T. Miller Maguire and the Lost Essence of Strategy
Abstract
T. Miller Maguire was a prolific British instructor, author, and commentator on military subjects. (A Summary of Modern Military History (1887); Outlines of Military Geography (1899); Guerilla or Partisan Warfare (1904); General Von Clausewitz On War (1909); etc.) Well read among British students of strategy at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, his name and writings all but disappeared from the active literature after his death in 1920. His matter-of-fact encapsulations regarding the marshalling and application of land power, couched always in History and Geography, remain relevant today. In several writings, Maguire offers a brief synthesis of what he accepts as timeless principles of military strategy. This paper reintroduces Maguire and his work, focusing on his succinct understanding of military strategy. Maguire's integrated assertions offer a new old way to explain operational art and perhaps to improve today's military doctrine. On the larger scale of national strategy, Maguire's accusatorial but insightful outlook at a time of great technological and geopolitical change provokes doubt about American military readiness to meet challenges of the not too distant future.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA482097
Entities
People
- Geoffrey Demarest
Organizations
- United States Army War College