Customer Reviews

Quest for Decisive Victory: From Stalemate to Blitzkrieg in Europe, 1899-1940

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In Quest for Decisive Victory, Dr. Citino analyzes the progression of warfare from the age of Napoleon to the opening battles of the Second World War. The study consists of the numerous military leaders in the period looking for methods of winning a decisive victory in Napoleonic style despite the great technological advances of the time. Dr. Citino puts to rest the abundance of myths that have risen about the period, especially the military doctrine of all commanders in the opening stages of the First World War. In the period following the end of World War I, Citino is at his best, providing a tremendous amount of information about the great debate of the "interwar period," and the opening battles of World War II, which proved some analyists to be correct in their debates, and others to look like fools. Overall, Dr. Citino's narrative style makes the work enjoyable to read and easy to understand.

This is a must have book for anyone interested in military history or WWII history. Citino covers the major wars of the late 19th and early 20th centuries- the Crimean War, Boer War, Russo-Japanese War, Balkan War, WWI, the Spanish Civil War and the Italian campaigns in Ethiopia. He does an excellent job of describing the changes in military doctrine that eventually led to the German blitzkrieg and the crushing defeats of France and Poland in the early stages of WWII. Highly recommended.

Dr.Citino's work is exceptionally well written in describing the roots of combined arms warfare. The first part of the books descrbes the small wars before the outbreak of the First World War. The absence of artillery support made tasks made the infantry's task extremely difficult in the the Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War. Another factor that impeded success was the lack of communications so that the Russian army was able to escape repeatedly from the Japanese pincers. Dr. Citino also analyzes the little known Balkan Wars of 1912-13... This is by far the best book about military thought of the early twentieth century,but Citino could have written more about the Russian and American military thought during this time period. Nevertheless I would highly reccomend this book to anyone interested in military thought and practices.

Robert Citino starts with a problem: from the middle of the 19th century, decisive battles, so common in the Napoleonic Wars, suddenly disappear. Although battles were still fought and won, they became increasingly sterile, deciding little. He shows that this had more to do with command, control and communication (C3) than increasing firepower or any imagined superiority of defense over attack. He then takes us through the campaigns of the early 20th century to see how the problem (and solutions) evolved. In the process, he gives us excellent operational histories of many little-known wars, such as the Russo-Japanese (1904-05) and Balkan (1912-13) wars, as well World War 1. This alone would make the book a "must-buy" for me. However, this is just a way to his goal of showing how battles once again became "decisive". His discussion of the inter-war period, which has been analyzed ad nauseum, still finds some new things to say. In particular, he shows how the radio was more important than the tank to Blitzkrieg. He winds up with the opening battles of world war 2, where mobility and decisiveness were restored to the battlefield.

This book offer a very interesting work, (as Mr. Citino has offered before)with an added "plus" of readability that makes a Scholar book as an interesting Novel. Highly recommended.

Dr Citino's newest book is a must read for anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of modern military history. I anticipated this books publication for over a year and was not disappointed. The focus of the Quest For Decisive Victory is the evolution of tactics and strategy to deal with the innovations in technology and the changing battlefield. From the rise of the "invisible battlefield" due to smokeless powder in the Boer War to the simple introduction of the wireless radio set to the tank intended as a replacement for hand flags as the main form of communication among tank commanders , a weapon system or technical innovation is only as good as the commanding Generals understanding of its capabilities and how best to employ it in war. Dr. Citino Traces this process from 1899-1940 showing how the static stalemate of war first appearing in the Boer War and the Russo Japanese war was finally overcome by the "War of Movement" as practiced and envisioned by Guderian, Rommel, Fuller, and Von Seckt.

There are not many books which treat comprehensively the period of 1899-1941 i.e. from Boer War till Fall of France. Especially books which consider with some length with russo-japanese or Balkan Wars.
Besides book is very good written with good flaw - you won't get bored.
Citino is also author of many more books - and all of them are of very good standard.
"The quest for decesive victory" is of course not definitive history but a starter - but very good starter. You won't regret buying it.