Military professionals should take out time from their busy schedules to read military history because military history is the very foundation of their knowledge of tactics and strategy. It is also the foundation on which the theoretical and practical training troops and the development of training directives are based. A careful study of objective military history with an open mind and with the determination of learning from the experiences of others will be of great benefit to any military professional.
According to Gen. Charles L. Bolte, former Vice Chief of Staff, and Department of the Army; “The past must be studied as the basis for, and a guide to, the study of the future. To make a sound prediction one must project the past into the future. ” The American Army has followed the advice of such great captains as Frederick the Great and Napoleon, as well as of others who have more recently made their mark on the pages of history support individuals atthe end of life.
Napoleon has written, “… the knowledge of the higher arts of war is not acquired except by experience and the study of history of wars and the battles of great captains. ” Gen. George S. Patton Jr. , one of America’s great offensive battle leaders, also emphasized the importance of history. His words, written on the battlefield, were: “To be a successful soldier you must know history, reads it objectively- dates and even minute details of tactics are useless… You must read biography and especially autobiography.
If military professional do it they find war is simple. The study of past is fundamental to the preparation for the next, for current military problems cannot be solved without an understanding of the past from which they stem. The military professionals must be rooted in the past to understand the present that he may project himself into the future.
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