Marlborough's Ghost: Eighteenth-Century Warfare in the Nuclear Age
Abstract
The scarlet-clad soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder facing out across the open field. On command, they moved forward in precise lines with measured cadence, marching with the skill engendered by years of practice on the drill field. But on the far side of this field stood blue-clad soldiers in equally precise formation awaiting the advancing troops. On they came in their closely ordered drill, stopping all occasion so their brigadiers could realign the ranks. The fateful command rang out when less than forty yards separated red from blue. A thunderous roar erupted from the volley-fired muskets as fingers of flame and rolling clouds of smoke poured forth to obscure both lines of soldiers. This parade-ground image of eighteenth-century European warfare is etched on the American consciousness. Even grammar school textbooks in the United States portray derisively the linear tactics employed by the British army during the American Revolution and exult in the clever tactics of the American rebels who refused to fight in the stylized European fashion. The peculiar strategies and tactics of eighteenth-century European warfare would be little more than interesting footnotes in military history were it not for the many parallels between the problems that created the style of war ill that earlier era and the problems confronting the United States today. These parallel problems lead one to speculate about the role of the US military in the pursuit of national objectives during the decades that lie ahead. However, before we can examine current parallels and raise questions about the future, we must address two questions. First, beyond the peculiar linear tactics already briefly described, what was the nature of eighteenth-century warfare? Second, what factors made warfare in that century so distinctive?
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA424804
Entities
People
- Dennis M. Drew
Organizations
- Air University