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Lidded Hart believes that “thought working on thought is the most influential process in history. Yet, being intangible, it is less perceptible than the effects of action, and has always received far less attention than it deserves. ” b. In the Ghost of Napoleon, Lidded Hart concentrates on two of these intersections, each of which vitally affected the course of history in the last two centuries. One was responsible for the triumphs of Revolutionary France and for Napoleon’s empire; the other, for that ruinous conflict called WWW I. C.
The author explains that the main historical theme Of the work, Which has rowan out of some lectures at Cambridge, is the movement of military thought from the eighteenth to the twentieth century, and its influence on European history. This long story is reduced almost to bare outline but the selection and disposal Of the essential facts are extremely good. It is a tribute to Captain Lidded Hart that every page of his book sets one thinking and provokes one to further argument. D. This book was originally a set of four lectures given in the mid. Asses.
They attempt to define the strategy and tactics of Napoleon, his forebears and successors. Lidded-Hart argues convincingly that Napoleon was not an innovator rather he used developments that had been created by others. From the way that the argument is defended, this was rather controversial at the time. The second half of the book deals with Carl von Classicist. Lidded-Hart believed that the stalemate of the First World War can be laid at the feet of Classicist. The logic is a little tortured even. The author has to admit that there were caveats about the utility of mass in On War but military readers were too stupid to notice.
So Classicist is being blamed for being unclear, . It is possible to see some of the ideas that he would later expand in his book Sweater. The indirect approach, surprise and dislocation both tactically and inside the commanders head. 5. Analysis: a. One can only appreciate this book through the prism of contemporary events. Lidded-Hart was trying to shock the military establishment into an honest appraisal of the First World War failures, because he was witness to what had happened by misapplication of historical “lessons learned”.
He is unrepentantly critical of both Napoleon and Classicist to prove a point that the real lesson to e learned is that adaptability to new tactics and technologies is the key to success and that original, imaginative thought is required to apply these tools. He encourages students of war at all levels to learn not just military history, hut to understand battles and war in the context of social, political, and economic events, S. Conclusion: This is a great book that aspires to inspire critical thought in everyone who reads it. It is, therefore, recommended for all officers of Peak Army (all ranks) to read and personally evaluate this book.