Command and Cohesion: The Citizen Soldier and Minor Tactics in the British Army, 1870-1918

(Hardback)

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This study brings together military history and intellectual history to provide a better understanding of the factors that influence military thinking and practice. In particular, Ramsay covers thought concerning the evolution of British minor tactics between 1870 and 1918, from the era of the black powder rifle wielded by a career soldier to the age of the citizen soldier in the Great War. The development of new military technologies in the last quarter of the 19th century led to novel tactical systems, which included new, decentralized methods of tactical command and control at a time when mass, citizen-based armies were becoming the norm in Europe. While the British Army's system of command and control evolved to meet these new combat conditions, its response was conditioned by the officers' assessment of the rank and file who served in its peacetime volunteer army as well as by the corporate interests of the professional officer corps. This development marked a watershed in military practice and theory, the transition from closely supervised small units under the immediate command of a career officer, to decentralized tactics under the direction of a junior officer or NCO who had been a civilian before the war. Using models such as those proposed by Thomas Kuhn in his "Structure of Scientific Revolution", Ramsay treats military history in the same manner as intellectual historians have regarded other areas of reasoning, to illustrate the forces that can shape military theory and to provide an explanation of those that may impede necesary changes in military thinking.

Reviews

.,."valuable source of analysis. Ramsay's exploration of changing British infantry tactics and training is thoughtful and engaging...suited to the general reader interested in minor tactics in the British Army."-The Journal of Military History
...valuable source of analysis. Ramsay's exploration of changing British infantry tactics and training is thoughtful and engaging...suited to the general reader interested in minor tactics in the British Army.-The Journal of Military History
[A] thought-provoking book ...-Army Historical Research
In a synthesis of intellectual and military history, Ramsay examines British efforts to wage war on land during the First World War. He outlines the concept of minor tactics and small-unit leadership from the last quarter of the 19th century through the first decades of the 20th, showing how it was shaped by the background of civil-military relations. He also proposes a model for analyzing change in military theory.-Reference & Research Book News
This is a fascinating and carefully researched book which helps us to understand much about how tactics of fighting were developed.-Journal of the Western Front Association
[A] thought-provoking book ...Army Historical Research
"A thought-provoking book ..."-Army Historical Research
..."valuable source of analysis. Ramsay's exploration of changing British infantry tactics and training is thoughtful and engaging...suited to the general reader interested in minor tactics in the British Army."-The Journal of Military History
"[A] thought-provoking book ..."-Army Historical Research
"This is a fascinating and carefully researched book which helps us to understand much about how tactics of fighting were developed."-Journal of the Western Front Association
"In a synthesis of intellectual and military history, Ramsay examines British efforts to wage war on land during the First World War. He outlines the concept of minor tactics and small-unit leadership from the last quarter of the 19th century through the first decades of the 20th, showing how it was shaped by the background of civil-military relations. He also proposes a model for analyzing change in military theory."-Reference & Research Book News

Author Bio

M.A. RAMSAY is Assistant Professor of History at Kansas State University.