Transcript Introduction to Military History

Lexington & Concord 1775
LTC Francis Smith
Royal Army
“The Shot Heard Round the World…”
“NCA:”
George III
“Warlords:”
Adams & Hancock
“What We See Usually
Depends On Where We Sit”
Introduction To
Military History
MS 494 : The History of the
American Military Experience
SENIOR
LEVEL
- APPLIED HISTORY
- STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
- ANALYSIS OF STAFF RIDE
History/Heritage
Instruction
Critical
Thinking/Analysis
INTERMEDIATE
LEVEL
- ADVANCED HISTORICAL CONCEPTS
- ADVANCED BATTLE ANALYSIS
- STAFF RIDE EXECUTION
PreCommissioning/
Initial Entry
- HERITAGE
- HISTORY OF ARMY
- BATTLE ANALYSIS INTRODUCTION
- STAFF RIDE INTRODUCTION
Professional Military History:
Explains
not
“Entertains”
PROFESSIONAL
MILITARY HISTORY
IS about:
Is NOT
about:
Trends,
Process
Names,Patterns,
Places, Dates
Develops
and
Refines
Your
Concepts,
Heroes,Culture,
Villains,Relationships
Causes
Professional
Critical
Theory
vs. Legacy
Practice
Tradition,
The
“Nature”
of War
“Lessons
Learned”
Thinking
and
Judgment
EvaluatingCurrent
CurrentDoctrine
Doctrine
Validating
“Nature” of History
• History “proves” nothing, but it illuminates a great deal
• The power of history lies in its suggestiveness, and in the
power of discernment it conveys to its user
• The great value of history in the practical world is in the
habit of mind that it encourages:
– Unwillingness to accept arguments based on
simplistic assumptions
– Understanding of how, bias, perception, cause and
effect work
Continuity In Military Culture
“We trained hard but it seemed
that every time we were beginning
to form up into teams we would be
reorganized. I was to learn later in
life that we tend to meet any new
situation by reorganizing; and a
wonderful method it can be for
creating the illusion of progress
while producing confusion,
inefficiency, and demoralization.”
- Petronius Arbiter 210 BC
The “Basics”
Light Cavalry
Light Infantry
Artillery
Heavy Infantry
Heavy Cavalry
English Soldiers Break the Charge
of Scots “Warriors” at Culloden, 1746
Military History Objective
“To teach the officer how to teach
himself should be the avowed
objective of every course
in military history”.
Prof. Jay Luuvas
MS 494
The History of the American Military Experience
The TEXT:
Weekly on-line Quizzes, Midterm and Final Exams
Articles/Podcast Reviews
Book Review &
Presentation
Participation
Like drinking from a
Fire Hose