanding war and its role in the twenty-first century. Drawing on his vast experience as a commander during the first Gulf War, and in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Northern Ireland, General Rupert Smith gives us a probing analysis of modern war. He demonstrates why today’s conflicts must be understood as intertwined political and military events, and makes clear why the current model of total war has failed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other recent campaigns. Smith offers a compelling contemporary vision for how to secure our world and the consequences of ignoring the new, shifting face of war.

Download or read book A Companion to Greek Warfare written by Waldemar Heckel and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-07-08 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a broad and deep exploration of ancient Greek and Macedonian warfare A Companion to Greek Warfare is an authoritative survey of all major areas in the field of Greek and Macedonian military history, covering diverse operational, economic, social, psychological, and cultural aspects of ancient warfare. Bringing together essays by both international authorities and young scholars, this edited volume exposes readers to alternative views and original interpretations in a host of old and new topics. Wide in scope, the book presents thematically organized chapters that explore the nature of Greek warfare, military training, discipline, and organization, the economics, pathology, and psychology of war, and depictions of war in Greek art and literature. Entire chapters deal with neglected topics such as espionage, propaganda, war crimes, emotional trauma, the role of women in warfare, Greeks in foreign service, and the armies and methods of the Greeks' and the Macedonians' opponents. Presenting a uniquely wide range of topics and contexts, this volume: Features contributions from ancient historians and scholars, including archaeologists, naval historians, and other specialists Offers broad chronological and geographical coverage, including the Bronze Age and early Greek wars, the Persian Wars, the campaigns of Alexander, and the wars in Sicily Edited by internationally recognized experts in early Greek prosopography, warfare, and military history; Macedonian warfare and military history; Greek law and customs; and the history of scholarship in the field of Greek warfare Part of the acclaimed Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World series, A Companion to Greek Warfare is an important resource for instructors, students, and scholars in all fields of ancient Greek history, particularly military history, and the perfect addition to the library of any general reader with interest in ancient military history.

Download or read book The Treatment of the War Dead in Archaic Athens written by Cezary Kucewicz and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-12-10 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploring the representations of the war dead in early Greek mythology, particularly the Homeric poems and the Epic Cycle, alongside iconographic images on black-figure pottery and the evidence of funerary monuments adorning the graves of early Athenian elites, this book provides much-needed insight into the customs associated with the war dead in Archaic Athens. It is demonstrated that this period had remarkably little in common with the much-celebrated institutions of the Classical era, standing in fact much closer to the hierarchical ideals enshrined in the epics of Homer and early mythology. While the public burial of the war dead in Classical Athens has traditionally been a subject of much scholarly interest, and the origins of the procedures described by Thucydides as patrios nomos are still a matter of some debate, far less attention has been devoted to the Athenian war dead of the preceding era. This book aims to redress the imbalance in modern scholarship and put the spotlight on the Athenian war dead of the Archaic period. In addition, the book deepens our understanding of the processes which led to the establishment of first public burials and the Classical customs of patrios nomos, shedding significant light on the military, cultural and social history of Archaic Athens. Challenging previous assumptions and bringing new material to the table, the book proposes a number of new ways to investigate a period where many 'ancestral customs' were thought to have their roots.

Download or read book Civilians Under Siege from Sarajevo to Troy written by Alex Dowdall and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-12-12 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume analyses siege warfare as a discrete type of military engagement, in the face of which civilians are particularly vulnerable. Siege warfare is a form of combat that has usually had devastating effects on civilian populations. From the near-contemporary Siege of Sarajevo to the real and mythical sieges of the ancient Mediterranean, this has been a recurring type of military engagement which, through bombardment, starvation, disease and massacre, places non-combatants at the heart of battle. To date, however, there has been little recognition of the effects of siege warfare on civilians. This edited volume addresses this gap. Using a distinctive regressive method, it begins with the present and works backwards, avoiding teleological interpretations that suggest the targeting of civilians in war is a modern phenomenon. Its contributors interrogate civilians’ roles during sieges, both as victims and active participants; the laws and customs of siege warfare; its place in historical memory, and the ways civilian survivors have dealt with trauma. Its scope and content ensure that the collection is essential reading for all those interested in the place of civilians in war. Chapter 2 of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com

Download or read book The Algerian War The Algerian Revolution written by Natalya Vince and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-11-07 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This book is an incredibly clear presentation of why the Algerian War mattered, what happened, the key contexts which produced this conflict and those that shaped it, as well as offering a brilliant entry point to teach or demonstrate how historiography works, how historians do history.”- Todd Shepard, Arthur O. Lovejoy Professor of History, John Hopkins University, USA “This is a fantastic book which fills an important gap in the historical scholarship. Natalya Vince has managed the seemingly impossible task of presenting a nuanced history of the Algerian War / Algerian Revolution in clear, concise terms.” - Sarah Frank, Associate Lecturer of History, St Andrews University, UK "This brilliant and beautifully written book achieves the seemingly impossible task of offering a lucid and nuanced guide to the massive body of historical writing on the Algerian war. The book will immediately become essential and indispensable reading not only for students at all levels but also for teachers and historians."- Julian Jackson, Professor of Modern French History, Queen Mary University of London, UK This book provides a new analysis of the contested history of one of the most violent wars of decolonisation of the twentieth century – the Algerian War/ the Algerian Revolution between 1954 and 1962. It brings together an engaging account of its origins, course and legacies with an incisive examination of how interpretations of the conflict have shifted and why it continues to provoke intense debate. Locating the war in a century-long timeframe stretching from 1914 to the present, it multiplies the perspectives from which events can be seen. The pronouncements of politicians are explored alongside the testimony of rural women who provided logistical support for guerrillas in the National Liberation Front. The broader context of decolonisation and the Cold War is considered alongside the experiences of colonised men serving in the French army. Unpacking the historiography of the end of a colonial empire, the rise of anti-colonial nationalism and their post-colonial aftermaths, it provides an accessible insight into how history is written.

Download or read book Militarized Cultural Encounters in the Long Nineteenth Century written by Joseph Clarke and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-08-22 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores European soldiers’ encounters with their continent’s exotic frontiers from the French Revolution to the First World War. In numerous military expeditions to Italy, Spain, Russia, Greece and the ‘Levant’ they found wild landscapes and strange societies inhabited by peoples who needed to be ‘civilized.’ Yet often they also discovered founding sites of Europe’s own ‘civilization’ (Rome, Jerusalem) or decaying reminders of ancient grandeur. The resulting encounters proved seminal in forging a military version of the ‘civilizing mission’ that shaped Europe’s image of itself as well as its relations with its own periphery during the long nineteenth century.

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Gender War and the Western World since 1600 written by Karen Hagemann and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-10-30 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To date, the history of military and war has focused predominantly on men as historical agents, disregarding gender and its complex interrelationships with war and the military. The Oxford Handbook of Gender, War, and the Western World since 1600 investigates how conceptions of gender have contributed to the shaping of war and the military and were transformed by them. Covering the major periods in warfare since the seventeenth century, the Handbook focuses on Europe and the long-term processes of colonization and empire-building in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia. Thirty-two essays written by leading international scholars explore the cultural representations of war and the military, war mobilization, and war experiences at home and on the battle front. Essays address the gendered aftermath and memories of war, as well as gendered war violence. Essays also examine movements to regulate and prevent warfare, the consequences of participation in the military for citizenship, and challenges to ideals of Western military masculinity posed by female, gay, and lesbian soldiers and colonial soldiers of color. The Oxford Handbook of Gender, War, and the Western World since 1600 offers an authoritative account of the intricate relationships between gender, warfare, and military culture across time and space.