Turning Points in Military History - Hardcover

Turning points in military history are often turning points in world history as well. In this thought-provoking book, noted military historian William Weir explores the stunning leaps of martial imagination that have redefined combat and conquest. These leaps embrace everything from the first sharpened sticks wielded by our ancestors to today's terrifying "shock and awe" satellite-guided weaponry. With the author's aid, readers will find themselves gazing out from the stone fortifications of a European castle, witnessing the frightening power of gunpowder as it brings the age of the samurai to an end, and boarding a modern aircraft carrier to deliver mechanized war to enemy shores. Pivotal moments in combat history come alive-for example, the bewildered amazement of onlookers as the "cheesebox" iron-clad Monitor steamed out to take on the Merrimack. Weapons, however, are not the whole story of turning points, as the author makes eminently clear. Important leaps may be economic, scientific, social, or religious in origin. Nationalism helped to create standing armies, prepared to fight at any time; railroads brought warfare ever closer to civilian areas; the Mongols, Weir notes, may have had to give up plans of expanding their empire westward because of the abundance of fortified, walled cities they confronted there. Landmark moments in the history of armed conflict combine to create this compelling analysis of how wars are made, won, and lost-and the technical and strategic challenges yet to be faced.