The past as prologue

In today's military of rapid technological and strategic change, obtaining a complete understanding of the present, let alone the past, is a formidable challenge. Yet, the very high rate of change today makes study of the past more important than ever before. The Past as Prologue explores the usefulness of the study of history for contemporary military strategists. It illustrates the great importance of military history while revealing the challenges of applying the past to the present. Essays from authors of diverse backgrounds – British and American, civilian and military – come together to present an overwhelming argument for the necessity of the study of the past by today's military leaders despite these challenges. The chapters of Part I examine the relationship between history and the military profession. Those in Part II explore specific historical cases that show the repetitiveness of certain military problems.

Williamson Murray is Professor Emeritus of European Military History at Ohio State University and a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Defense Analysis. He is the author of a number of books, including The Changes in the European Balance of Power, 1938–1939; The Path to Ruin; Luftwaffe; German Military Effectiveness; The Air War in the Persian Gulf; Air War, 1914–1945; The Iraq War: A Military History, with Major General Robert Scales, Jr.; and A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War, with Allan R. Millet. He also coedited numerous collections, including Military Innovations in the Interwar Period (1996), with Allan R. Millet, and The Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300–2050 (2001), with MacGregor Knox.

Richard Hart Sinnreich is a former director of the U.S. Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies. His writings include “The Changing Face of Battlefield Reporting,” ARMY, November 1994; “To Stand & Fight," ARMY, July 1997; “In Search of Victory," ARMY, February 1999; “Whither the Legions,” Strategic Review, Summer 1999; “Conceptual Foundations of a Transformed U.S. Army” with Huba Wass de Czege, The Institute for Land Warfare, March 2002; “Red Team Insights from Army Wargaming,” DART, September 2002; “Joint Warfighting in the 21st Century” with Williamson Murray, IDA, 2002; and “A Strategy by Accident: U.S. Pacific Policy 1945–1975,” National Institute of Defense Studies, March 2004. He writes a regular column for the Lawton Constitution and occasional columns for ARMY and the Washington Post.

The past as prologue

The importance of history
to the military profession

Edited by
WILLIAMSON MURRAY
Institute of Defense Analysis

RICHARD HART SINNREICH
Carrick Communications, Inc.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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© Cambridge University Press 2006

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
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no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2006

Printed in the United States of America

A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

The past as prologue : the importance of history to the military profession / edited by
Williamson Murray and Richard Hart Sinnreich.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-521-85377-4 (hardback)
ISBN-10: 0-521-85377-X (hardback)
1. Military history – Study and teaching. 2. Military art and science. I. Murray, Williamson.
II. Sinnreich, Richard Hart. III. Title.
U27.P28    2006
355.009 – dc22

ISBN-13 978-0-521-85377-4 hardback
ISBN-10 0-521-85377-X hardback

ISBN-13 978-0-521-61963-9 paperback
ISBN-10 0-521-61963-7 paperback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for
the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or
third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication
and does not guarantee that any content on such
Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

To Andrew “Andy” Marshall and Theodore “Ted” Gold –
two servants of freedom who have made a difference.

Contents

Contributors

Jonathan B.A. Bailey, M.B.E., A.D.C.
Major General British Army (Retired)

John Gooch
Leeds University

Andrew Gordon
Joint Services Staff College

Colin S. Gray
University of Reading

Christopher C. Harmon
Marine Corps University

J. Paul Harris
Royal Military Academy

Francis G. Hoffman
Defense Consultant

Michael Howard
Professor Emeritus Oxford University

John P. Kiszely, M.C.
Lieutenant General British Army

Williamson Murray
Senior Fellow
Institute for Defense Analysis

Paul A. Rahe
University of Tulsa

Richard Hart Sinnreich
Colonel United States Army (Retired)

Paul K.Van Riper
Lieutenant General United States Marine Corps (Retired)