Description
Although ostensibly a time of peace, one of the richest and most fascinating periods in military history falls between the two world wars. With good reason, even today military theorists look to these years for relevant lessons. The articles and papers collected together in this volume highlight the major themes and developments of interwar military affairs in Europe, including the new doctrines of tank warfare, air power, German "Blitzkrieg", and Soviet operational art. They also demonstrate the important place of the major armed conflicts of the period, such as the Russian and Spanish Civil Wars, in European history.
Table of Contents
Contents: Series preface; Introduction; Part I Military Thought and Doctrine: British influence and the evolution of the Panzer arm: myth or reality, Azar Gat; German armour doctrine: correcting the myths, R.L. DiNardo; Beyond fire and movement: command, control and information in the German blitzkreig, Robert Citino; Mass, mobility, and the Red Army's road to operational art 1918-1936, Jacob W. Kipp; J.F.C. Fuller, Tukhachevsky and the Red Army, 1923-1941: the question of the reception of Fuller's military writings in the Soviet Union, Alaric Searle; 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it': French military doctrine between the world wars, Eugenia C. Kiesling. Part II Air Power: The Luftwaffe's army support doctrine, 1918-1941, James S. Corum; Trenchard and 'morale bombing': the evolution of Royal Air Force doctrine before World War II, Philip S. Meilinger; Fighter defence before fighter command: the rise of strategic air defence in Great Britain, 1917-1934, John Ferris. Part III The Soviet-Polish War: Two Views: The 'miracle of the Vistula': Soviet policy versus Red Army strategy, Thomas Fiddick; Lenin, Stalin and the failure of the Red Army in the Soviet-Polish war of 1920, Stephen Brown. Part IV Civil Wars and Insurgency: The Red Army and mass mobilization during the Russian civil war, 1918-1920, Orlando Figes; The clash of Spanish armies: contrasting ways of war in Spain, 1936-1939, Michael Alpert; Soviet tank operations in the Spanish civil war, Steven J. Zaloga; The Irish Republican Army and the development of guerilla warfare, 1916-21, Charles Townshend. Part V On the Eve of the Great Patriotic War: The Soviet Union: Mikhail Tukhachevsky and war-economic planning: reconsiderations on the pre-war Soviet military build-up, L. Samuelson; Tukhachevsky in Leningrad: military politics and exile, 1928-31, David R. Stone; Company choir of terror: the military council of the 1930s - the Red Army between the XVIIth and XVIIIth party congresses, Frank Schauf
