Great Strategists Archives - War Room - U.S. Army War College: Recent Episodes
Great Strategists Archives - War Room - U.S. Army War College
As the architect of the doctrine known as AirLand Battlle, U.S. Army General Donn A. Starry initiated an intellectual renaissance in twentieth-century military thought. Featured contributor Frank Jones is back to make the case that General Starry's approach still works well as a framework that forces senior military leaders to undertake a methodical planning process. And anyone seeking to accomplish strategic objectives would do well to examine the process that led to the AirLand Battle doctrine as a useful guide.
The post WAR ON THE 21ST CENTURY BATTLEFIELD: REVISITING GENERAL STARRY’S CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK appeared first on War Room - U.S. Army War College.
Ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Rear Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was named commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT). He was quickly promoted to admiral, and his demonstrated leadership and strategic thought are worthy of in-depth study. Trent Hone has done just that, and his recent book, Mastering the Art of Command: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and Victory in the Pacific, is an outstanding read about a fascinating military leader. Trent joins our editor-in-chief, JP Clark, in the studio to discuss the personal traits that made Nimitz effective, the evolution of his headquarters over the course of the war and how he leveraged his personal schedule and routine for success. It's a great discussion and a great read for future flag and general officers or anyone interested in senior leadership.
The post HORSESHOES, RELATIONSHIPS, AND SHARED UNDERSTANDING: CHESTER NIMITZ’S ART OF COMMAND appeared first on War Room - U.S. Army War College.
Bernard Fall was a man of many talents. A veteran of both the French resistance and Free French Army during World War II, an award-winning journalist and author, an academic and lastly, and perhaps most importantly, a theorist of war. War Room welcomes back featured contributor Frank Jones to share with modern strategists why Bernard Fall is definitely worth studying.
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Four years ago the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) underwent a name change in hopes of signifying a change in thinking in the region. The new name, United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), was in recognition of "the increasing connectivity between the Indian and Pacific oceans as America focuses West." In studying the region it quickly becomes clear that India, and particularly Indian naval strategy must be examined to understand the dynamics of the situation. A BETTER PEACE welcomes back Patrick Bratton to share his studies of Kavalam Madhava Panikkar, an Indian scholar statesman and the author of among dozens of other works, India and the Indian Ocean: An Essay on the Influence of Sea Power on Indian History. Patrick joins podcast editor Ron Granieri in the studio to look at the life and works of Panikkar and how India's first ambassador to China has lessons to offer to anyone interested in understanding INDOPACOM.
The post K.M PANIKKAR: INDIAN SCHOLAR, DIPLOMAT, STRATEGIST
(GREAT STRATEGISTS) appeared first on War Room - U.S. Army War College.
A BETTER PEACE welcomes back Tami Davis Biddle to our GREAT STRATEGISTS series. She joins WAR ROOM podcast editor Ron Granieri in the virtual studio to discuss the contributions of Thomas C. Schelling to the Cold War nuclear strategy realm.
The post HOW MUCH FOR THE PEN? SCHELLING (GREAT STRATEGISTS) appeared first on War Room - U.S. Army War College.
In this episode in our Great Strategists series, U.S. Army War College historians Bill Johnsen and Con Crane present one of the more enigmatic figures in military theory, Baron Antoine-Henri Jomini. Historians have given Jomini mixed reviews in terms of evaluating his theories and contributions, but almost all recognize his influence.
Modern analysts often pit Jomini and his contemporary, Carl von Clausewitz, as polar opposites, creating "Jominian" and "Clausewitzian" camps. In reality, both were informed by their experiences with the Napoleonic Wars, but they took different perspectives--Clausewitz from the Prussian perspective, Jomini from the French. And while Clausewitz died in 1831, Jomini lived to be an old man and prolific writer, so you can see elements of Clausewitzian thought in Jomini's writing. Still, Jomini was interested in finding general principles of warfare that could translate directly to success on the battlefield; a task that seemed simple when he could draw from observations of Napoleon's greatest victories.
