Military History Test 1 Study Guide

Test date:  Friday, September 13

This test will cover all of the readings and class content from the “Conceptualizing War” portion of the course:

·      Michael Howard’s “The Use and Abuse of Military History”

o   You should be able to identify and discuss Howard’s main points and arguments concerning military history and its uses.

·      The assigned excerpts from Clausewitz’s On War and Keegan’s A History of Warfare

o   You should be able to identify and discuss how Clausewitz and Keegan define war along with how Keegan challenges Clausewitz’s definition.

• The assigned excerpts from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War
• You should be able to identify and discuss Sun Tzu’s fundamental principles of warfare and how to achieve victory/success.

·      The Oxford Companion to Military History  articles “edged weapons,” and “small arms,” along with the weapons demonstrated in class and the YouTube videos depicting various types of weapons and their capabilities.

o   You should be able to recognize and identify specific weapons, discuss their use, and their tactical and strategic value.

·      The Oxford Companion to Military History  “strategy,” and “tactics”

o   You should be able to identify and discuss the main attributes of each of these concepts, including the purpose and various levels of strategy; the four functions of tactics; the relationship between technology and strategy; the relationship between technology and tactics; the theory of combined arms.

• Siege warfare
• the four ways of taking a fortified position; tactics and technology of siege warfare; identification of siege engines.

·      The principles and 9 examples of maneuver warfare 

o   Identify and discuss the principles

o   Recognize the various maneuvers and discuss their operation

Format:

• 15 multiple choice questions, 3 points each (45 points)
• 1 essay question (you will have a choice), 55 points
• Essays should have a thesis statement and give specific examples from the readings, discussions, etc. to answer the question