Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Best Defense quote of the day: Louis XIV, Marlborough and old Eugene ride again

I frequently am surprised by the comments items draw. In the discussion of yesterday’s post about the nature of early modern war was this: "The adoption of mass armies, coordinated theaters of action, logistics management, intelligence gathering and assessment were necessary precursors to planning and controlling ‘multiple coordinated theaters of war.’ If that is the ...

via Wikimedia
via Wikimedia
via Wikimedia

I frequently am surprised by the comments items draw. In the discussion of yesterday's post about the nature of early modern war was this: "The adoption of mass armies, coordinated theaters of action, logistics management, intelligence gathering and assessment were necessary precursors to planning and controlling 'multiple coordinated theaters of war.' If that is the case then the armies of Louis XIV vs. Marlborough and Prince Eugene during the War of the Spanish Succession contain most of those elements."

I frequently am surprised by the comments items draw. In the discussion of yesterday’s post about the nature of early modern war was this: "The adoption of mass armies, coordinated theaters of action, logistics management, intelligence gathering and assessment were necessary precursors to planning and controlling ‘multiple coordinated theaters of war.’ If that is the case then the armies of Louis XIV vs. Marlborough and Prince Eugene during the War of the Spanish Succession contain most of those elements."

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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