1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910828147003321

Autore

Posen Barry R.

Titolo

The sources of military doctrine : France, Britain, and Germany between the world wars

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Ithaca, : Cornell University Press, 1984

ISBN

0-8014-6857-4

1-322-50445-8

0-8014-6858-2

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (283 p.)

Collana

Cornell studies in security affairs

Classificazione

355.43

Altri autori (Persone)

PosenBarry

Disciplina

355/.02

Soggetti

Strategy - History - 20th century

Military art and science - France - History - 20th century

Military art and science - Germany - History - 20th century

Military art and science - Great Britain - History - 20th century

Strategi

Militærvidenskab

Krigskunst

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- 1. The Importance of Military Doctrine -- 2. Explaining Military Doctrine -- 3. The Battles of 1940 -- 4. France -- 5. Britain -- 6. Germany -- 7. Conclusions -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Barry R. Posen explores how military doctrine takes shape and the role it plays in grand strategy-that collection of military, economic, and political means and ends with which a state attempts to achieve security. Posen isolates three crucial elements of a given strategic doctrine: its offensive, defensive, or deterrent characteristics, its integration of military resources with political aims, and the degree of military or operational innovation it contains. He then examines these components of doctrine from the perspectives of organization theory and balance of power theory, taking into account the influence of technology and geography.Looking at interwar France, Britain, and



Germany, Posen challenges each theory to explain the German Blitzkrieg, the British air defense system, and the French Army's defensive doctrine often associated with the Maginot Line. This rigorous comparative study, in which the balance of power theory emerges as the more useful, not only allows us to discover important implications for the study of national strategy today, but also serves to sharpen our understanding of the origins of World War II.