Read The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient and Modern Online
Authors: Victor Davis Hanson
Tags: #Military History, #General, #Civilization, #Military, #War, #History
Islam/Muslims: and asymmetrical wars, 229, 231; caricatures of, 219; and classical lessons about modern wars, 38, 41, 47; and future of battles, 115; and military errors, 168, 181; and new-isms, 220
–
25; and present wars as reflective of origins of war, 241; and roots of war, 38, 41; and security versus freedom, 219, 220; sixteenth-century, 94
–
101; and spread of democracy, 206
–
7; and Western advantages, 233; and Western exceptionalism, 47.
See also specific person, nation or organization
isolationism, 152
–
53, 230
Israel: and asymmetrical wars, 227, 229, 230, 231; bombing of Syrian nuclear reactor by, 17; and decisive battles, 109, 112; and future of battles, 117, 118; and military errors, 165; and nation-building, 209; and security versus freedom, 219
–
20.
See also
Six-Day War (1967)
Italy, 150, 175, 193, 210.
See also
Lepanto, Battle of
Iwo Jima, 75, 111, 167, 246
Japan: and democracy, 193, 194, 202, 210; militarists in, 41; and morality of military history, 25; and present wars as reflective of origins of war, 242; and roots of war, 37; surrender of, 75; and Tsushima (1905), 130; and way of war in America, 150
–
51; and World War II, 25, 37, 72
–
82, 202
Jellicoe, John, 107
Johnson, Louis, 7, 174, 189
Johnson, Lyndon, 232
Johnstad, Kurt, 51
Jordan, 163, 183
Jutland, Battle of, 107, 108
Kagan, Donald, 29, 87, 89, 90
–
93
Kagan, Frederick, 111, 127
–
29, 135
Kagan, Robert, 29
Kant, Immanuel, 34
Kaplan, Robert, 199
Keegan, John, 8, 11, 28, 29, 78, 105
–
6
Kennedy, Edward “Ted,” 223
Kennedy, John F., 6, 232
Kershaw, Ian, 29
Khan, A. Q., 182
Khomeini, Ayatollah, 108, 167, 209
Kim Jong Il, 109
–
10, 208, 222
King, Ernest, 169, 177
Knox, Thomas, 176
Korean War: casualties in, 170; and Chinese invasion of Korea, 13
–
14; and contradictions and paradoxes about war, 244; decisive battles in, 108; and democracy, 198; and military errors, 165, 170
–
71, 172, 173, 174, 175, 178, 180; and military liberalism, 192, 193; and neglect of study of military history, 13
–
14; and paradoxes of the present, 238; public opinion about, 23, 24; and technology, 124; and way of war in America, 147, 148.
See also
North Korea; South Korea
Kosovo, 193, 197
Kuwait, 163.
See also
Gulf War (1991)
leadership, 28
–
29, 127, 173
–
76, 188
–
90, 222, 235
Lebanon, 17, 115, 117, 193, 227, 228, 230, 232, 237
lebensraum, 18, 36, 91
Lee, John C.H., 175
Lee, Robert E., 9, 28, 115
LeMay, Curtis, 141, 155, 178, 181, 189, 190
–
91
Leonidas, 51, 53, 54
Lepanto, battle of, 94
–
101, 105
Libya, 182, 193, 214
Liddell Hart, Basil H., 16
Lincoln, Abraham, 22
–
23, 28, 107, 171, 174, 177, 217
literature, and security versus freedom, 218
–
19
Livy, 6, 181, 238
“The Loneliness of the Military Historian” (Atwood poem), 10, 18
The Long March
(Fox), 67
–
69
Longford, Elizabeth, 28
Lovett, Robert, 174
Lucas, John, 175
Luisitania
(ship), 165
Lynch, Jessica, 185
Lysander, 88, 93
Ma, John, 67
MacArthur, Douglas, 24, 75
–
76, 170, 175, 176, 189
Machiavelli, Niccolò, 30, 181
MacNeice, Louis, 70
Manchester, William, 78
Manhattan Project, 144
Mao Tse-Tung, 15, 67, 119, 170
Marathon, Battle at, 16, 27, 34, 36, 64, 88, 105, 246
Marcos, Ferdinand, 168, 197
Marne, battle of the, 111
Marshall, George, 174
McCarthy, Joseph, 174
McClellan, George, 23, 141, 174, 189
McCullough, David, 11, 29
McMaster, H. R., 28
McPherson, James, 11, 29
McVeigh, Timothy, 224
media: and alternatives to punitive war, 213, 214, 215; and asymmetrical wars, 231
–
32; and classical lessons about modern wars, 85; and humiliation of enemy, 205
–
6; and military errors, 176, 178, 181
–
82, 185
–
86; and new-isms, 223; and security versus freedom, 219; as sensationalism, 185
–
86; and technology, 135; and Western advantages, 233
medical science, 242
Mediterranean, in sixteenth-century, 94
–
101
Meiggs, Russell, 68
Mexican-American War, 111, 165
Meyer, Eduard, 91
Middle East: and alternatives to punitive war, 214; and asymmetrical wars, 229
–
30, 231; and contradictions and paradoxes about war, 244; culture of, 233; and democracy, 198, 206
–
7; and military errors, 172; and nation-building, 201, 207; and paradoxes of the present, 237, 238; quality of life in, 229
–
30; and technology, 131; views about U.S. in, 42; and Western advantages, 233; where to start studying about, 28.
