AUL LibGuides: SAASS Student Support AY24: SAASS 600

FOUNDATIONS OF MILITARY THEORY

Air University Library Course Support

FOUNDATIONS OF MILITARY THEORY
SAASS 600
27 July 2023 - 22 August 2023

"This course is indeed a foundational one for the future strategist as it asks and allows you to think through the answers to the following questions:

What is war? What purpose can and should it serve? What is war’s nature and what, if anything, causes that nature to change? Is war an art, a science, or both?
Can theory be timeless or is it merely a product of its context? What drives the creation of theory? What makes good theory?
What is strategy? Is strategy best conceptualized as a theory of victory, a plan to accomplish a goal, or both? What separates effective from ineffective strategies? Why is strategy easy to comprehend in concept but difficult to do in execution?"

Some materials listed below require access to subscription databases. If you cannot gain access, contact your local library for availability. AU students and faculty can contact the Library's Database Request Page for a password.

Internet Resources

Listed below is on-line information about books and their authors used in this course.

Seminar One:

Ralph D. Sawyer Biography
The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China Review

Toshi Yoshihara Biography
"Sun Zi and the Search for a Timeless Logic of Strategy" (Book chapter from "The New Makers of Modern Strategy: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age")

Seminar Two:

Beatrice Heuser Biography
The Evolution of Strategy: Thinking War from Antiquity to the Present Review

Beatrice Heuser Biography
"Christine de Pizan, the First Modern Strategist" (Book chapter from "Strategy Before Clausewitz: Linking Warfare and Statecraft, 1400-1830")

Christine de Pizan Biography
The Book of Deeds of Arms and of Chivalry Review

Seminar Three:

Hew Strachan Biography
"The Elusive Meaning and Enduring Relevance of Clausewitz" (Book chapter from "The New Makers of Modern Strategy: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age")

Clausewitz
Clausewitz Homepage

A Wake for Clausewitz: Toward a Philosophy of 21st-Century Warfare
Part of Clausewitz Homepage

Seminar Four:

Michael V. Leggiere Biography
"Napoleon and the Strategy of the Single Point" (Book chapter from "The New Makers of Modern Strategy: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age")

Clausewitz
Clausewitz Homepage

A Wake for Clausewitz: Toward a Philosophy of 21st-Century Warfare
Part of Clausewitz Homepage

Seminar Five:

Antulio J. Echevarria II Biography
"Jomini, Modern War, and Strategy: The Triumph of the Essential" ((Book chapter from "The New Makers of Modern Strategy: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age")

Jomini
Antoine Henri Jomini (From Encyclopedia.com)
Art of War Review (Scroll down to pg. 126)

Mark Erbel Biography
Christopher Kinsey Biography
Think Again - Supplying War: Reappraising Military Logistics and Centrality to Strategy and War (Article)

Seminar Six:

John H. Maurer Biography
"Alfred Thayer Mahan and the Strategy of Sea Power" (Book chapter from "The New Makers of Modern Strategy: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age")

Mahan's Classical View and the Profession of Arms (scroll down to pg. 104)
by Donald D. Chipman

Alfred Thayer Mahan (from Encyclopedia.com)
The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 Review

Seminar Seven:

Beatrice Heuser Biography
The Evolution of Strategy: Thinking War from Antiquity to the Present Review

Julian S. Corbett Biography
Some Principles of Maritime Strategy Review

Seminar Eight:

Giulio Douhet (from Encyclopedia.com)

The Command of the Air by Giulio Douhet: A Military Times Classic
Article in Military History Matters

Seminar Nine:

Beatrice Heuser Biography
The Evolution of Strategy: Thinking War from Antiquity to the Present Review

John Slessor Biography 1 Biography 2
Air Power and Armies Review Publisher Description

Seminar Ten:

Sir Basil Henry Liddell-Hart (from the International Encyclopedia of the First World War)
Strategy

Seminar Eleven:

J.F.C. Fuller Biography
The Foundations of the Science of War

Brian Holden Reid
"Young Turks, or Not So Young?": The Frustrated Quest of Major General J.F.C. Fuller and Captain B.H. Liddell Hart (Journal Article)

Seminar Twelve:

J.C. Wylie Biography Article
Military Strategy: A General Theory of Power Control Review

Beatrice Heuser Biography
The Evolution of Strategy: Thinking War from Antiquity to the Present Review

Francis Gavin Biography
"The Elusive Nature of Nuclear Strategy" (Book chapter from "The New Makers of Modern Strategy: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age")

Richard K. Betts Biography
Is Strategy an Illusion? (Article)

Seminar Thirteen:

Thomas C. Schelling Biography
The Strategy of Conflict Article Review

Fred Charles Ikle Article (Obituary)
Every War Must End Review Publisher Description Book Discussion (C-Span Video)

Seminar Fourteen:

Valery Gerasimov
The Value of Science is in the Foresight: New Challenges Demand Rethinking the Forms and Methods of Carrying out Combat Operations (Article)

Michael Kofman Biography
Russian Military Strategy: Core Tenets and Operational Concepts

Mykhaylo Zabrodskyi Biography
Preliminary Lessons in Conventional Warfighting from Russia's Invasion of Ukraine: February - July 2022 (Article)

Seminar Fifteen:

Xiao Tianliang
The Science of Military Strategy

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