New Books in Military History Jim Storr, "War and Warfare in the Twentieth Century" (Howgate Publishing, 2025)
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Mar 25, 2025 In this discussion, Jim Storr, a retired British Army officer and military thought scholar, explores the intricate lessons of 20th-century warfare. He distinguishes between war's outputs, like casualties, and true outcomes, emphasizing modern military analysis through complexity theory. Storr critiques conventional strategic models and underscores the need for clearer definitions in operational tactics. He also argues that losers typically learn more from conflicts, providing insights into significant historical examples and contemporary military challenges.
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History As A Practical Guide
- History is our best guide to future warfare because warfare is a pragmatic discipline driven by practitioner needs.
- Study broad periods like a century to gain both breadth and depth of usable evidence.
Outputs Versus Outcomes
- Treat casualties and similar measures as outputs produced by warfare systems, not as the final outcomes.
- Focus on what those outputs enable politically and strategically to understand true outcomes like victory.
Strategy Is Messy And Nonlinear
- Nations rarely produce perfect linear strategies of ways, ends, and means in practice.
- Expect strategy to be messy, emergent, and constrained by institutions and events.
