Military Collection: Strategy & Tactics

Written in China more than 2,000 years ago, Sun Tzu's classic The Art of War is the first known study of the planning and conduct of military operations. These terse, aphoristic essays are unsurpassed in comprehensiveness and depth of understanding, examining not only battlefield maneuvers, but also relevant economic, political, and psychological factors. Indeed, the precepts outlined by Sun Tzu can be applied outside the realm of military theory. It is read avidly by Japanese businessmen and in fact, was touted in the movie Wall Street as the corporate raider's bible. In addition to an excellent translation of Sun Tzu's text, Samuel Griffith also provides commentaries written by Chinese strategists, plus several thought-provoking essays on topics such as the influence of Sun Tzu on Mao Tse-tung and on Japanese military thought, the nature of warfare in SunTzu's time, and the life of Sun Tzu and other important commentators. Remarkable for its clear organization, lucid prose, and the acuity of its intellectual and moral insights, The Art of War is the definitive study of combat.

Few works of literature speak almost equally to the businessman, the philosopher, and the practitioner of the martial arts. Musashi's great classic, until now unknown in the West except by reputation, is one which speaks to all three. Famous for over 300 years, A Book of Five Rings is likely the most perceptive guide to strategy ever written. - From the book jacket.

It is unexpected in any era to find a woman writing a book on the art of warfare, but in the fifteenth century, it was unbelievable. Not surprisingly, therefore, Christine de Pizan's The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry, written around 1410, has often been regarded with disdain. Many have assumed that Christine was simply copying or pilfering earlier military manuals. But, as Sumner Willard and Charity Cannon Willard show in this faithful English translation, The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry contains much that is original to Christine. As a military manual, it tells us a great deal about the strategy, tactics, and technology of medieval warfare and is one of our most important sources of early gunpowder weapon technology. It also includes a fascinating discussion of Just War. This is a clear and easy-to-read translation, which is supplemented with notes and an introduction that will greatly benefit students, scholars, and enthusiasts alike. Publication of this work should change our perception both of medieval warfare and of Christine de Pizan.

In 1937 Mao wrote a succinct pamphlet that has become one of the most influential documents of our time. The first systematic analysis of guerilla warfare. The widespread applicability of Mao’s doctrine stems from his realization of the fundamental disparity between the agrarian, peasant-based society of China and that of pre-revolutionary Russia, or any urban society. He had to employ tactics and appeals appropriate to the peasant in China.

Guerrilla Warfare by the revolutionary Che Guevara has become the guidebook for thousands of guerrilla fighters in various countries around the world. Guevara intended it to be a manual on guerrilla warfare, as inspiration for revolutionary movements in Latin America, Africa and Asia, stressing the need for an underpinning political motivation to guerrilla methods, organisation and supply. Guevara emphasizes that guerrilla warfare is a favorable method against totalitarian regimes, where political opposition and legal civil struggle is impossible to conduct.

Analyzes hundreds of battles and campaigns between the Thirty Years War and the Russo-Turkish conflict of 1878, discussing in detail the strategies of such military leaders as General Grant and Field Marshall Helmuth von Moltke. - From the publisher.

Author and Brigadier Peter Young, DSO, MC & 2 bars was a British soldier & WWII veteran. He served with the Commandos during that war, ultimately commanding a Brigade. After the war, he commanded a regiment on secondment to the Jordanian Arab Legion. After his retirement from the army, he became a lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and eventually also a well-respected author of books on Military History, particularly with reference to the Second World War, the English Civil War & the Napoleonic Wars.

This is "a book about wartime politics, military strategies, and the birth pains of an independent U.S. Air Force --- which was forged in fire over Brest, Schweinfurt, and Berlin." From Book Jacket

Constance Babington Smith's volume describes the work done by a team of dedicated photographic interpretation experts during World War II. She tells the story of the men and women who pioneered photographic intelligence and the successes they achieved against the enemy.

An interesting review how various strategy and tactics have impacted sea warfare. From the impact of steam power to convoy systems against U-boats and the use of aircraft carries among the items reviewed by the author.

Chronicles the developments in modern warfare since 1939, examining major conflicts of the Second World War, the Cold War and its associated conflicts, guerilla warfare, and terrorism. - From the publisher.

American Cold War Strategy makes available, for the very first time, the complete text of NSC 68 - the crucial government memorandum that set American foreign policy for the Cold War. The document is accompanied by 22 commentaries - many of which were written specifically for this book by former U.S. government officials and academic experts Including five foreign scholars - that critically read the document from a wide spectrum of viewpoints. A general introduction by Professor May places NSC 68 in its historical context. May also provides an introductory essay to the commentaries, biographical Information on their authors, and questions to consider when reading the selections. In addition, the volume contains a chronology of the events of the Cold War, maps, a bibliography, and an index.

In Waging Modern War, General Wesley K. Clark recounts his experience leading NATO's forces to a hard-fought and ultimately successful victory in Kosovo in 1999. As the American military machine has swung into action in the months following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, it has become clear that the lessons of Kosovo are directly applicable to the war against terrorism and the nations that sponsor it. The problems posed, and overcome, in the war in Kosovo-how to fight an air war against unconventional forces in rough terrain and how to coordinate U.S. objectives with those of other nations-are the problems that America increasingly faces in today's world. As the Los Angeles Times noted in late September of 2001, this book's "lessons are highly relevant now#133; We need to think about exactly what steps will lessen, rather than increase, the terrorist threat. And we also need innovative commanders willing to improvise to meet a new kind of threat, more determined political leadership, and a more flexible outlook in Pentagon#133; Gen. Clark has performed another service by highlighting these problems at a crucial moment in American history." Waging Modern War is a history, memoir, guidebook, and forecast, essential reading for those who want to know how modern war is fought and won.

