The Bottom Line: Machiavelli wrote The Art of War in a time of rapid change. Good read for history buffs or people interested in war or the Renaissance.
George_Chabot's Full Review: Niccolo Machiavelli and Ellis Farneworth - The Art...
The Art of War, by Niccolo Machiavelli (1520)
"Rome remained free for four hundred years and Sparta eight hundred, although their citizens were armed all that time; but many other states that have been disarmed have lost their liberties in less than forty years." Niccolo Machiavelli, The Art of War
Like myself, many of you probably slept through your high school history classes concerning the Renaissance; although you may remember a guy named Christopher Columbus discovered America, you may be fuzzy on other details from that era.
Niccolo Machiavelli was one of those guys who never left the old country. He took the easy way out, got himself a civil service job, and observed events. Since he lived in highly fragmented 16th century Italy, he had a ringside seat during the rise and fall of many kingdoms and principalities.
The Art of War is considered the first rendition of modern military thought. Taken together with its companion work The Prince they are considered a manual on the winning and retaining of power in a highly factionalized world, like the one we inhabit today.
The Renaissance was an age of change, and just as things were rapidly being discovered in the arts and sciences, the face of war was changing from the medieval slugfests with shield, spear, and sword that had remained unchanged since ancient days. The Renaissance was the first age in which gunpowder played a decisive part. Although it had been discovered long before, the employment of artillery in any effective manner only became possible in Machiavelli’s day. This meant that the castle, the premier defensive work from time immemorial was no longer effective as a deterrent to attack by an aggressive foe. Similarly, the heavily armored mounted knight was quickly being superseded by the nimble foot soldier as the most useful soldier.
The Art of War consists of a series of discourses, where one character declaims to an audience of several associates, who further the subject by advancing pertinent questions at the proper moment. Having observed so much war at first hand, Machiavelli was readily able to use his characters to explain about armaments, formations, tactics, strategies, and the like. Much of the work covers the character and discipline of an army, how to recruit, train, and lead such a formation. His dream was the unification of Italy, something that had only been a fantasy since the fall of Rome over a thousand years before. He advanced the idea of a national army that would make this a reality. Alas, this dream was not to be realized until long after Machiavelli’s death.
The volume is divided into seven books, like many classics. As a general idea, Book I covers recruitment; Book 2 covers arms and armor, the differences between infantry and cavalry; Book 3 covers formations and maneuvers; Book 4 covers precautions and rules of engagement; Book 5 covers marching, battle formation, making and breaking camp; Book 6 covers more on campsites, military justice, pillaging; Book 7 covers fortifying a town, corrupting officials, siege craft. Each of the books contains many more subjects but I don’t wish to overburden the reader with detail.
Machiavelli’s The Art of War is a good primer for someone wishing to learn the basics about armies and warfare. By today’s standards, the knowledge is a bit rudimentary but it still maintains interest for historians and military buffs as the first European exposition on how war should be conducted.
More military history volumes I recommend include:
Best known as the political theorist who wrote The Prince, Machiavelli considered The Art of War his most important work. His revolutionary 1520 work ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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