Why did Napoleon succeed in 1805 but fail in 1812? Could the European half of World War II have been ended in 1944? These are only two of the many questions that form the subject-matter of this meticulously researched, lively book. Drawing on a very wide range of sources, van Creveld examines the specifics of war: namely, those formidable problems of movement and supply, transportation and administration, so often mentioned - but rarely explored - by the vast majority of books on military history. In doing so he casts his net far and wide, from Gustavus Adolphus to Rommel, from Marlborough to Patton, subjecting the operations of each to a thorough analysis from an unusual point of view. In this edition with a new introduction, van Creveld revisits his now-classic text, and comments in a new afterword on the role of logistics in high-tech, modern warfare.
- ISBN13 9780521837446
- Publish Date 15 March 2004 (first published 30 December 1977)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 16 March 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Cambridge University Press
- Edition 2nd Revised edition
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 328
- Language English