The Allure of Battle: A History of How Wars Have Been Won and Lost

Product Description

History has tended to measure war’s winners and losers in terms of its major engagements, battles in which the result was so clear-cut that they could be considered “decisive.” Marathon, Cannae, Tours, Agincourt, Austerlitz, Sedan, Stalingrad–all resonate in the literature of war and in our imaginations as tide-turning. But were they? As Cathal J. Nolan demonstrates in this magisterial and sweeping work, victory in major wars usually has been determined in other ways. Even the most legendarily lopsided of battles did not necessarily decide their outcomes. Nolan also challenges the hoary concept of the military “genius,” even of the Great Captains–from Alexander to Frederick and Napoleon–mapping instead the descent into total war.

The Allure of Battle systematically recreates and analyzes the major campaigns among the Great Powers, from the Middle Ages through the 20th century, from the fall of Byzantium to the defeat of the Axis powers, tracing the illusion of “short-war thinking,” the hope that victory might be swift and conflict brief. Such has almost never been the case. Even one-sided battles have mainly contributed to victory or defeat by accelerating erosion of the other side’s defenses, resources, and will.

Massive conflicts, the so-called “people’s wars,” beginning with Napoleon and continuing until the end of World War II, have been more fundamentally determined by prolonged stalemate and attrition, wars in which the determining factor was not tactical but industrial.

Nolan’s masterful book places battles squarely and mercilessly within the context of the wider conflict in which they took place. In the process it help corrects a distorted view of their role in war, replacing popular images of “decisive battles” with somber appreciation of the sacrifice and endurance necessary to victory. Accessible, provocative, exhaustive, and illuminating,
The Allure of Battle will spark fresh debate about the history and conduct of warfare.

Review

“Nolan exhibits an impressive depth of knowledge of his subject; his work is marked by stylish writing with extensive discourse on political and social as well as military issues” — Russell K. Brown,
The Journal of America’s Military Past

“This is one of the most valuable military histories in years. A must-read for students of military history.” – Kirkus Reviews (Starred review)

“In a sweeping narrative that ranges from the Middle Ages through World War II, Cathal Nolan dismantles an illusion that has persistently distorted our understanding of armed conflict – that of the decisive battle engineered by the genius general. But the importance of this brilliantly provocative book is not merely historical. Its conclusions apply directly to war and military policy in the present day.” – Andrew J. Bacevich, author of
America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military History

“Why do so many generals overpromise and under-deliver, from Breitenfeld to Basra? We buy the hype because we want quick results at low cost. Yet the blood-sodden reality is almost always quite different. In seeking the
Allure of Battle, Cathal Nolan draws on the broad sweep on Western military history. He explains what went wrong, and why, with wit, insight, and a knowing eye for the heroes and cads who made it so. Battles rarely deliver convincing results. But Cathal Nolan sure does.” – Daniel P. Bolger, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army, Retired, author of
Why We Lost: A General’s Inside
Account of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

“A lyrical, sweeping, and fast-paced return to grand military history with the important proviso that the allure of battle has constantly misled generals, politicians and historians to mistake rousing tactical victories for long-term and enduring strategic gains. In exacting detail, Cathal Nolan pushes myopia aside and the result is a trenchant reappraisal of decisive battles in Western warfare.” – Michael L. Gross, The School of Political Science, Univers