War, peace and international relations : An introduction to strategic history

War, Peace and International Relations

War, Peace and International Relations is an introduction to the strategic history of

the past two centuries, years which were shaped and reshaped by wars. The book

shows that war is not only about warfare – the military conduct of war – but is crucial

to the political, social and cultural behaviour of states.

Written by leading strategist Professor Colin Gray, this textbook provides students

with a good grounding in the contribution of war to the development of the modern

world, from the pre-industrial era to the post-industrial age of international terrorism

and smart weapons.

War, Peace and International Relations:

• is the first one-volume strategic history textbook on the market

• covers all the major wars of the past two centuries

• is up to date and comprehensive, including chapters on irregular warfare and

terrorism

• includes summary points, boxed sections, student questions and further reading.

Colin S. Gray is Professor of International Politics and Strategic Studies at the

University of Reading, UK and a professional strategic theorist and defence analyst.

His twenty-one books include Modern Strategy (1999) and Another Bloody Century

(2005).

War, Peace and International

Relations

An Introduction to Strategic History

Colin S. Gray

First published 2007

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada

by Routledge

270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2007 Colin S. Gray

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized

in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or

hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information

storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Gray, Colin S.

War, peace and international relations : an introduction to strategic history /

Colin S. Gray

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978–0–415–38638–8 (hardback : alk. paper) –

ISBN 978–0–415–38639–5 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. War. 2. Military policy. 3. Strategy. 4. International relations.

5. Military history, Modern–19th century. 6. Military history, Modern–20th century.

I. Title

U21.2.G673 2007

355.0209–dc22

2006034566

ISBN 10: 0–415–38638–1 (hbk)

ISBN 10: 0–415–38639–X (pbk)

ISBN 10: 0–203–08899–9 (ebk)

ISBN 13: 978–0–415–38638–8 (hbk)

ISBN 13: 978–0–415–38639–5 (pbk)

ISBN 13: 978–0–203–08899–9 (ebk)

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.

“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s

collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”

