Essential Histories
1 primary work • 2 total works
Book 28
An examination of the Palestine War of 1948 and its progression through two distinct stages: the guerrilla warfare between the Arab and Jewish communities of Mandatory Palestine, and the conventional inter-state war between the State of Israel and the invading Arab armies. It assesses the participants, their war aims, strategies and combat performance. Finally, it explores the reasons for Israel's success in the face of seemingly impossible odds and for the failure of the Arab nations to turn their military and numerical superiority into victory on the ground.
The Iran-Iraq War, which ended in August 1988, one month short of its eighth anniversary, was one of the longest, bloodiest and costliest third world armed conflicts in the 20th century. This volume addresses the causes of the Iran-Iraq War, unpacking the objectives of the two belligerents and examining how far objectives were matched by strategy. It assesses the war's military lessons regarding such key areas as strategy, tactics and escalation and in particular the use of non-conventional weapons. Finally, it examines the utility of armed forces as an instrument of foreign policy.