The Aftermath of Defeat: Societies, Armed Forces, and the Challenge of RecoveryWhen a country is defeated in war, not only are the policies, strategies, and goals of the military affected, but those of society as well. In this book experts in military history examine conflicts ranging from the American Revolution to the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973 and to China's invasion of Vietnam in 1979 to show how the trauma of defeat also affects the evolution of society. The authors argue that recovery from defeat must be assessed on the level of grand strategy, that ultimate responsibility for recovery rests on the capacity of a nation's top political and military leaders to use their society's resources in order to master the challenges confronting them. Sometimes a nation can rebound from defeat simply by re-forming or reorganizing the military services and the branches of government involved in military decisions. At other times military defeat can have a greater impact on society, leading to the consolidation of the status quo, the disruption of the traditional social order, or increased civilian control over the military. In any case, the leadership's viability often hinges on its ability to detect the inevitable pressures for reform that follow military defeat and to harness them accordingly. |
Contents
The Recovery of Prussia after Jena | 26 |
Britain and the Boer | 40 |
Causes Recovery and Consequences | 59 |
Defeats and Recoveries in the ArabIsraeli | 103 |
The U S Army | 124 |
Chinas Recovery from Defeat in 1979 | 143 |
Notes | 159 |
Contributors | 185 |
Common terms and phrases
achieved Algeria Algérie française allies American Arab armed forces armored army's artillery attack Attrition Austro-Hungarian Bar-Lev line battle Battle of Caporetto battlefield Boer British Cadorna Caporetto Ceva chief of staff China Chinese civilian combat conflict conscription conventional counterinsurgency crossing the canal Dayan defense divisions doctrine Egypt Egyptian enemy field manual fighting foreign policy forze armate France French army French officer corps Gaulle Gaulle's Gerald Segal guerra guerrilla guns high command Indochina infantry insurgents Israel Israeli Italian army Italy La grande guerra leaders London major military minister modern Nasser nation naval Navy offensive operations Paris peace Piave pied-noirs Plon political problem professional Prussian putsch R. J. B. Knight Raoul Salan recovery from defeat reform Republic Salan Sandwich senior ships Sinai society soldiers South Soviet Union strategy success tactics territorial tion troops United University Press Vaïsse victory Viet Vietnam Vietnamese warfare Yom Kippur War