Customer Reviews

The Art Of War

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I had to return this book due to the high number of printing errors contained inside. After 10 errors, I decided not to even bother counting the rest. Why is Amazon selling books like this? I found a better edition of this book in the catalog, but I wish someone had posted a review about the poor quality of the translation and printing.

Baron Antoine Henry de jomini, who served in both the French and later on the Allied side as an aide-de-camp to the Czar during the Napoleonic Wars, has remained one of the fundamental sources of military thinking right up to modern times. Jomini divided the art of war into five branches, strategy, grand tactics, logistics, engineering and tactics. He was also the first to recognise the sixth, diplomacy. Jomini's masterpiece still has lessons for the military planner today.

The Baron Antoine Henri de Jomini's "The Art of War" is an early classic on military strategy and tactics. With von Clausewitz, he was one of the more widely read scholars on the subject in the 19th century. His book tends to have an abstract, scholarly air to it that suggests that he was more of an "arm chair" theorist than a man whom he learned much from--Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon may have had general perspectives on warfare, but he was also someone who was able to be improvisational on the battlefield, and Jomini cannot quite capture that in this work. Nonetheless, a classic.

Charles Messenger's Introduction does single out Jomini for mention, when he notes (Page v): "Nineteenth -century military thought was dominated by two men, one a German and the other a Swiss. . . . They were von Clausewitz and Jomini." Jomini argued that (Page vii): "Strategy decodes where to act; logistics brings the troops to this point; grand tactics determines the manner of execution and the employment of the troops."

As Jomini's actual work begins, he identifies the six key components of the art of war (Page 2):
"1. Statesmanship in its relation to war.
2. Strategy, or the art of properly directing masses upon the theater of war, either for defense or for invasion.
3. Grant tactics.
4. Logistics, or the art of moving armies.
5. Engineering--the attack and defense of fortifications.
6. Minor tactics."

The book itself, then, considers these elements of the art of war. No need to go into great detail. But some general points are in order. At one point, he emphasizes the importance of "lines"--interior lines, where one side has a more compact line and can move troops from one point to another with greater facility than the enemy; exterior lines, which are longer. If a smaller force, interior lines are critical; if a larger force, exterior lines may prove no impediment to success.

One facet of this book is his diagrams depicting various orders of attack (pages 188 and following). This tends, as noted earlier, to be pretty abstract. One hesitates to think that officers in the heat of combat will intellectually assess the various orders of attack and rationally choose one over another. Among these are straight linear orders (where the two forces approach one another in straight lines) to "en echelon" attacks, where the lines are arrayed in depth.

He notes in his conclusion that (Page 321) "War in its ensemble in not a science, but an art."

So, if one might be interested in an analysis of military strategy and tactics from the early part of the 19th century, this is not a bad starting point. It is a classic on the subject, and, even if too abstract and academic, can be a useful book to understand the military in that era.

Jomini dominated the military strategy scene for most of the 19th century, surpassing even Clausewitz, who did not achieve great fame and was not too widely read outside of Germany until the 20th century. American military thought was dominated by this Swiss strategist, and The Art of War was required reading at West Point--nearly all the Civil War generals were read in Jomini, and Grant was rumored to have carried a copy in his pocket during the Virginia campaign. Jomini's work is not exactly the easiest of reads, especially since it assumes more than a working knowledge of the wars of Europe, particularly of Napoleon, and is loaded with historical examples. Too, its discussion of geometric forms and lines and points and the like can sometimes be confusing. Nevertheless, some of the history can be skimmed (skipped if you're desperate), and reading will still be profitable. For much of the strategy is delineated in concrete form separate from the historical case studies. In essence, Jomini's strategy comes down to concentration against the enemy's decisive points, preferably placing one's entire force against fractions of the enemy's. It is essential not only to understanding modern military thought generally (Jomini influenced other strategists--Mahan, for example) but also to understanding the American Civil War. While maneuvers such as Pickett's Charge seem no less pointless, the reasons for them become much more lucid.