See also
Islam/Muslims;
specific person, nation, or war
militarism, fear of, 191
military: and antithetical cultures, 190
–
92; as change agents, 195; civilian relationship with, 188
–
90; constraints on, 212, 241; coups by, 191
–
92; criticisms of Western, 243; and democracy, 195
–
97; distrust of, 188
–
90; preparedness of, 17, 43, 48, 217, 222, 246; racial and gender integration in, 195; and “revolt of the generals,” 189
–
90; self-interest of, 195
–
97; using full force of, 203
–
4
military historians, 9, 10.
See also specific person
military history: academic study of, 3
–
14, 24
–
26, 161, 162; benefits of studying, 246; classical foundation for studying past, 31
–
32, 48; constants in, 15; and lessons learned from the past, 246; morality of, 24
–
26;popularity of, 83; utility of, 14
–
19; and what it teaches, 3
–
30; where to begin study of, 26
–
30
Military History Channel, 11
military liberalism, 192
–
93, 202
military service, benefits of, 145
Mill, John Stuart, 17
Miller, Frank, 52, 54
Milošević, Slobodan, 17, 109, 115, 148, 208, 213
Mogadishu, 19, 39, 114, 162, 204
Mohammed, Khalid Sheik, 48
Montgomery, Bernard, 148
Moore, Michael, 23, 204, 218
moral equivalence, 220, 223
–
25
morality: and classical lessons about modern wars, 32, 35, 41
–
42, 49, 86; and military errors, 161, 167; of military history, 24
–
26; and new-isms, 220; and paradoxes of democracy and war, 203; and roots of war, 35, 41
–
42; and Sledge’s account of World War II, 78
–
79; and war as “human thing,” 155, 156; and war in the future, 245
Morris, Donald R., 27
Moyar, Mark, 29
Muhammad, cartoon caricatures of, 219, 220
multiculturalism, 220
–
21, 225
multilateralism, 147
–
49, 153, 205
Mussolini, Benito, 18, 36
Mustafa, Lala, 95
mutually assured destruction, 6, 17, 213, 240
Napoleon.
See
Bonaparte, Napoleon
Napoleonic Wars, 65, 108, 110
–
11, 216
Nation-building, 199
–
202, 207
–
11
nationalism, 111
–
12, 214
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), 15, 17, 21, 112
–
13, 115, 148, 149, 180, 205, 213, 228, 238, 239, 241
natural disasters, 15
–
16, 224, 238
new-isms, 220
–
26
1960s cultural and social revolution, 7
Nixon, Richard, 6, 22, 176
Normandy, Allied landing on, 23, 41, 76, 107, 146, 171, 179
North Korea: and alternatives to punitive war, 213; and American way of war, 147, 154; and constraints on military power, 213; and contradictions and paradoxes about war, 244; and decisive battles, 109
–
10, 113, 114, 121; and the future of battle, 113, 114; and military error, 165, 170, 173, 184; and nuclear power, 184, 237; and paradoxes of the present, 237; and roots of war, 37.
See also
Korean war
nuclear power: and American way of war, 154; and asymmetrical wars, 227; and constraints on military, 212
–
13; and contradictions and paradoxes about war, 243, 244; and decisive battles, 106, 113, 117, 121; and the future of battle, 113, 117; and military error, 165, 182, 184; and nation-building, 207, 208, 209; and neglect of military history, 6, 7; and paradoxes of the present, 237, 238; and present wars as reflective of origins of war, 241; and roots of war, 37; and spread of democracy, 197; and utility of military history, 17.
See also specific nation
Obama, Barack, 149, 200, 201, 209, 218
Odom, William, 162
officers, military, 73, 79, 129, 193, 197, 199
oil, 120, 207, 229, 230, 231, 232, 240, 244
Okinawa, battle for, 13, 25, 71
–
82, 105, 111, 113, 115, 166
–
67, 175, 242, 246
Oren, Michael B., 28
Ottoman Empire, 94
–
101, 219, 241
Oxford University,
Anabasis
conference at, 67
pacifism, 7, 119, 220, 221
–
23, 225
Pakistan, 25, 113, 114, 121, 149, 165, 182, 208, 213, 218, 238, 244
Panama, 109, 115, 185, 192, 193, 197, 200, 214
Papadopoulos, Georgios, 197
Paret, Pater, 30
Patriot Act, 217
Patton, George S.: memoirs of, 27; and military culture, 190; and military errors, 162, 167, 175, 177, 178; and neglect of study of military history, 12; and public opinion, 23; resignation of, 162; and way of war in America, 141, 142, 146; and where to start studying about war, 27, 29
peace: and classical lessons about modern wars, 33, 34
–
35; and 1960s culture, 7; as “parenthesis” in human affairs, 33
peace studies, 9, 222
peacekeeping exercises, 189, 210
Pearl Harbor, 129, 165, 177
Pearson, Drew, 176
Peleliu, battle on, 71
–
82, 242
Peloponnesian War: and anti-classical view of war, 45; casualties in, 32; as “clash of civilizations,” 88; and classical lessons about modern wars, 32, 34, 36, 40
–
41, 45; decisive battles in, 110; and democracies, 196; impact upon Greeks of, 55, 87
–
88; Kagan’s views about, 87, 89, 90
–
93; Kupelian’s study of, 4
–
5; lack of interest in study of, 84; length of, 86; modern books about, 85; as paradox, 89; and present wars as reflective of origins of war, 242; ravaging of Athenian countryside during, 4
–
5; roots/causes of, 35
–
36, 40
–
41, 56; and technology, 127, 132
–
33, 134; Ten Thousand in, 64; Thucydides’ history of, 21, 27, 34, 36, 55
–
56, 57, 58, 63, 84, 85, 86
–
87, 88
–
90, 92, 93, 186, 196.
See also specific person