I opened the Post today to find that my favorite Military Historian had died on Thursday. Sir John Keegan was a great author who could describe war from all levels from the heights of grand strategy to the life of the common soldier both in and out of combat. His "The Face Of Battle" has always been a touch stone for me as he brings and understanding of the battles of Agincourt, Waterloo, and The Somme, not just in troop movements but in explaining how different types of units, cavalry v infantry, in the first two battles, and infantry v artillery, in the last, fought and won or lost. My old paperback is underlined and highlighted to a fair thee well.
He was also a great teacher, holding courses at command colleges at Sandhurst (the West Point of Britain) and at West Point and Levenworth. Without having served he gained the respect of his highly decorated students.
He wrote twenty books on the subject, and not just on the battles of his own country Britain, but also on the US. His "History of Warfare" is a one volume tour de force on the subject. And like Mitt he sees the source of success or failure in culture. One could do no worse than just picking up one of his books as an introduction to Military History.
I wonder how he'll take having Patton and Monty in his classroom in the sky. When I get there, if I get there, I'll have to audit that one.
JimG33
No comments:
Post a Comment