Infantry in Battle [Hardcover]

Infantry Journal Incorporated (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 422 pages
• Publisher: Marine Corp Assn Bookstore; Reprint edition (June 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940328046
• ISBN-13: 978-0940328044
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,178,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid principles on infantry strategy, August 16, 2005

By 

doc peterson (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Infantry in Battle (Hardcover)

While _Infantry in Battle_ is a bit dated (originally published in 1938, all of its tactical examples are from the First World War), its lessons are worthy of attention.

Each chapter presents a lesson on strategy at the infantry BN (sometimes CO) level, with several (between 4 to 8) specific examples demonstrating the lesson. After each example is a "debrief" of what happened and how it is relevant to the chapter. The lessons deal with such common issues as the use of terrain, unit mobility, problems of unit control in battle, communication and fire and movement.

The real strength of the book is its attempt to teach the reader how to think operationally rather than to memorize specific "hard-and-fast" rules. The variety of examples illustrating different solutions to problems with an eye towards developing a habit of mind that is tactically flexable was what I found to be most rewarding in its reading.

Overall it is an outstanding instructional read. However, it does show its age with its lack of disucssion on mechanized infantry, air support and tanks, and its cursory attention to artillery. Nonetheless a highly recommended for those interested in tactics at the field-grade rank.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A key work of military science, June 16, 2001

By 

Chuck DeVore "Chuck DeVore" (Dripping Springs, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Infantry in Battle (Hardcover)

"Infantry in Battle" is one of the most important professional American military works ever written. Drawn from official U.S., French, British and German accounts of battles in the Great War and compiled in the 1930s by several U.S. Army officers, this book is a foundational must-read for any ground combat leader of any rank.

That the book's lessons are still relevant some 85 years after the battles described in it took place shows how little the essence of land warfare has really changed. Prevailing in war still comes down to meshing basic principles such as maneuver, fire, mass, simplicity, combined arms, morale, training, and, above all, leadership.

While the machinery of war steadily progresses, policymakers and combat leaders alike need to remember a few simple lessons of war: personal leadership in the face of danger matters, the enemy gets a vote in the outcome, and you can't own the ground with anything but an infantryman (or a Marine).

"Infantry in Battle" may only have two shortcomings for the modern reader: it was written during a time when people actually had time to read (and read more), and it lacks from a more robust combined arms discussion (tanks and air power) due, of course, to the very ancillary role these arms played in the Great War (WWI). Even still, I highly recommend this book for any military officer and for those civilian historians interested in warfare.

Reviewer: Chuck DeVore is a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010, a California State Assemblyman, he served as a Special Assistant for Foreign Affairs in the Department of Defense from 1986 to 1988, retired from the Army National Guard as a lieutenant colonel, and is the co-author of "China Attacks."