“Leon Trotsky, one of the more competent practitioners of the art of war, is reputed to have commented that ‘you may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.'” So begins James Lacey and Williamson Murray clear, concise, and entertaining Moment of Battle. With uncertain times, I felt like reading a history of great battles would fit the era we’re living in. Steve Bannon, the Svengali to the truculent, irascible Donald Trump, has predicted a war in the Middle East. Bannon has also said that a war in the South China Sea is “inevitable.”
Given that kind of mind-set in the White House, war seems like a high probability event. James Lacy and Williamson Murray take a chronological approach, starting with the famous battle between the Athenians and the Persians at Marathon in 400 B.C. I enjoyed the attention to detail and the authors’s wit and cleverness in the analysis of these battles. And, I learned a lot. Who knew that Benedict Arnold was a military genius who turned traitor because his superiors wouldn’t acknowledge his battlefield accomplishments (they took the credit). And when I read about Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, I had tears in my eyes. Very moving.
Military history could be a very dry subject, but Lacey and Murray bring it alive in Moment of Battle. Highly recommended! GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
MARATHON Athens Saves Westerm Civilization (490 B.C.)
GAUGAMELA Alexander Creates a New World (311 B.C.)
ZAMA An Empire in the balance (202 B.C)
ADRIANOPLE The End of Roman Supremacy (AD 378)
YARMUK The Islamic Conquest Begins (636)
HASTINGS The Remaking of Europe (1066)
THE SPANISH ARMADA Miracle at sea (1588)
BREITENFELD The Creation of Modern War (1631)
ANNUS MIRABILUS This Rise of British Supremacy (1750)
SARATOGA The Victory of the Amateurs (1777)
TRAFALGAR Napoleons Plans Thwarted (1805)
VICKSURG Breaking the Confederacy (1863)
THE MARNE The End of Old Europe (1914)
THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN The Nazis Stopped (1940)
MIDWAY Imperial Japan Stopped (1942)
KURSK The End of the Drang Nach Osten (1943)
NORMANDY The Death Knell for Nazi Germany (1944)
DIEN BIEN PHU Imperialism Defeated (1954)
OBJECTIVE PEACH The Drive for Baghdad (2003)
Acknowledgements
NOTES
INDEX
They should have included Gettysburg!
Bob, Atlanta made a lot of strategic mistakes. This game will be studied for years!
Re the battle of Kursk 1943 (I might have written about this already):
Around half a year before that last effort of the German troops my father held back the Russians who were advancing near Millerowo and so the German troops could retereat to safety across a river – he got the Knight’s Cross for this.
He told me later that he already “knew” at that time that the war was lost – the Germans just didn’t have enough men and weapons/ammunition/petrol against the Russians. So this Kursk battle was totally crazy and everybody should have known that they couldn’t win against the superior enemy – as bad as Stalingrad. But of course Hitler wouldn’t have accepted any “defeatism” …
If you’re interested you canfind lots of info here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kursk
What a darned loss of human lives (and materials too)!
Wolf, the authors made a comment in the chapter on Kursk that this battle assured Hitler’s defeat. The loss of life in all of these battles is tragic.
I am afraid to see what the 21st might be.
Patti, Steve Bannon is already signaling war in the Middle East and the South China Sea. Things look bad.
Sounds interesting. I’ve read a lot about our Civil War and some about the First World War and the Revolution. I like these kinds of books.
Jeff, MOMENT OF BATTLE is one of the best books of military history I’ve ever read. The authors write with clear and insightful prose for a general audience. I understand these key points in history better now.
I’m starting a betting pool over where and when we go to war. Get your tabs in early, it’s gonna be a crowded field!
Dan, I predict American “boots on the ground” in the Middle East by the 4th of July.
please, I hope you’re wrong, but with the current administration, who knows. We could even be at war with Mexico and Australia if the orange one gets any more antagonistic (see snl opening skit)
Maggie, I fear war is inevitable.
George, I sincerely hope you’re wrong!
We’ve seen enough wars – in Europe there used to be at least one war every generation, horrible. And when I hear about “the good old times” of those kings and queens for who silly ideas millions had to die I get angry!
Wolf, one of the saddest chapters in MOMENT OF BATTLE was “Midway.” Japanese aircraft carriers launched an attack, but American dive bombers hit the carriers before the Zeros returned. The Japanese carriers were basically floating bombs because of all the communication and fuel. The description of the results was horrifying.
I guess I thought you read more fiction, less non-fiction once you retired. I hope you’re wrong about war, I certainly won’t support it.
Rick, I’m usually 50/50 on fiction and non-fiction. But, I’m trying to get all of my Library books read in February (I’m down to 16!) so I’m just reading whatever book is due first.
The football reply to me was incongruous!
I’ll definitely be reading this book, George. The subject of war and its harsh and terrifying realities has always been of interest to me.
Prashant, MOMENT OF BATTLE is a terrific book! You’ll learn a lot from MOMENT OF BATTLE. I did.