Throughout history, from Hannibal's crossing of the Alps to Rommel's desert warfare, military operations have succeeded or failed on the ability of commanders to incorporate environmental conditions into their tactics. Military leaders and theorists have alwyas understood the fundamental and potent relationship between geography and warfare, though many have ignored or underestimated the importance of terrain and weather with disastrous results. In this text, a geographer and three former US Army officers examine the ...
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Throughout history, from Hannibal's crossing of the Alps to Rommel's desert warfare, military operations have succeeded or failed on the ability of commanders to incorporate environmental conditions into their tactics. Military leaders and theorists have alwyas understood the fundamental and potent relationship between geography and warfare, though many have ignored or underestimated the importance of terrain and weather with disastrous results. In this text, a geographer and three former US Army officers examine the connections between major battles in world history and their geographic components, revealing what role factors such as weather, climate, terrain, soil and vegetation have played in combat. Each chapter offers a detailed explanation of a specific environmental factor and then looks at several battles which highlight its effects on military operations. Terrain has perhaps the most obvious influence, and the authors look at battles such as Bunker Hill, at Stonewall Jackson's manoeuvres in the Shenandoah Valley in 1862, at the topography of Gettysburg and the impact of land forms in the Battle at Verdun in 1916 to analyze the varying military consequences. Equally essential to the conduct of war has been an understanding of rivers and shorelines and the book recounts a number of island battles (including Tarawa and Iwo Jima), flanking amphibious assaults (Anzio during World War II and Inchon during the Korean War) and river crossings (Napoleon's tragic retreat across the Berezina in 1812, Market-Garden in 1944 and the Allies' good fortune in capturing the lone remaining bridge over the Rhine at Remagen in early 1945). Other geographic factors can also have a major impact on the conduct of war. Discussing the weather, for example, the authors describe the devastating effects of cyclones on Kublai Khan's 13th-century efforts to cross the Korean Strait and invade Japan. Seven centuries later, fortuitous conditions favoured the 1940 British evacuation at Dunkirk and the 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy. Climate, the authors assert, plays many roles in warfare. They point to the temperate but constantly humid conditions in northwest Europe which made World War I battlefields, Flanders in particular, muddy quagmires which offered neither side a decisive advantage. In contrast, the long and frigid winters typical of Russia contributed greatly to the suffering and eventual demise of invading armies commanded by Napoleon and Hitler. Dense vegetation proved formidable for both Confederate and Union troops during the American Civil War - notably in the two Battles of the Wilderness - and for the French at Dien Bien Phu and for the Americans in Vietnam's Ia Drang Valley in 1965. The text details dozens of battles to illustrate the complex, diverse and often capricious effect of physical geography on war without oversimplifying this relationship or implying that environmental factors predetermine the outcome of a battle. The analysis posits the view that those who know more about the shape, nature and variability of battleground conditions will always have a better understanding of the nature of combat and at least one significant advantage over a less knowledgeable enemy.
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Add this copy of Battling the Elements: Weather and Terrain in the to cart. $37.00, very good condition, Sold by Lavendier Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Foster, RI, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Size: 10x7x1; The Johns Hopkins University Press; Baltimore, 1998. Hardcover. A Very Good, grey cloth binding with tan lettering on spine, binding sturdy and intact, trace handling marks/shelf wear, slightly cocked, couple of faint and small soiled spots top text block edge, in a Very Good, some handling/scuff marks to panels, bit of edge/corner wear, Dust wrapper. A nice, clean and unmarked copy. 8vo[octavo or approx. 6 x 9 inches]. 317pp., notes, bibliography, indexed, b&w illustrations. We pack securely and ship daily with delivery confirmation on every book. The picture on the listing page is of the actual book for sale. Additional Scan(s) are available for any item, please inquire.
Add this copy of Battling the Elements: Weather and Terrain in the to cart. $46.00, like new condition, Sold by Landmark Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Traverse City, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
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Fine in fine dust jacket. First Edition in fine condition with like jacket! A great collectible copy! Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 336 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade.
Add this copy of Battling the Elements Weather and Terrain in the to cart. $60.00, good condition, Sold by Inside the Covers rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lancaster, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
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080185850X. First edition, first printing. Signed and inscribed by Harold Winters on yellow post-it note attached to title page. HC, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. Dust jacket has some wear along the edges and is in good condition. Corners of covers are slightly bumped. Side edge of pages has some light soiling. No writing in book.; 10 X 7.10 X 1.30 inches; 336 pages.
Add this copy of Battling the Elements: Weather and Terrain in the to cart. $83.35, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Add this copy of Battling the Elements: Weather and Terrain in the to cart. $35.50, very good condition, Sold by Kisselburg Military Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Potomac, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Add this copy of Battling the Elements: Weather and Terrain in the to cart. $54.24, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by The Johns Hopkins University P.
Add this copy of Battling the Elements: Weather and Terrain in the to cart. $124.11, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by The Johns Hopkins University P.
Add this copy of Battling the Elements: Weather and Terrain in the to cart. $142.00, like new condition, Sold by J Mercurio Books Maps & Prints rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Garrison, NY, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Add this copy of Battling the Elements: Weather & Terrain in the Conduct to cart. $46.00, very good condition, Sold by Alphaville Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hyattsville, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Johns Hopkins University Press.
