Other People's Wars

Book excerpt: "Brent L. Sterling examines how well or poorly the US military has learned lessons and applied findings from analyzing foreign wars through observer missions and post-conflict military-to-military liaisons. Preparing for the next war at an unknown date in the future against an undetermined opponent is an inherently difficult undertaking with extremely high stakes. Even the most detailed exercises and wargames do not truly simulate combat and the fog of war. Thus, militaries the world over have studied foreign wars to see what lessons can be gleaned, but the effectiveness of this learning process has rarely been evaluated. Sterling's goals are to better understand learning dynamics in the military, to better determine what types of knowledge can be gained from foreign wars, to identify common pitfalls, and to propose ways to maximize the benefits for doctrine, organization, and training. This book explores four major cases of US observation missions at key junctures in history: the Crimean War (1853-56), the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05), the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), and the Yom Kippur War (1973). These conflicts preceded the US Civil War, First World War, Second World War, and the Revolution in Military Affairs of the Gulf War. The case studies show that the observer missions can yield significant benefits if the right conditions are met"--