How to Fight a War

Description

Has any war in history gone according to plan? Monarchs, dictators and elected leaders alike have a dismal record on military decision-making, from over-ambitious goals to disregarding intelligence, terrain, or enemy capabilities. This not only wastes the lives of civilians, the enemy and one’s own soldiers, but also fails to achieve geopolitical objectives, and usually lays the seeds for more wars down the line.

Conflict scholar and former soldier Mike Martin takes the reader through the hard, elegant logic to fighting a conclusive interstate war that solves geopolitical problems, and reduces future conflict. In cool and precise prose, he outlines how to orchestrate military forces, from infantry to information, and from strategy to tactics.

How to Fight a War explains the unavoidable, yet seemingly elusive, art of using violence to force your enemies to do what you want. It should be read by everyone seeking to understand today’s wars, as well as those wishing to lead us through the coming decades of conflict.

Reviews

‘Colourful, punchy, admirably challenging and clear—essential reading for every soldier, officer and General.’ — General Sir Patrick Sanders, Chief of the General Staff, British Army

‘At a time of high geopolitical worry and risk this book sets out clearly the complex considerations—too often insufficiently assessed—which ought to inform any decision, by anyone, about going to war.’ — The Rt Hon. Charles Clarke, former MP, Home Secretary (2004–06)

‘War is abhorrent and complicated. But it is also human. In this easy-to-read book Mike Martin strips away much of its technical characteristics and reminds us that war is determined by some basic tenets that only a fool ignores. How to Fight a War is for statesmen, diplomats and generals to keep by their side when conflict beckons.’ — Lieutenant General Douglas Chalmers (CB, DSO, OBE), Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, 2018-2021, and Master of Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge

‘Almost all of the wars that have been fought over the last thirty years have been unsuccessful. If the leaders, generals and statesmen had read this book, they might not have been.’ — The Rt Hon. Johnny Mercer MP, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs

‘What stands out in this wonderfully curated book is the smooth logical flow of complex issues related to “fighting a war”. Not just the art of war, based on classic examples from world war campaigns and the most recent Ukraine war, but also the craft of war which has evolved through the ages of civilisation. A delightful work of hard labour, thought and passion.’ — Commodore RS Vasan, Indian Navy (Retd), Head of Strategic & Security Studies, Center for Asia Studies Chennai, and Director-General of the Chennai Centre for China Studies

‘An outstanding, clearly written and articulated book for both undergraduates and graduates studying strategic or defence studies, not to mention junior to mid-ranking officers, even senior ones.’ — Ahmed S. Hashim, Associate Professor of Strategic Studies, Deakin University and Australian Defence College, and author of Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Iraq

‘The ongoing war of Russian aggression in Ukraine has caught the majority of Western policymakers and the public off guard and laid bare a severe deficit in understanding the fundamentals of modern warfighting and military affairs. This new book will help address this dearth of expertise on military matters in the West by succinctly summarising the basic principles of war and warfare in layman’s terms.’ — Franz-Stefan Gady, Senior Fellow for Cyber Power and Future Conflict, International Institute for Strategic Studies

Author(s)

Mike Martin is Senior Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, where he speaks and writes on conflict. His previous books, also published by Hurst, are An Intimate War; Crossing the Congo; and Why We Fight. He tweets about conflict and geopolitics as @ThreshedThought.