What is military history? Is it only the study of conflict, of battles and skirmishes? Why has there been a growing interest in military studies, not only among professional soldiers, but also among academic historians?

Some of the answers to these questions can be found in New Dimensions in Military History, an anthology of papers presented in the course conducted for future leaders of United States armed forces by the US Army War College.

The greatest schools of professional military higher education have always stressed military history in varying degrees. Because the opportunity for the professional soldier to practice his profession must necessarily—and fortunately—be limited, military history is an indispensable substitute for direct experience in preparing the soldier for the crises of leadership. But overemphasis on the value of studying history can be as disastrous as ignoring the past completely. Most conspicuously, the German Kriegsakademie based its entire study of strategy upon military history. Thus steeped in the lessons of the past, the German high command went on to lead its forces to disastrous defeats in two world wars.

Is this what the Army War College is providing for its officer students? By no means. In a limited time and within a crowded curriculum, the main purpose of the course in military history was to encourage historical acumen rather than to impart a specific body of knowledge—to acquaint the student officers with the dimensions and potential of military history. Emphasized throughout was the fact that lessons to be learned, if there were indeed any lessons at all, might more likely be negative ones, cautionary examples of what not to do. The professional soldier seeking in history preparation to meet his responsibilities naturally expects that history should provide him with practical principles to guide his future actions. But the professional dispenser of history, the historian, shies away from a promise to teach lessons. The result was a practical approach to the study of history by the Army War College student, a search for problems of the past paralleling similar problems of today.

This is the "new military history" with concern for military history as a part of the whole of history, not isolated from the rest, for a search for the military as a projection of the state, for the relationships between the soldier and the state, and for military institutions and military thought. The very imperfections of military history have much to do with the continued importance of studying it. If men could indeed grasp lessons from the military past, they would often entangle themselves in wars that turn out to be futile, if not disastrous. These are the New Dimensions in Military History.