This book helps in understanding the intelligence machine and the role it played in protecting free societies of the world in the 1980s and shows how to cope with the endemic strategic conflicts of this era. - From the publisher.

Over the past decade, states and international organizations have shifted a surprising range of foreign policy functions to private contractors. But who is accountable when the employees of foreign private firms do violence or create harm? This timely book describes the services that are now delivered by private contractors and the threat this trend poses to core public values of human rights, democratic accountability, and transparency. The author offers a series of concrete reforms that are necessary to expand traditional legal accountability, construct better mechanisms of public participation, and alter the organizational structure and institutional culture of contractor firms. The result is a pragmatic, nuanced, and comprehensive set of responses to the problem of foreign affairs privatization.

Why has America stopped winning wars? For nearly a century, up until the end of World War II in 1945, America enjoyed a Golden Age of decisive military triumphs. And then suddenly, we stopped winning wars. The decades since have been a Dark Age of failures and stalemates-in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan-exposing our inability to change course after battlefield setbacks. In this provocative book, award-winning scholar Dominic Tierney reveals how the United States has struggled to adapt to the new era of intractable guerrilla conflicts. As a result, most major American wars have turned into military fiascos. And when battlefield disaster strikes, Washington is unable to disengage from the quagmire, with grave consequences for thousands of U.S. troops and our allies. But there is a better way. Drawing on interviews with dozens of top generals and policymakers, Tierney shows how we can use three key steps-surge, talk, and leave-to stem the tide of losses and withdraw from unsuccessful campaigns without compromising our core values and interests. Weaving together compelling stories of military catastrophe and heroism, this is an unprecedented, timely, and essential guidebook for our new era of unwinnable conflicts. The Right Way to Lose a War illuminates not only how Washington can handle the toughest crisis of all-battlefield failure-but also how America can once again return to the path of victory.

America is still in serious trouble. There's no way all of her internal problems have been self-inflicted. Yet, many still believe: (1) ISIS and al-Qaeda are her only foes; (2) her intelligence agencies see every threat coming; and (3) her military is the best in the world at all things. This book reassesses the breakdown from a "bottom-up" perspective, as that's how Islamists, Communists, and criminals like to take over. The tiniest of clues have been collected to arrive at the most likely suspect. Such "qualitative research" is regularly used by U.S. police departments. Even "modus operandi" links to past behavior are allowed in all U.S. courts of law. After detailing the subversion, this book shows how to better combat it at the street level. With kidnappings on the rise in Phoenix, it contains the most extensive study of hostage rescue ever attempted and a safer way for grunts and SWATs to quickly seize any contested building.

A leading foreign correspondent looks at how social media has transformed the modern battlefield, and how wars are fought Modern warfare is a war of narratives, where bullets are fired both physically and virtually. Whether you are a president or a terrorist, if you don't understand how to deploy the power of social media effectively you may win the odd battle but you will lose a twenty-first-century war. Here, journalist David Patrikarakos draws on unprecedented access to key players to provide a new narrative for modern warfare. He travels thousands of miles across continents to meet a de-radicalized female member of ISIS recruited via Skype, a liberal Russian in Siberia who takes a job manufacturing "Ukrainian" news, and many others to explore the way social media has transformed the way we fight, win, and consume wars-and what this means for the world going forward.

"Cyber Warfare Techniques, Tactics and Tools" for Security Practitioners provides a comprehensive look at how and why digital warfare is waged. This book explores the participants, battlefields, and the tools and techniques used during today's digital conflicts. The concepts discussed will give students of information security a better idea of how cyber conflicts are carried out now, how they will change in the future, and how to detect and defend against espionage, hacktivism, insider threats, and non-state actors such as organized criminals and terrorists. Every one of our systems is under attack from multiple vectors - our defenses must be ready all the time and our alert systems must detect the threats every time. This book provides concrete examples and real-world guidance on how to identify and defend a network against malicious attacks. It considers relevant technical and factual information from an insider's point of view, as well as the ethics, laws, and consequences of cyber war and how computer criminal law may change as a result. Starting with a definition of cyber warfare, the book's 15 chapters discuss the following topics: the cyberspace battlefield; cyber doctrine; cyber warriors; logical, physical, and psychological weapons; computer network exploitation; computer network attack and defense; non-state actors in computer network operations; legal system impacts; ethics in cyber warfare; cyberspace challenges; and the future of cyber war. This book is a valuable resource to those involved in cyber warfare activities, including policymakers, penetration testers, security professionals, network and systems administrators, and college instructors. The information provided on cyber tactics and attacks can also be used to assist in developing improved and more efficient procedures and technical defenses. Managers will find the text useful in improving the overall risk management strategies for their organizations.

Proxy wars represent a perennial strand in the history of conflict. The appeal of ‘warfare on the cheap’ has proved an irresistible strategic allure for nations through the centuries. However, proxy wars remain a missing link in contemporary war and security studies. In this timely book Andrew Mumford sheds new light on the dynamics and lineage of proxy warfare from the Cold War to the War on Terror, whilst developing a cogent conceptual framework to explain their appeal.

Tracing the political and strategic development of proxy wars throughout the last century, they emerge as a dominant characteristic of contemporary conflict. The book ably shows how proxy interventions often prolong existing conflicts given the perpetuity of arms, money and sometimes proxy fighters sponsored by third party donors. Furthermore, it emphasizes why, given the direction of the War on Terror, the rise of China as a global power, and the prominence now achieved by non-state actors in the ‘Arab Spring’, the phenomenon of proxy warfare is increasingly relevant to understandings of contemporary security.

Proxy Warfare is an indispensable guide for students and scholars interested in the evolution and potential future direction of war and conflict in the modern world.
- from Amazon.com.