TRANSCRIPT: https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/19-117-A-SCIENTIFIC-APPROACH-TO-WAR-ANTOINE-HENRI-JOMINI-GREAT-STRATEGISTS.pdf
The post A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO WAR? ANTOINE-HENRI JOMINI (GREAT STRATEGISTS) appeared first on War Room - U.S. Army War College.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The current temporary theme we are using only credits a single guest. This podcast featured Tami Davis Biddle, Michael Neiberg, Richard Lacquement and Jacqueline Whitt. We continue our Great Strategists series with an episode on the man whose works serve as a foundation of strategic thought about war. Thucydides (c. 460-400 BC) was …
Continue reading "THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF WAR — THUCYDIDES (GREAT STRATEGISTS)"
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What if we spent one day on Herodotus, one day on Thucydides, and one day on Xenophon [at the War College]? Students with a basic foundation of ancient military history are likely to know about Thucydides and his accounts of the Peloponnesian War from both strategic and operational perspectives. But it would be an oversight …
Continue reading "BEYOND THUCYDIDES: HERODOTUS, XENOPHON & UNDERSTANDING WAR (GREAT STRATEGISTS)"
The post BEYOND THUCYDIDES: HERODOTUS, XENOPHON & UNDERSTANDING WAR (GREAT STRATEGISTS) appeared first on War Room - U.S. Army War College.
The great benefit of looking at John Warden’s system is that it [employed] effects-based objectives [for] attacking an enemy A BETTER PEACE continues the Great Strategists series with a look at the systems-based theory of John Warden III, Colonel, U.S. Air Force retired. Out of the emerging theories of airpower and his own experiences in …
Continue reading "JOHN WARDEN AND THE ENEMY AS A SYSTEM (GREAT STRATEGISTS)"
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The OODA loop kinda represents how … humans and organizations learn, grow, and survive A BETTER PEACE continues its series on Great Strategists with a look at airpower theorist John Boyd, who conceived of the “OODA” (Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act) Loop. Originally expressing an approach to tactical engagement, Boyd later expanded the idea to …
Continue reading "JOHN BOYD AND THE “OODA” LOOP (GREAT STRATEGISTS)"
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They saw airplanes … come into reality as weapon systems … and they became strong advocates. We continue our Great Strategists series with a look at three pioneers of airpower — Giulio Douhet from the Italian Armed Forces, Billy Mitchell of the U.S., and Hugh Trenchard, the “father” of the British Royal Air Force. In …
Continue reading "THREE PIONEERS OF AIRPOWER — GREAT STRATEGISTS"
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In this fourth episode of War Room’s special series on Great Strategists, Patrick Bratton explores Alfred Thayer Mahan's The Influence of Seapower upon History and its relevance to the 21st century. Writing at the turn of the 20th century, Mahan was explicitly thinking about the role of sea power for the United States as it emerged onto the world stage, and his ideas, though very influential at the time, have fallen somewhat out of favor in more recent thinking about sea power. Mahan's emphasis on big fleets and decisive battles have led some to dismiss Mahan as hopelessly out of date, but Mahan was also writing about broader political questions about the maritime domain. And in the 21st century, rising powers, particularly in Asia, are reading Mahan quite seriously, so it remains a text worth reading and exploring seriously. War Room podcast editor Jacqueline E. Whitt moderates.
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In this third episode of War Room’s special series on Great Strategists, Larry Goodson presents the writings of Kautilya, who is lesser known to military audiences that Clausewitz or Sun Tzu. As counsel to a young emporer in 4th century BCE India, Kautilya developed and published the earliest known works explaining the international relations philosophy known today as realism. ‘Conquer or be conquered’ and ‘the friend of my enemy is my enemy’ are among the teachings originating from the Arthashastra, a collection of 14 books that covered matters of both military and civilian governance.
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In “Sun Tzu and the Art of War,” Paul Kan explains the impacts of Sun Tzu’s famed treatise on war. Although little is known about Sun Tzu, The Art of War has been applied to many contemporary contexts from sports to relationships. Military educators often align this book with unconventional war in contrast to the supposed conventional war teachings of Carl von Clausewitz. The podcasts explore the impacts of the book and compare it to those of other Chinese philosophies of the time.
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This podcast is the first episode of a War Room special series featuring some of history’s greatest strategists. Featured is Carl von Clausewitz, famed for his book On War (Vom Kriege) which is a staple of professional military education in the U.S. and many partner nations. This is remarkable given that the original text of On War is an unfinished manuscript published posthumously by his wife Marie. Clausewitz scholar Vanya Eftimova Bellinger and War Room podcast editor Jacqueline Whitt explore the book’s major theses and implications they present for modern scholars and practitioners of strategy.
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