MONTGOMERY : A history of warfare (fülszöveg)
THIS IS A UNIQUE AND IMPORTANT BOOK.
Never before has the general history of warfare (not mere memoirs or military theory) been written by a professional soldier who has himself victoriously
commanded great armies in the field.
We may not like war, but for that very reason we cannot afford to ignore it. As Liddell Hart has said, "If you want peace, understand war." Nobody is better able to contribute to our understanding than Field-Marshal Montgomery. Throughout his career he has been a serious student of military history, and in the research for this book he has ensured that the historical aspect of his work is soundly based on the most up-to-date historical findings. He has then brought to bear on military history the judgment and interpretation of a great master of war. Many consider him to be the greatest British commander since Wellington.
Six chapters in this book set forth the essence of the Field-Marshal's military thinking. Otherwise the scheme is chronological. He impresses on the reader the importance of political factors in war, indicating when these become paramount, and lays down the profound truth that the true object of Grand Strategy must be a secure and lasting peace, which is the responsibility of political leaders. The Field-Marshal then passes on to strategy, which concerns the conduct of war, and to tactics, which deals with fighting, and shows how progress in the design and manufacture of weapons has influenced methods and techniques since earliest times. Leadership runs like a golden thread throughout the book and the great captains of the past are examined under a microscope.
Finally in the Epilogue the Field-Marshal indicates his intense interest in the human factor in war, and the need for a commander to regard the lives of his men as precious – not to be risked without good cause nor used when other means will serve. And this book on warfare closes with a soldier's hope that one day the Last Post will sound over enmity and strife, so that we may enter an era of goodwill and peace.
Military history is a subject that demands illustration, and the text of this book is fully integrated with 35 maps, 18 battle plans and 16 weapon drawings and diagrams in two colors, over 190 illustrations in monochrome, almost all from contemporary sources, and 32 pages of superb color plates. Text and illustrations give added meaning to each other, and the whole book has been produced under the Field-Marshal's close supervision.
An outline of Field-Marshal Montgomery's career indicates the importance he has always attached to a balance between study of the science of war and practical experience in the art. He himself fought in the 1914/18 war, beginning as a platoon commander and ending as a Chief of Staff of a division. From 1926 to 1928 he taught at the Staff College at Camberley; in 1931 his Infantry Training was published as the Army's official training manual; from 1934 to 1937 he was senior British Service Instructor at the Staff College in Quetta. He then commanded an infantry brigade and when war began in 1939 he commanded the 3rd Division in France and Belgium, and finally the 2nd Corps during the evacuation of the British Army from Dunkirk.
In August 1942 he went to North Africa to take command of the Eighth Army, which in October of that year won the battle of Alamein. In 1944 he commanded the Allied land armies in the invasion of Normandy, and from then until the end of the war commanded the 21st Army Group. During the first year of peace he was Military Governor and C-in-C of the British Zone of Germany and in 1946 became Chief of the Imperial General Staff. Then followed ten years in the Western Defense Organization, during which time his headquarters was in France. In 1958 he withdrew from active employment in the British Army after fifty years of unbroken service.
It will be clear from this brief outline of his military career that the Field-Marshal's History of Warfare is the culmination of a lifetime's thought and experience.
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| KATALÓGUS | TARTALOM |
