The Great Deal Of Military Scholarship - 1530 Words

There has been a great deal of military scholarship written on the greatest battles of the world and has influenced these armed forces fighting in these grand battles. Two of these scholarships are discussed by Victor Davis Hanson, a military historian specializing on classical warfare and a current professor at California State University, and John A Lynn, a military historian specializing in early modern Europe and is a current professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Both books discuss cultural linkage in terms of successful armies and how the victor’s culture resulted in victory, but thesis is problematic because he creates a staunch dichotomy of western battle virtues versus every other armed force in the world. An†¦show more content†¦The high motivation of the soldier often goes hand in hand with the freedom of the soldier fighting. This idea of the soldier’s freedom begins in the Greek city-state as mentioned by Hanson gives these men a sense of individualism, which creates the idea that men are fighting for their families as well as fighting for their livelihood. Hanson also mentions the strict discipline and training of the soldier. This strict training allows for the militaries to be more effective in smaller numbers and Hanson uses the Battle of Rorke’s Drift between the African Zulu’s and The British Royal Army. Though the Zulus vastly outnumbered the British, as well as possessed the same weaponry, they were very well trained and by using decisive battle and weaponry techniques they were able to defeat the Zulu army. The largest piece of the thesis that supports the fact that Western armies are dominant on the battlefield is their ability to adapt and become flexible. Hanson points out that the Japanese had better planes than the Americans in the Battle of Midway, but it was the ability of the Americans to utilize their technology well that eventually lead to an American victory. Hanson also mentions that Western armies are almost amoral