War, Peace and International Relations: An Introduction to Strategic History

321 Pages·2007·1.94 MB·English

by  Colin S. Gray

War, Peace and International Relations
War, Peace and International Relationsis an introduction to the strategic history of
the past two centuries, years which were shaped and reshaped by wars. The book
shows that war is not only about warfare – the military conduct of war – but is crucial
to the political, social and cultural behaviour of states.
Written by leading strategist Professor Colin Gray, this textbook provides students
with a good grounding in the contribution of war to the development of the modern
world, from the pre-industrial era to the post-industrial age of international terrorism
and smart weapons.
War, Peace and International Relations:
• is the first one-volume strategic historytextbook on the market
• covers all the major wars of the past twocenturies
• is up to date and comprehensive, including chapters on irregular warfare and
terrorism
• includes summarypoints, boxed sections, student questions and further reading.
Colin S. Gray is Professor of International Politics and Strategic Studies at the
University of Reading, UK and a professional strategic theorist and defence analyst.
His twenty-one books include Modern Strategy(1999) and Another Bloody Century
(2005).

War, Peace and International
Relations
An Introduction to Strategic History
Colin S. Gray
First published 2007
by Routledge
2Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
©2007 Colin S. Gray
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized
inany form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Gray, Colin S.
War, peace and international relations : an introduction to strategic history /
Colin S. Gray
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978–0–415–38638–8 (hardback : alk. paper) –
ISBN 978–0–415–38639–5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. War. 2. Military policy. 3. Strategy. 4. International relations.
5. Military history, Modern–19th century. 6. Military history, Modern–20th century.
I. Title
U21.2.G673 2007
355.0209–dc22
2006034566
ISBN 0-203-08899-9 (cid:13)(cid:10)Mastere-bookISBN
ISBN 10: 0–415–38638–1 (hbk)
ISBN 10: 0–415–38639–X (pbk)
ISBN 10: 0–203–08899–9 (ebk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–38638–8 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–38639–5 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–203–08899–9 (ebk)
To the memory of John Erickson,an inspiring teacher,
awise mentor and a good friend

Contents
List of maps xi
List of boxes and tables xii
Preface xiii
Introduction: strategic history 1
1 Themes and contexts of strategic history 4
Introduction: a binding framework 4
Themes 5
Contexts 9
Conclusion 13
2 Carl von Clausewitz and the theory of war 15
Introduction: theory for all seasons 15
Strategic ideas and strategic behaviour 16
Jomini and Clausewitz 19
Conclusion 27
3 From limited war to national war:the French Revolution and the
Napoleonic way of war 31
Introduction: two transformations 31
Limited war and great war 33
The Revolution and its warfare 37
Napoleon’s art of war 39
Problems with the Napoleonic way of war and warfare 44
Political and strategic failure 46
Conclusion 48
4 The nineteenth century,I:a strategic view 51
Introduction: the reach of strategic history 51
Aviolent century 52
viii Contents
Implications of the Industrial Revolution: the strategic tale 54
Conclusion 59
5 The nineteenth century,II:technology,warfare and international
order 61
Introduction: Waterloo to the Marne 61
Weapons and warfare 63
Politics and strategic history 69
Conclusion 73
6 World War I,I:controversies 75
Introduction: the making of the twentieth century 75
Acontested history 77
Conclusion 82
7 World War I,II:modern warfare 85
Introduction: education by experience 85
The course of the war 85
Modern warfare 90
Conclusion 95
8 The twenty-year armistice,1919–39 99
Introduction: contrasting decades 99
Versailles and the legacy of the Great War 100
The changing political context: strategic implications 106
Conclusion 112
9 The mechanization of war 115
Introduction: revolution in military affairs 115
Land warfare 116
Air power 118
Sea power 119
Conclusion 121
10 World War II in Europe,I:the structure and course of total war 124
Introduction: total war 124
The structure of the war 126
The course of the war 129
Conclusion 140
11 World War II in Europe,II:understanding the war 143
Introduction: what was the war about? 143
Hitler’s war 144
Contents ix
Warfare, 1939–45 146
Why did Germany lose? 149
Conclusion 153
12 World War II in Asia–Pacific,I:Japan and the politics of empire 157
Introduction: global war 157
The Japanese bid for empire 159
Japan and the United States: the drift to war 162
Conclusion 166
13 World War II in Asia–Pacific,II:strategy and warfare 168
Introduction: over the cliff 168
Japanese strategy 168
American strategy 172
The end for Japan 178
Conclusion 180
14 The Cold War,I:politics and ideology 184
Introduction: from war to peace – the consequences of World War II 184
From cold peace to Cold War 188
The Cold War reconsidered 192
Some interim judgements 200
Conclusion 202
15 The Cold War,II:the nuclear revolution 205
Introduction: the strategic challenge 205
The bomb 206
The nuclear revolution 209
Nuclear strategy 211
The nuclear arms competition 216
Conclusion 217
16 War and peace after the Cold War:an interwar decade 219
Introduction: the interwar thesis 219
Aunipolar world 221
‘New wars’and ‘old wars’: a bloody decade 225
Conclusion 232
17 9/11 and the age of terror 235
Introduction: the return of a master narrative 235
9/11: World War III? 235
Warfare: from the Industrial Age to the Information Age 240
Conclusion 242