Summary of Lawrence Freedman's The Future of War

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The Battle of Sedan, which marked the end of the French Republic, was a classic textbook military victory. The power balance of Europe was changed in a clash of arms, and France was defeated. The French government, however, refused to accept the verdict of battle and continued the fight.

#2 The Battle of Dorking, a short story written by Sir George Tomkyns Chesney, was published in May 1871. It caused a sensation, and demonstrated how England could be invaded and the collapse of its power and commerce in consequence.

#3 Chesney’s book was about how Britain was invaded by a foreign power, Germany, in the Crimean War. The Germans pounced when Britain’s guard was down, and the British fought valiantly, but they were overcome without decent intelligence, logistics, and leadership.

#4 The British were unprepared for the German attack, which caught them completely by surprise. The war just happened because of an aggressive and opportunistic enemy. Britain’s position in the international hierarchy was altered forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669388265

IRB Media

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Insights on Lawrence Freedman's The Future of War

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 17

Insights from Chapter 18

Insights from Chapter 19

Insights from Chapter 20

Insights from Chapter 21

Insights from Chapter 22

Insights from Chapter 23

Insights from Chapter 24

Insights from Chapter 25

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The Battle of Sedan, which marked the end of the French Republic, was a classic textbook military victory. The power balance of Europe was changed in a clash of arms, and France was defeated. The French government, however, refused to accept the verdict of battle and continued the fight.

#2

The Battle of Dorking, a short story written by Sir George Tomkyns Chesney, was published in May 1871. It caused a sensation, and demonstrated how England could be invaded and the collapse of its power and commerce in consequence.

#3

Chesney’s book was about how Britain was invaded by a foreign power, Germany, in the Crimean War. The Germans pounced when Britain’s guard was down, and the British fought valiantly, but they were overcome without decent intelligence, logistics, and leadership.

#4

The British were unprepared for the German attack, which caught them completely by surprise. The war just happened because of an aggressive and opportunistic enemy. Britain’s position in the international hierarchy was altered forever.

#5

The Battle of Dorking, and its subsequent imitators, was a defeat for Britain, but not a bloodbath or a long-drawn-out conflict. It was a melodramatic view of war that saw it as a test of sovereignty, a way of life, and a pattern of trade.

#6

The most powerful theories of war were those drawn from the Napoleonic Wars. They assumed that wars could be settled by a well-constructed campaign, culminating in a decisive battle.

#7

The appeal of battle was in the thought that a climactic encounter between two armies or navies, which had been building up over decades, might change history’s course in a matter of hours. But for battles to be decisive, they must have a significant effect on a wider chain of events.

#8

The allure of battle is what led to states gambling on aggression. Few states knowingly entered into an attritional long war, but that was often what they got, and they suffered as a result.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The classical model of war was based on the assumption that any future European war would be short and heroic, with scientists working to make things better rather than worse. The possibility of war seemed real enough, but there were few guides as to its likely character.

#2

The 1906 book contributed to anti-German feeling, but it did not prepare its readers for what was to come. The core criticism of this body of literature is that it