02-27-2005, 11:39
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#1
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Transformation of War
By Martin Van Creveld
Book
Anybody read it? What do you think?
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He knows only The Cause.
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NousDefionsDoc is offline
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02-27-2005, 12:35
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#2
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Area Commander
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I haven't read this one, but I have his "Supplying War: Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton" in my library.
Edited to correct spelling.
Last edited by lrd; 02-27-2005 at 17:46.
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02-27-2005, 12:38
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#3
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What do you think of it?
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Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.
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NousDefionsDoc is offline
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02-27-2005, 12:51
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#4
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It's the only book I have that deals with military history from a purely logistical perspective. I learned a lot, but don't know if that is because I didn't know much about the subject to begin with. (Most of my classes deal with engineering logistics.) He is thorough in his research, and uses a wide variety of sources. I like that. I enjoyed his writing style as well. I bought the book, initially, because it was highly recommended to me. It was published in 1977, and has been reprinted 19 times since. I would read his other work on the strength of this one.
Is the one you're looking at a new publication?
Edit: I just looked at the publication info: 1991.
Last edited by lrd; 02-27-2005 at 12:56.
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02-27-2005, 12:57
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#5
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1991
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Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.
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02-27-2005, 15:19
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#6
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Now I really want to read it.
From the Harvard International Review: http://hir.harvard.edu/articles/?id=408
Van Creveld Is No Von Clausewitz
"The Transformation of War" by Martin van Creveld
Col. Tiiu Kera, USAF
Issue: Energy
Section: Review Essays
Abstract: Van Creveld promises: a)"to address some of the most fundamental problems presented by war in all ages" and b)to provide a "new, non-Clausewitzian fremawork (sic) for thinking about war, while at the same time trying to look into the future." There is no definitive theory, though. The essence of the book is that for one, "conventional" warfare is obsolete and will be replaced by "low intensity warfare" and also that modern weapons are useless. The book creates the impression that it was a first draft accidently published.
The National Review didn't like the implications of his conclusions:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...43/ai_10650161
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lrd is offline
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02-27-2005, 15:29
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#7
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I read it, a long while ago, and have met Dr. Crevald.
While I do not agree with him completely, I found him to be among the more plausible of the theoreticians (Tofflers, Huntingtons, et al.)
I would say that events since the book was published largely tend to bear him out and make his observations prescient, though as the NR reviewer noted, we must maintain conventional forces to deal with conventional threats.
Just my .02.
TR
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De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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02-27-2005, 16:49
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#8
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Rma?
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Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.
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