Michael Howard

Michael Eliot Howard

By the time the First World War ended in 1918, eight million people had died in what had been perhaps the most apocalyptic episode the world had known. This Very Short Introduction provides a concise and insightful history of the 'Great War', focusing on why it happened, how it was fought, and why it had the consequences it did. It examines the state of Europe in 1914 and the outbreak of war; the onset of attrition and crisis; the role of the US; the collapse of Russia; and the weakening and eventual surrender of the Central Powers. Looking at the historical controversies surrounding the causes and conduct of war, Michael Howard also describes how peace was ultimately made, and the potent legacy of resentment left to Germany. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

A Very Short Introduction

The First World War

سلسلة مقدمة قصيرة عن الحرب العالمية الأولى

مقدمة قصيرة عن الحرب العالمية الأولى

Militærhistorie, krigshistorie - om den tyske militærhistoriske klassiker: Vom Kriege og forfatteren, general Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831), skrevet af den anerkendte engelske historiker, militærhistoriker og sikkerhedspolitiske ekspert, professor Michael Howard. "Clausewitz is generally acknowledged to be the greatest of writters on war. The question he raised are hotly debated even today: is it possible to have a theory of war at all? how does theory relate to practice? what did Clausewitz really mean in his much quoted and misquoted aphorism "War is the continuation of policy by other means? Its remarkable how much of what he has to say - at a time when the range of firearms was fifty yards - has remained relevant, not only under military conditions transformed out of all recognition, but for a readership far broader that the officers of the Prussian Army whose education he primarily had in mind. Michael Howard guides the reader througt Clausewitz's major work: On War, and explains the ideas in terms both of Clausewitz' own experiences as a professional soldier in the Napoleonic Wars and of the intellectual background of his time." Contents: Note on quotations; Introduction; Clausewitw in his time; Theory and practice in war; Ends and means in war; Limited and absolute war; The legacy of Clausewitz.

Clausewitz

George J. Andreopoulos

Mark R. Shulman

This book explores not only the formal constraints on the conduct of war throughout Western history but also the unwritten conventions about what is permissible in the course of military operations. Ranging from classical antiquity to the present, eminent historians discuss the legal and cultural regulation of violence in such areas as belligerent rights, the treatment of prisoners and civilians, the observing of truces and immunities, the use of particular weapons, siege warfare, codes of honor, and war crimes. The book begins with a general overview of the subject by Michael Howard. The contributors then discuss the formal and informal constraints on conducting war as they existed in classical antiquity, the age of chivalry, early modern Europe, colonial America, and the age of Napoleon. They also examine how these constraints have been applied to wars at sea, on land, and in the air, planning for nuclear war, and national liberation struggles, in which one of the participants is not an organized state. The book concludes with reflections by Paul Kennedy and George Andreopoulos on the main challenges facing the quest for humanitarian norms in warfare in the future.

Constraints on Warfare in the Western World

The Laws of War

Public consciousness of the threat of nuclear war is rising steadily. Responses to the nuclear dilemma are conflicting and often confusing. Never have we been more in need of information and perspective, for if we wish to avoid war we must understand it. Michael Howard offers an analysis of our present predicament by discussing those issues that cause war and make peace. His book includes an examination of nuclear strategy today, views of the past about the conduct of international relations, ethics, modes of defense, and studies of military thinkers and leaders. The Causes of Wars illuminates the interrelationship between men and ideas, between war and other social forces, and between our present situation and its roots in the past.

Michael Eliot Howard

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