Jomini is a very good overveiw of the difficulties of war and the difficulties of set rules. Jomini in many ways says exactly what Von Cluasewitz had said. There is a richer discussion of tactics in Jomini's work than Von Cluasewitz. If you are interested in knowing about tactical formations and ideas on lines of retreat and communications in the Napeleonic era this is the right book. The work is more compact than Von Cluasewitz yet Jomini didn't quite have the gift of explaining arguments as throughly in fewer words. Jomini gives more historical examples than Von Cluasewitz yet doesn't quite translate the examples into simple basic concepts as well as Von Cluasewitz. Von Cluasewitz is the better of the two. An knowledge of battles during the French Revolutionary period and Napeleonic era helps to enrich the read.

This book is a classic on war that was written as a manual detailing the Baron's personal experiences on tactics and strategy. It is a fine companion volume to those by Karl von Clausewitz and Sun Tzu. For those just entering this sort of topic, perhaps "Masters of War: Classical Strategic Thought" by Michael I. Handel would be useful. Masters of War: Classical Strategic Thought

However, it is important to get a de Jomini edition without printing and translation errors. My edition has a peacock in full display on the cover, and it is free of errors. Regrettably, other editions have not understood the irony of the graphic artist who did my edition's cover: war, like peacocks, has its flashy displays, but its backers and participants are ultimately vulnerable (in the case of the peacock, it can be cooked and eaten). I do not find this particular edition shown at Amazon, thus the utility of "Masters of War". I am sensitive to the thoughts of other reviewers who are concerned about the quality of their editions.

I have read so many Art of War books that I can remember the total number. There are just two types of Art of War books: Good and Bad. Bad books have the same trend of interpreting the Art of War, and when you open it you will know it by the first page when it talks about Tao. I would not go to far analyze the book because everyone has different opinion about books. To me, if you are hardcore about the Art of War or try to use Art of War for business strategy, this book should not be on your reading list. :-)

A much more practical book than Clauswitz's 'On War' - not surprising as Jomini experienced many of Napoleon's campaigns first hand before leaving his service to serve the Russian Tsar. While Clauswitz spends endless pages philosophizing about strategic concepts, Jomini really gets to the heart of practical battlefield strategy and tactics.

This is a really nice looking edition with a beautiful cover (a painting of Napoleon after a battle?). Great shelf/desk piece.

Jomini seams to have fallen from favor after the Civil War, but his influence is still felt in even modern day military doctrine. The new introduction gives an interesting case in point when it examines maneuvers used in the first Gulf War with tactics and strategy offered by Jomini in the book.

If you have an interest in military doctrine and military strategy and tactics, this is a must read. If you've read others like Clauswitz, you'll be surprised at how much better Jomini is in terms of offering concrete advice.

Jomini joined this group of 19th century writers who tried to benefit from their experiences on the Napoleonic battlefields to gain a certain reputation and probably make a better living. Like Clausewitz, he was not among the most glorious generals of these wars but had enough insight to teach to others (at least to attempt this). The result is not completely useless and many of his thoughts are valuable but they remain very theoretical. In addition, this theory mainly applies (when not erroneous) to armies of that time and then doesn't reach the level of a theory on the art of war itself. The main interest I find to this book is to get an idea on what people of that time could be thinking about the art of war given the exceptional warlike era they went through a few years before writing these kind of studies.

Although I have yet to read this book in it's whole, all readers and reviewers should take careful note that THIS IS NOT SUN TZU'S 'ART OF WAR'. This book, thought is bares the same title, is not the much more famous work most people think of when mentioning "the art of war". This "Art of War" was written by a different, lesser known military theorist - Jomini. This is a name that is far from mainstream and no where near being as ubiquetous as the work of Sun Tzu. Many reviewers have mistaken this work for the aforementioned asian work which predates this one by more than 1000 years.

Jomini was a contemporary of some other better known names, such as the famed (at least in military circles) Carl Von Clauswitz, whose famous work "On War" is lauded by so many military officers, theorists, as well as philosophers and statesmen alike. Jomini drew many of his ideas from Clauswitz, but indeed differed greatly. Jomini is worth reading for anyone who is interested in military history, theory, strategy and tactics - although personally I would recommend reading Sun Tzu's "Art of War" as well as Clauswitz's "On War" firstly.