… the body of knowledge military history creates serves as the foundation for political and military (two separate but related things!) thinking about war and conflict. This is not new, of course; as I noted above, the field of military history emerged out of a desire to train military leaders. What has changed is that this is no longer an exercise for training (often hereditary) aristocrats for battlefield command in societies where political and military decision-making was generally restricted to men born to the job. Instead, all citizens in a democracy have a role in shaping decisions about war and peace.
At the same time, something has not changed, which is the human propensity for conflict. And so the most obvious reason to study the history of human conflict remains: to prepare for the conflicts of our day which, despite our best efforts, are sure to occur. And since political decision-making is no longer confined to a small elite, it makes sense that both the target and scope of military history has changed. This is part of why the focus on the broader “war and society” lens is important: if average citizens need to (through elections) make choices on the security posture of their country, they are going to want to know “what is conflict going to be like for me and my family?” Thus the greater focus on the experience of the common soldier (what is sometimes called the “Face of Battle” school of military history, after J. Keegan, The Face of Battle (1976)) and on the experience of the “homefront” as well as on the victims of conflict. I know that last focus sometimes frustrates the “cult of the badass” adherents, but frankly, no matter how many reps you can do, you were always more likely to be one of Alexander the Great’s victims than one of Alexander’s soldiers (much less Alexander himself).
Bret Devereaux, “Collections: Why Military History?”, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry, 2020-11-13.
July 9, 2023
QotD: Military history informs modern concepts of conflict
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