Farewell to Arms? War in Modern European History, 1815-2015 Introductory Seminar

Today’s session The rules of the game Essay writing The history of war

The rules of the game Class etiquette Office hours: Tuesday 11-12pm & Thursday 11-12pm Room H0.10 Tel: 02476523316 (Mon, Tues, Wed, Thu) p.purseigle@warwick.ac.uk

Essay Writing Non-negotiables First steps Structure Evidence

The “non-negotiables” Formatting Referencing – Precision and consistency Spelling Grammar and syntax

First steps Read and analyse the essay title. Be as careful and thorough as possible, and answer a set of basic questions: What is the subject matter? What period shall I consider? Which geographic area? Etc… The punctuation, the use of singular/plural, may also be important. Then, write down your preliminary thoughts and ideas and try to identify the historical problem raised by the question.

How to organize your argument and structure your essay Introduction First: introduce and present the subject matter in broad terms Secondly: identify and clarify the historical problem Thirdly: signpost your argument

Take the reader for a walk… As you are taking your reader on a walk, you first need to invite her/him, to let her/him know where you are both going to (introduce the subject matter). To capture her/his attention, her/his historical imagination, you need to make clear why the walk is worth her/his time and energy (raise the historical problem). Then show her/him the path you have decided to follow… (signpost your argument)

The body of the essay Make sure that your overall analysis and each of your individual points is buttressed by evidence. Make sure your essay follows a logical order; that the succession of points, sections, and paragraphs derives from an intellectual logic. In other words, your essay should not be a mere catalogue of ideas but should present them in a reasoned and coherent way.

How to use evidence Subject-matter: civil-military relations Point: no clear distribution of roles in wartime. Evidence: French Decree, 28th October 1913: Government = Conduite de la guerre Military = Conduite des opérations militaires

How to use evidence Subject-matter: balance of forces Point: overwhelming technological & material allied superiority in 1918 Evidence: Germany Allies Guns 14.000 18.500 Planes 3.760 4.500 Tanks 10 800

The structure of the argument Not a list of bullet-points! …

A coherent, structured argument HISTORICAL PROBLEM SECTION Sub-section Point supported by evidence …

War and the Historian Objections to war Political Ethical The problem with military history Intellectual

War: History and Historiography War and classical historiography Herodotus (c.485-430 BC) Thucydides (c.460-396 BC) Xenophon (c. 426-355 BC) War makes History Military revolution 16th-18th: practitioners and historians Technologies, armies and the State Maurice de Saxe, Henry Lloyd, G.F. von Tempelhoff The Art of War The Enlightenment and the road to “Total war” Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars A.H. Jomini, Précis de l’art de la guerre; C. von Clausewitz, Vom Kriege (1832) The Science of War

War and the Academy: Neglect, rejection, reluctant embrace? War and philosophy: paradoxical legacy of the Enlightenment Military academies 1802: Saint-Cyr, West Point, Sandhurst 1810: Preußische Kriegsakademie War and Universities Hans Delbrück, Chair in Universal and World History, 1895 Oxford Chichele Professor of the History of War, 1909 King’s College, London, Chair in War Studies, 1964 Michael Howard KCL Chair in War Studies, 1964 Oxford Chichele Professor, 1970 Yale Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History, 1993

War and Academic History New paradigms Decline of political and diplomatic history Rise and fall of social and economic history Emergence of cultural history Political suspicion Nationalism and conservatism New voices The historian as a citizen New approaches War and society “New” military history The challenge of social sciences

Uses and abuses of military history Authors, Audiences, Agenda Didactic Political and commercial “Comprehensive” (Max Weber) Armed forces Public opinion Scholarship

War as an intellectual problem Categories of analysis From military history to the history of war Levels of experience and scales of analysis Historical problems Combat Mobilization Legacies War studies and disciplinary identities Violence – Anthropology & Ethics Power – Politics & International Relations Wealth – Economics An object of interdisciplinary study par excellence Intellectual necessity and contemporary relevance