Forward into Battle: Fighting Tactics from Waterloo to the Near Future [Hardcover]

Paddy Griffith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1991

The first edition (1981) took a critical look at the accepted wisdom of historians who interpreted battlefield events primarily by reference to firepower. It showed that Wellington's infantry had won by their mobility rather than their musketry, that the bayonet did not become obsolete in the nineteenth century as is often claimed, and that the tank never supplanted the infantryman in the twentieth. A decade later, the author has been able to fill out many parts of his analysis and has extended it into the near future. The Napoleonic section includes an analysis of firepower and fortification, notably at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Additional discussions of the tactics of the American Civil War have been included. The evolution of small-unit tactics in the First World War is next considered, then the problem of making an armored breakthrough in the Second World War. Following is a discussion of the limitations of both the helicopter and firepower in Vietnam. The author points to some of the lessons learned by the U.S. military and the doctrine which resulted from that experience. Concluding is a glimpse at the strangely empty battlefield landscape that might be expected in any future high technology conflict. 

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Presidio Pr; Rev Upd Su edition (March 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891414134
• ISBN-13: 978-0891414131
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,822,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant discussion of the tactical fundimentals of war., October 7, 1999

By 

Jeffrey R. Elver "jeff82" (Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Forward into Battle: Fighting Tactics from Waterloo to the Near Future (Paperback)

Over the years Griffith has established himself as a contraversial and insightful military theorist. His insight into the fundimental tactical principles of warfare, and thier application and mis-application under differing combat venues is an interesting read. He continues his discussion from his other books on the merits of shock verses skirmish tactics, and the effectiveness of stand-off assault verses direct engagement. While his opinions may be viewed as somewhat eurocentric, much of the history of the western method of war is europian based, and this historical perspective is necessary in order to understand the invariate human reaction to combat tactics.

His findings in this book are less contraversial than those of "Civil War Battle Tactics", but both books display brilliant insight and are well worth reading.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading for USMC Majors, May 18, 2005

By 

Mr. B. D. Monnery "Bryn Monnery" (Liverpool, UK) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Forward into Battle: Fighting Tactics from Waterloo to the Near Future (Paperback)

Paddy Griffith spent a decade and a half lecturing officer cadets at Sandhurst on tactics, and this book shows why.

After a brief introduction, an outdated narrative with the USSR attacking NATO, the book settles into four case studies.

The first study is that of firepower vs shock in the period 1808-1815, the Napoleonic wars, including the War of 1812. Griffith shows that earlier theories about the British lining up and pouring massed musketry into the French were wrong. Instead the British would use fire to disrupt the French long enough for a charge to be delivered. As an addition, Griffith studies a failure of the British system at New Orleans, showing that the rifle made effectively no contribution on the American side beyond sniping a single Colonel.

The second study covers the period 1815-1915 and asks whether the empty battlefield was a new phenmemon. In particular there are studies of whether the rifle caused a revolution in warfare during the American Civil War (later expanded into his book "Battle Tactics of the Civil War") and the French Army in 1914.

The third covers the relationship between Armour and Infantry, making a forceful argument that Armour did not replace Infantry. Parts of this chapter were later expanded into "Battle Tactics of the Western Front".

The fourth covers the Vietnam War and make another forceful argument that the Vietnamese simply outfought the allies on the ground, and achieved their objectives much more frequently than the allies. It is generally scathing of the US reliance on technology, and points out that the North Vietnamese were generally the tactical initiators and held the initiative. It also makes a forceful argument that what the allies needed was more tanks and heavy weapons to support the infantry instead of inaccurate artillery and airpower.

The final chapter deals with various changes in war since Vietnam.

In general the book is easy to follow, and it's arguments persuesive, and fully referenced. It is a book about the tactics adopted by a few scared men under fire rather and how the nature of war at a personal level has changed rather than a book on grand strategy.

If the Commandant General requires all his Majors to read this book who am I to argue?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Importance of Shock Action, February 12, 2006

By 

John Hamill (Roanoke, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Forward into Battle: Fighting Tactics from Waterloo to the Near Future (Paperback)

Paddy Griffith argues that the importance of firepower has been overestimated relative to shock action. For instance, Griffith contends that Wellington's army was successful not simply because of its volley fire but more importantly from the subsequent charge. He argues that at New Orleans poor troops lacking discipline failed to take a fortified line that good troops could have taken. He details the rise of light infantry through the 1800s. Then he shows that the shock action of brief artillery bombardments and stormtrooper tactics broke through the trenches of World War I. With every technological advance and increase in firepower, people have prophesied an "empty battlefield" and neglected shock at their peril.