Consider the two preceding paragraphs, a mere 273 words
(about the length of the Gettysburg Address), yet sufficient
to lay out the essentials. Admittedly written for an audience
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familiar with the events and well-versed in history, this
passage still illustrates how easily teachers can employ
military history to teach the process of history.
Military History and Leadership
he study of military history is, to a large degree, the
study of leadership. Men of valor win battles, but
they must be effectively led to do so. Rarely is valor
sufficient to compensate for deficient leadership. The generals
of World War I often counted on their soldiers’ fighting spirit
to carry the day, only to learn, sometimes slowly, that fighting
spirit alone was no match for a machine gun.
Leadership is only one component of military success, but it
is a critical one. Good leadership can compensate for almost
any other deficiency. A deficiency of leadership, however, is a
crippling blow to any army, regardless of its other strengths
and weaknesses.
For this reason, leadership is a central topic for military
historians. The story of warfare from ancient times to the present
is, more often than not, told as the story of the commanders.
Military history, more than any other subdivision of the field,
is an applied science. Armies around the world study the great
battles to learn the lessons of history and apply the H