From ideas of Clausewitz to contemporary doctrines of containment & cold war, this is a history of modern military thought. It explores conceptions of war, strategy, & military theory, relating them to their cultural & historical contexts.

Book I: From the Enlightenment to Clausewitz. Machiavelli and the Classical Notion of the Lessons of History in the Study of War -- Part I: The Military School of the Enlightenment. Montecuccoli: The Impact of Proto-Science on Military Theory -- The Quest for a General Theory of War: The Military Thinkers of the French Enlightenment -- From Military Education to a Science of Operations: The Military Thinkers of the German Aufklärung -- The Napoleonic Age: Archduke Charles, Jomini, and the Revolution in War -- Part II: The German Movement, Clausewitz, and the Origins of the German Military School. The Reaction against the Enlightenment: New Perspectives on Military Theory -- Clausewitz: Demolishing and Rebuilding the Theoretical Ideal -- Clausewitz: The Nature of War -- Conclusion -- Appendix: Clausewitz's Final Notes Revisited -- Book II: The Nineteenth Century. Positivism, Romanticism, and Military Theory 1815-1870 -- The German Military School: Its World-View and Conception of War 1815-1914 -- The Cult of the Offensive: The Sources of French Military Doctrine 1871-1914 -- From Sail to Steam: Naval Theory and the Military Parallel 1882-1914 -- Marxism, Clausewitz, and Military Theory 1848 to the Nuclear Age -- Conclusion -- III: Fascist and Liberal Visions of War. Part I: Fascist Modernism and Visionaries of Machine Warfare. Introduction: The 'Janus Face' of Fascism -- J.F.C. Fuller and Future Warfare -- German Right-Wing Radicalism, Strategic Adventurism, and Mechanized Warfare -- Comparisons and Contrasts (I): American Progressivism and Technological Modernism -- Comparisons and Contrasts (II): Marxist Modernism and the Doctrine of 'Deep Battle' -- Conclusion -- Part II: Liddell Hart, Modern, and 'Post-Modern' Strategy. Introduction -- Background: The First World War in Western consciousness -- Theory: Limited War, Moderate Peace, and the Strategy of Indirect Approach -- Policy: Defence of the West (I): Containment in the 1930s -- Policy: Defence of the West (II): Hot War--Cold War -- Conclusion: The Western Way in Warfare', Past and Future -- Select Bibliography -- Index.