"Boney" Fuller: Soldier, Strategist, and Writer 1878-1966 (Great War Stories) [Hardcover]

Anthony John Trythall (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 314 pages
• Publisher: Nautical & Aviation Pub Co of Amer (January 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813508444
• ISBN-13: 978-0813508443
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,691,232 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Evolution of Tank Warfare, February 6, 2005

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Condor 02 (Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: "Boney" Fuller: Soldier, strategist, and writer, 1878-1966 (Hardcover)

"People who talk of trying to induce a better class of men to join the army are fools and their talk is abjectly foolish, it is the savage we want..." This is an early quote from `Boney' Fuller specifically addressing the infantry; however Fuller's greatest thoughts and contributions to warfare regard not the queen of battle, but the tank. In his book `Boney' Fuller, Anthony John Trythall describes the life, and evolution of military thought, of John Frederick Charles Fuller. Fuller was born in 1878 in Chichester, UK. He was of middle class origin, with his father also from the UK. His mother and wife, however, were of German origin, influencing his later fascist leanings. Fuller was a career British officer, instructor, lecturer, and journalist; strangely enough, he possessed a life-long interest in the occult. Fuller was also a prolific and sometimes controversial writer, recording his thoughts in over forty books.
Most of Fuller's writings concern tank warfare and it is here that we find his greatest contributions to military thought. Before World War I most of the theorists were espousing the envelopment. However, Fuller believed the only way the British and allies would be able to defeat the numerically superior Germans was through penetration on a narrow front. When he fortuitously saw a display of the newly invented armored car, he instantly recognized it as the panacea for penetration. Tanks were discriminately used towards the end of World War I, with limited success. Fuller, however, remained convinced and continued to develop mechanized tactics. During the interwar years, he wrote, lectured, and pushed forward his crusade for mechanizing the army.
Fuller's crusade received mixed results from the British military and government; however, the Germans were voraciously consuming and implementing Fuller's ideas. Many have postulated that had his own country embraced these ideas as enthusiastically as the Germans, the latter would have been defeated much earlier. Fuller retired before World War II, but he continued to influence the war through his writings and lectures. His theories and predictions on the future of warfare continued to evolve, and surprisingly for this tank crusader, air power was eventually proffered as the dominant arm.
Fuller had other prescient thoughts, predicting that one day a "manless flying machine might alter the whole form of war." He talked about establishing forward bases overseas, and organizing `fire brigades' that were ready to go anywhere globally. Another incredible prediction was that radars would one day intercept rockets, and guide defensive rockets that would intercept and destroy the incoming missile. All of these predictions were made in the forties and fifties. Fuller's writings were greatly influenced by military history, and were typically controversial, yet always relevant.
Fuller devoted much of his time to studying the history of Napoleon. After analyzing many of his battles, he codified Napoleon's principles into what military professionals now know as the principles of war. Fuller read other theorists, such as Clausewitz, whom he labeled Pre-Darwinian, and though Trythall doesn't mention his name, du Picq appears to have influenced Fuller, as the latter states "man remains man and that his heart does not change." Like du Picq he routinely discusses the importance of discipline and morale. We can even see the influence of Machiavelli, in his tendency to disavow democracy in a state of crisis for the more efficient fascism. Another significant influence on Fuller was his life-long friend Liddell Hart, who had very similar ideas; the two maintained a very prosperous didactic relationship.
`Boney' Fuller did not invent the tank, but without his theories and thoughts on tank warfare, that some adhered to and others didn't, the two greatest wars of the twentieth century would have likely been fought differently, with much different outcomes. Trythall eloquently captures the highpoints of Fuller's prolific history in one biography-worth the read.