The Blind Strategist: John Boyd and the American Art of War

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From the acclaimed author of Panzer Commander Hermann BalckandFalse Flagscomes an in-depth, critical evaluation of the maneuver warfare revolution that has transformed the American military.

Colonel John Boyd, a maverick fighter pilot, revolutionized the American art of war through his ideas on conflict and the human mind. Boyd claimed that victory is won by the side which transitions through 'decision cycles' faster than the enemy, mentally checkmating them with minimal violence. Maneuver warfare concepts became military doctrine during the 1980s but this revolution accidently undermined American security.

When formulating his theories on conflict, Boyd relied upon fraudulent accounts of WWII written byWehrmachtveterans who fabricated historical evidence to disassociate their reputations from Germany's defeat and cover up their willing participation in Nazi war crimes. Boyd fell for this deception and unknowingly injected dangerous misinformation into the American military mind. Maneuver warfare has accordingly corrupted the art of war and resulted in catastrophic decisions made in Iraq and Afghanistan during 21st century conflict.

The Blind Strategistseparates fact from fantasy and exposes the myths of maneuver warfare through a detailed evidence-based investigation. A must-read for anybody interested in American military history.

Reviews

"Stephen Robinson does a superb job of analyzing the momentous debate about the virtues of "maneuver warfare" that took place in the United States during the latter years of the Cold War. He shows in great detail that the proponents of maneuver - including their guiding light, John Boyd - based their claims on a deeply flawed understanding of history.The Blind Strategistis a must read for all serious students of modern warfare."

-- John J. Mearsheimer, the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago

"The Blind Strategist is a timely, controversial and iconoclastic book. Stephen Robinson takes aim at a shibboleth of American military doctrine: maneuver. Re-interpreting the story of John Boyd, it debunks the orthodoxy that maneuver is the self-evidently superior form of warfare in all circumstances. Instead, it seeks to re-habilitate the concepts of mass, firepower and attrition articulated in the apparently superseded concept of Active Defence proposed by General William DePuy in the 1970s. This book is essential and challenging reading for US military officers returning to the problem of high-interest inter-state against near peer competitors, after two decades of counter-insurgency."

-- Professor Anthony King, War Studies, The University of Warwick

The book is bound to spark controversy and debate within the US defence establishment, and that is a good thing.

* Survival (UK print magazine) *

This remarkable volume is absolutely essential reading for any military professional and highly recommended for their political masters as well.

* Military History Matters (UK magazine) *

When formulating his theories on conflict, Boyd relied upon fraudulent accounts of WWII written by Wehrmacht veterans, who fabricated historical evidence to disassociate their reputations from Germanys defeat and cover up their willing participation in Nazi war crimes. Manoeuvre warfare has accordingly corrupted the art of war and resulted in catastrophic decisions made in Iraq and Afghanistan during 21st century conflict.

* QRSL *

An Aussie Army Reservist officer may have just undermined the strategic theories underpinning much of the Anglo American tactical warfighting doctrine. Very important book.

* Australian New Zealander Defender *

The book is bound to spark controversy and debate within the US defence establishment, and that is a good thing. To those who would challenge followers of Boyd in deliberating on future US force structure and doctrine, the book provides rich food for thought. Ideally, Robinson will advance the same goal that Boyd himself ultimately sought to achieve: an understanding of warfare more in line with reality.

* Survival: Global Politics and Strategy *

Author Bio

Stephen Robinson has a First Class degree in Asian history and politics and has graduated from Australian Command and Staff College. He has worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs, as a policy officer in the Department of Defence, and has now written three books about the art of war.