Summary of David A. Bell's The First Total War

By IRB Media

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

#1 Lauzun, while having a reputation as a notorious rake, would also become one of France’s most famous soldiers. His courage under fire in Corsica would lead to the command of a prestigious regiment. In 1779, he would command an expedition that briefly captured Senegal for France.

#2 The military culture of Lauzun’s Europe was very different from our own. It was an aristocratic culture, and soldiers were expected to show the same grace, coolness, and splendor in each arena.

#3 While soldiers were usually busy campaigning, they also had a lot of free time on their hands. This was especially true for officers, who were often overmanned. They would spend this time writing books or playing music.

#4 The ranks of French soldier-authors also included the Marquis de Sade, who wrote poetry and philosophical treatises. Outside France, many other famous names crossed the military-literary divide, including Frederick the Great of Prussia, who wrote philosophical treatises and verse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Aug 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822563377

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Insights on David A. Bell's The First Total 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 1

#1

Lauzun, while having a reputation as a notorious rake, would also become one of France’s most famous soldiers. His courage under fire in Corsica would lead to the command of a prestigious regiment. In 1779, he would command an expedition that briefly captured Senegal for France.

#2

The military culture of Lauzun’s Europe was very different from our own. It was an aristocratic culture, and soldiers were expected to show the same grace, coolness, and splendor in each arena.

#3

While soldiers were usually busy campaigning, they also had a lot of free time on their hands. This was especially true for officers, who were often overmanned. They would spend this time writing books or playing music.

#4

The ranks of French soldier-authors also included the Marquis de Sade, who wrote poetry and philosophical treatises. Outside France, many other famous names crossed the military-literary divide, including Frederick the Great of Prussia, who wrote philosophical treatises and verse.

#5

The most powerful factor that today sets military service apart as a sacred vocation is patriotism. However, the persistence of a powerful mercenary ethos did much to dilute its importance.

#6

The eighteenth century was different from our own age in that it lacked a distinct sense of military identity. While common soldiers had a stronger sense of separation from nonmilitary life than the officers did, the latter had a very limited experience outside of military life.

#7

The European societies of the eighteenth century were characterized by two traits that historians have largely ignored. First, warfare was a normal state of affairs, and it was treated as such by nearly all parties. Second, war was what the rulers did.

#8

The eighteenth century was still an aristocratic century, and nobles had not forgotten the vocation of their predecessors. They still controlled a hugely disproportionate share of the continent’s wealth and political offices.

#9

The idea of silk-stockinged courtiers charging into battle trailing clouds of wig powder may seem completely ridiculous to modern readers. However, this was not the case for eighteenth-century European officers.

#10

Aristocratic culture depended on close and sure control over aristocratic bodies, and this included the control of their education. The same qualities that made them a graceful and well-mannered noble would make them an able warrior.

#11

At the heart of aristocratic military culture was an obsession with honor. This was a stiletto-sharp sense of social standing, and it demanded strict mastery of the self and rules of acceptable behavior.