Supplying War: Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton

Martin van Creveld's Supplying War examines the logistics and supply chains that supported major military campaigns from the 17th to 20th centuries. The book focuses on key military leaders and battles, analyzing how armies managed the fundamental challenges of moving and sustaining large forces in the field. The text follows a chronological structure, beginning with General Wallenstein in the Thirty Years War and continuing through World War II. Van Creveld draws from archival sources and military records to demonstrate how transportation, food supply, and equipment maintenance shaped strategy and battlefield outcomes. The scope includes operations across multiple theaters and time periods, with particular focus on campaigns by Napoleon, the German army in both World Wars, and Patton's Third Army. The analysis examines both successful and failed logistics systems, revealing their impact on military decision-making and combat effectiveness. This work stands as a significant contribution to military history by highlighting how the often-overlooked aspects of supply and transport have been crucial determinants in warfare. The book challenges traditional combat-focused military histories by demonstrating the essential role of logistics in shaping strategic possibilities and constraints.

Readers emphasize the book's focus on logistics over traditional battle narratives, with many noting how it reveals the constraints supply lines placed on military campaigns. Military professionals and historians point to its detailed analysis of transportation, food requirements, and ammunition needs. Liked: - Clear debunking of common military myths - Mathematical analysis of supply capabilities - Documentation of how logistics determined strategy Disliked: - Dense writing style with complex detail - Limited coverage of naval logistics - Some readers found the conclusions repetitive - Several note it focuses too heavily on European/Western campaigns One reader noted "it forever changed how I view military history" while another criticized its "overwhelming focus on wagon counts and fodder calculations." Ratings: Goodreads: 4.1/5 (517 ratings) Amazon: 4.4/5 (168 ratings) LibraryThing: 4.2/5 (89 ratings) Common thread across reviews: The book makes military logistics accessible but requires focused reading to absorb the technical details.

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War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War by John W. Dower A study of how logistics and supply chains in the Pacific Theater were influenced by racial perceptions and cultural differences between American and Japanese forces.

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🔹 The book revolutionized military history when published in 1977 by challenging the common view that battles and generals were the primary drivers of warfare, arguing instead that logistics often determined the outcomes of campaigns. 🔹 Martin van Creveld wrote this influential work while teaching at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and it became one of the foundational texts studied at military academies worldwide. 🔹 The book reveals that Napoleon's famous quote "An army marches on its stomach" was painfully true - during the 1812 Russian campaign, over 95% of his horses died, primarily from lack of fodder. 🔹 Despite popular belief that German forces in WWII were highly mechanized, the Wehrmacht relied heavily on horses for transportation - using over 2.75 million horses during Operation Barbarossa alone. 🔹 The book explains how Patton's Third Army's rapid advance across France was made possible by an innovative "Red Ball Express" truck convoy system that delivered over 412,000 tons of supplies using 6,000 trucks.