ISBN 0-203-08899-9

Master e-book ISBN

To the memory of John Erickson, an inspiring teacher,

a wise mentor and a good friend

Contents

List of maps xi

List of boxes and tables xii

Preface xiii

Introduction: strategic history 1

1 Themes and contexts of strategic history 4

Introduction: a binding framework 4

Themes 5

Contexts 9

Conclusion 13

2 Carl von Clausewitz and the theory of war 15

Introduction: theory for all seasons 15

Strategic ideas and strategic behaviour 16

Jomini and Clausewitz 19

Conclusion 27

3 From limited war to national war: the French Revolution and the

Napoleonic way of war 31

Introduction: two transformations 31

Limited war and great war 33

The Revolution and its warfare 37

Napoleon’s art of war 39

Problems with the Napoleonic way of war and warfare 44

Political and strategic failure 46

Conclusion 48

4 The nineteenth century, I: a strategic view 51

Introduction: the reach of strategic history 51

A violent century 52

Implications of the Industrial Revolution: the strategic tale 54

Conclusion 59

5 The nineteenth century, II: technology, warfare and international

order 61

Introduction: Waterloo to the Marne 61

Weapons and warfare 63

Politics and strategic history 69

Conclusion 73

6 World War I, I: controversies 75

Introduction: the making of the twentieth century 75

A contested history 77

Conclusion 82

7 World War I, II: modern warfare 85

Introduction: education by experience 85

The course of the war 85

Modern warfare 90

Conclusion 95

8 The twenty-year armistice, 1919–39 99

Introduction: contrasting decades 99

Versailles and the legacy of the Great War 100

The changing political context: strategic implications 106

Conclusion 112

9 The mechanization of war 115

Introduction: revolution in military affairs 115

Land warfare 116

Air power 118

Sea power 119

Conclusion 121

10 World War II in Europe, I: the structure and course of total war 124

Introduction: total war 124

The structure of the war 126

The course of the war 129

Conclusion 140

11 World War II in Europe, II: understanding the war 143

Introduction: what was the war about? 143

Hitler’s war 144

viii Contents

Warfare, 1939–45 146

Why did Germany lose? 149

Conclusion 153

12 World War II in Asia–Pacific, I: Japan and the politics of empire 157

Introduction: global war 157

The Japanese bid for empire 159

Japan and the United States: the drift to war 162

Conclusion 166

13 World War II in Asia–Pacific, II: strategy and warfare 168

Introduction: over the cliff 168

Japanese strategy 168

American strategy 172

The end for Japan 178

Conclusion 180

14 The Cold War, I: politics and ideology 184

Introduction: from war to peace – the consequences of World War II 184

From cold peace to Cold War 188

The Cold War reconsidered 192

Some interim judgements 200

Conclusion 202

15 The Cold War, II: the nuclear revolution 205

Introduction: the strategic challenge 205

The bomb 206

The nuclear revolution 209

Nuclear strategy 211

The nuclear arms competition 216

Conclusion 217

16 War and peace after the Cold War: an interwar decade 219

Introduction: the interwar thesis 219

A unipolar world 221

‘New wars’ and ‘old wars’: a bloody decade 225

Conclusion 232

17 9/11 and the age of terror 235

Introduction: the return of a master narrative 235

9/11: World War III? 235

Warfare: from the Industrial Age to the Information Age 240

Conclusion 242

Contents ix

18 Irregular warfare: guerrillas, insurgents and terrorists 245

Introduction: two kinds of warfare 245

Guerrilla warfare, insurgency and terrorism 246

Irregular warfare: an overview 253

Terrorism and counter-terrorism 256

Al Qaeda and the ‘New Terrorism’ 259

Conclusion 261

19 War, peace and international order 264

Introduction: war–peace cycle 264

New world orders 265

Conclusion 275

20 Conclusion: must future strategic history resemble the past? 280

Glossary 282

Bibliography 285

Index 296

x Contents

Maps

3.1 Europe in 1789 32

4.1 Europe in 1815 50

6.1 Europe in 1914 76

8.1 Europe between the wars 98

12.1 The Pacific in 1939 158

14.1 Europe after 1945 185

16.1 Europe after the Cold War 220

Boxes and tables

Boxes

1.1 Themes in strategic history 6

1.2 Contexts of strategic history 10

2.1 The principles of war 21

2.2 Important subjects deliberately omitted from or treated only

briefly in On War 28

3.1 Tactics, operations and strategy 40

3.2 The Napoleonic way of warfare 43

4.1 Modern military revolutions 55

5.1 The revolution in infantry firepower, 1840–1914 65

8.1 Principal features of the Versailles Settlement 104

11.1 Hitler’s vision and war aims as revealed in Mein Kampf 144

13.1 Characteristics of war and warfare in Asia–Pacific, 1941–5 179

14.1 The consequences of World War II 187

15.1 The scientific and technological feasibility of atomic weapons 208

15.2 Two kinds of nuclear weapons 209

18.1 Irregular warfare: definition of key terms 248

Tables

6.1 Casualties in World War I 83

10.1 Casualties in World War II 125

15.1 Nuclear stockpiles, 1945–89 212

Preface

I have long been convinced that students of strategic studies know too little history,

while students of history and international relations are inclined to short-change the

strategic dimension to their subjects. This book attempts to provide a coherent

narrative and analysis of the past two centuries, keyed to the strategic perspective.

A textbook should explain what happened, not advance the author’s beliefs. Truth

and error should be accorded equal space by the author, so that students can judge

for themselves where the balance of probability lies. All I can say in self-defence is

that I have tried earnestly to be neutral on the more controversial topics, but the

assertive habits of a professional lifetime cannot easily be set aside. The result is a

compromise. My personal opinion probably intrudes into this work more than it

should. But it appears less than I would have liked.

This book has benefited greatly from what I have learnt teaching the course on

which it is based, both in Britain and in the United States. I know from experience –

the students’ experience, that is – that this melding of modern history, international

relations and strategic studies works well. I am in the debt of my students at the

University of Reading in Britain and at Missouri State University in Washington, DC.

For most of my career I have been a professional defence analyst and theorist, to

which activity of recent years I have added university teaching. It follows that I had

need of some expert help in preparing this work, since textbook writing requires a

skill set all its own. My principal debt is to the excellent Andrew Humphrys, my

editor at Routledge/Taylor and Francis. I have been amazed by his patience with an

opinionated strategist who does not count brevity among his virtues. Andrew’s advice

invariably has been sound, even though I tried to resist some of it initially. Also I have

learnt a lot from friends who truly are artists in the writing and illustrating of

textbooks. Most especially, I must thank Jeremy Black, the extraordinary quantity of

whose output is matched only by its high quality. Jeremy probably will not approve

of my liking for a ‘master narrative’, but he may be won around when he realizes that

that narrative is only ‘strategic history’ and not a particular storyline. In addition, I

would like to thank my friend John Baylis, now at the University of Wales, Swansea,

a scholar whose superior textbooking talents are approaching legendary status.

This book has been possible only because of the support I have received from the

School of Sociology, Politics and International Relations at the University of Reading

in England. In particular, I am grateful for the assistance provided by Dr Robert

McKeever, the erstwhile Head of School. As usual, I am entirely dependent upon

the outstanding skill and dedication of my manuscript preparation person, Barbara

Watts, who truly is an inspiration. Her speed on the keyboard, her ability to read my

handwriting and her readiness to meet unreasonable deadlines are beyond praise.

Last, but not least, my ever-suffering family deserve the most sincere thanks for

tolerating, usually with good humour, my protracted distraction with the challenges

of book creation. Valerie and TJ, I could not have done it without you. That may serve

to share some of the blame!

Colin S. Gray

Wokingham, UK

September 2006

xiv Preface