Military History I (without Exercises)

Abstract

The purpose of the lecture is to outline the development of the armed forces (assets regarding manpower, technology and armament), the concepts of warfare and the actual warfare in the 19th and 20th century.

Objective

- Distinguish between military history as a subject and historiography as a way of describing events; - Analyse the modern developments regarding armed forces and warfare in the context of socio-economic changes; - Based on the approach regarding revolution in military affairs, describe the evolution of the armed forces and of warfare; - Exemplify the issues regarding the evolution of the combat (First and Second World War, Vietnam War and Algerian War).

Content

The lecture first examines the bases of the science of (military) history. It focuses on how military history developed from war history, on specific similarities and differences between military history and general historiography, the different ways of dealing with history in Switzerland, Germany, France and in the Anglo-Saxon cultural area (different approaches) as well as on institutions which deal with military history such as universities, military academies, national and international commissions and associations etc. The lecture is structured along the lines of the concept of "Military Revolution" and starts with the formation of modern, European armed forces after the Oranian Army reform in the 17th century. Based on the "Military Revolution" approach, the lecture examines the structural changes regarding the armed forces and the development of warfare from the 18th to the 20th century. Special emphasis will be put on how the battlefield was revolutionized due to the Napoleonic wars, the industrialization in the 19th century, the First World War, the mechanization and totalization during the Second World War and the period of the Cold War.

Resources