Preface
This book project, initiated and sponsored by the Swedish National Defence
College’s Department of Military Studies, began in the summer of 2008 with
the objective of producing a one-volume anthology that would focus on the
essence and development of operational art, with equal attention to theory,
practice, and utility. The book would be intended primarily for specialists—
military professionals, ‘officer-scholars’, and postgraduate students—but at
the same time be of interest to readers with a generalist’s interest in military
history, strategy, and operations.
To meet these objectives, and strike the balance among depth, width, and
context—the framework recommended by Sir Michael Howard in his classic
work,The Causes of Wars—I contacted one of the most prolific writers on the
subject, Professor Martin van Creveld. We quickly recognized that the natural
and inevitable starting point was Napoleon Bonaparte and that the book should
be based on country-specific case studies. After selecting the cases themselves,
we identified the leading experts on each topic. We also agreed that ideally
the book should begin and conclude with chapters by Professor Sir Michael
Howard and General Sir Rupert Smith, respectively: two figures who have
significantly shaped contemporary thinking on the use of military force.
In the process of contacting potential authors, we discussed the substance and
form of the book with Professor Hew Strachan of Oxford University. As a result,
the project became part of its Changing Character of War Programme.
I am deeply grateful to all the contributing authors for responding to the
general guidance they received. They performed independent scholarship that
resulted in new insights, and demonstrated their complete professionalism
throughout the editorial process. I am also grateful to Harald H iback,
Margaret S. MacDonald, Simon Moores, H. P. Willmott, and Palle Ydsteb
for reading through and commenting on the manuscript at various stages. In
addition, I would like to thank Dominic Byatt, Jenny Lunsford, and Lizzy
Suffling at Oxford University Press for their professionalism in seeing the
publication through.
Most importantly, it has been a true pleasure to co-edit this work with
Martin van Creveld. Never withholding his opinions, and offering them in a
refreshingly sharp fashion, he made the book much better through his
analytical insight, focus, and determination. I deeply value the strong friend-
ship that we have developed through this and other projects.
John Andreas Olsen
Sarajevo