Overview

Using examples from a wide variety of conflicts, Lawrence Freedman shows that successful military command depends on the ability not only to use armed forces effectively but also to understand the political context in which they are operating. Command in war is about forging effective strategies and implementing them, making sure that orders are appropriate, well-communicated, and then obeyed. But it is also an intensely political process. This is largely because how wars are fought depends to a large extent on how their aims are set. It is also because commanders in one realm must possess the ability to work with other command structures, including those of other branches of the armed forces and allies. In Command, Lawrence Freedman explores the importance of political as well as operational considerations in command with a series of eleven vivid case studies, all taken from the period after 1945. Over this period, the risks of nuclear escalation led to a shift away from great power confrontations and towards civil wars, and advances in communication technologies made it easier for higher-level commanders to direct their subordinates. Freedman covers defeats as well as victories. Pakistani generals tried to avoid surrender as they were losing the eastern part of their country to India in 1971. Iraq's Saddam Hussein turned his defeats into triumphant narratives of victory. Osama bin Laden escaped the Americans in Afghanistan in 2001. The UK struggled as a junior partner to the US in Iraq after 2003. We come across insubordinate generals, such as Israel's Arik Sharon, and those in the French army in Algeria, so frustrated with their political leadership that they twice tried to change it. At the other end of the scale, Che Guevara in Congo in 1966 and Igor Girkin in Ukraine in 2014 both tried to spark local wars to suit their grandiose objectives. Freedman ends the book with a meditation on the future of command in a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on technologies like artificial intelligence. A wide-ranging and insightful history of the changing nature of command in the postwar era, this will stand as a definitive account of a foundational concept in both military affairs and politics.

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9780197694572

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"""Command is the history of our time, told through war. It's a wonderful, idiosyncratic feat of storytelling as well as an essential account of how the modern world's wars have been fought, written by someone whose grasp of complex detail is as strong and effective as the clarity of his style. I shall read it again and again."" -- John Simpson, The Guardian""In this historical and geographical tour de force, Freedman cogently examines the interplay of politics and command-the balance of decision-making by civilian leaders and their military counterparts. . . . Freedman's book is a must-read, and even more so today, as it sheds light on the dynamics of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which challenges the very core of the postwar international order."" -- Monica Duffy Toft, Foreign Affairs""Freedman offers excellent concise summaries of some of the world's main clashes since 1950."" -- Max Hastings, Sunday Times""Sir Lawrence Freedman, Britain's most distinguished scholar of war, surveys 15 different battles and campaigns . . . The lesson is that good command looks both ways, sensitive to the politics raging above while remaining in touch with the war being fought below. -- Economist""Lawrence Freedman is one of our most distinguished military historians . . . this should be the standard text in staff colleges around the world, and for military-history studies."" -- Daily Telegraph""It is incredibly insightful, occasionally moving and profoundly wise."" -- Andrew Roberts, Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year""One of the revelations of Freedman's detailed and well-informed book is how difficult the management of conflict has become . . . [an] invaluable panorama of the challenges of modern command."" -- Richard Overy, Literary Review""Command is arguably his finest bookâ€""fluently written and convincingly arguedâ€""into which he distils a lifetime of study into the nature and practice of war."" -- The Times""Comfortably the book of the year. It is a reminder of the human factor as a central component of the so-called correlations of forces in war."" -- John Bew, New Statesman Books of the Year""Freedman's mastery of the subject of civil and military leadership in time of war is peerless . . . a fascinating study of the psychological and political characteristics that determine success or failure in leadership in war."" -- The Irish Times""Any student of military history will find this an invaluable book on the challenges of higher command and grand strategy. It is another masterful work by one of the best practitioners of strategic thought today."" -- Jerry Lenaburg, Project Manager and Senior Military Analyst, New York Journal of Books""I recommend Freedman's Command because of its valuable exploration of the influence of politics and personality. All higher command courses should embrace this book for its central theme on the confluence of politics and personal character and their impact on operational decisions. The book is also invaluable for recognizing that command evolves with the changing character of war."" -- Dr. Frank G. Hoffman, Parameters"

"""Command is the history of our time, told through war. It's a wonderful, idiosyncratic feat of storytelling as well as an essential account of how the modern world's wars have been fought, written by someone whose grasp of complex detail is as strong and effective as the clarity of his style. I shall read it again and again."" -- John Simpson, The Guardian ""In this historical and geographical tour de force, Freedman cogently examines the interplay of politics and command-the balance of decision-making by civilian leaders and their military counterparts. . . . Freedman's book is a must-read, and even more so today, as it sheds light on the dynamics of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which challenges the very core of the postwar international order."" -- Monica Duffy Toft, Foreign Affairs ""Freedman offers excellent concise summaries of some of the world's main clashes since 1950."" -- Max Hastings, Sunday Times ""Sir Lawrence Freedman, Britain's most distinguished scholar of war, surveys 15 different battles and campaigns . . . The lesson is that good command looks both ways, sensitive to the politics raging above while remaining in touch with the war being fought below. -- Economist ""Lawrence Freedman is one of our most distinguished military historians . . . this should be the standard text in staff colleges around the world, and for military-history studies."" -- Daily Telegraph ""It is incredibly insightful, occasionally moving and profoundly wise."" -- Andrew Roberts, Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year ""One of the revelations of Freedman's detailed and well-informed book is how difficult the management of conflict has become . . . [an] invaluable panorama of the challenges of modern command."" -- Richard Overy, Literary Review ""Command is arguably his finest book--fluently written and convincingly argued--into which he distils a lifetime of study into the nature and practice of war."" -- The Times ""Comfortably the book of the year. It is a reminder of the human factor as a central component of the so-called correlations of forces in war."" -- John Bew, New Statesman Books of the Year ""Freedman's mastery of the subject of civil and military leadership in time of war is peerless . . . a fascinating study of the psychological and political characteristics that determine success or failure in leadership in war."" -- The Irish Times ""Any student of military history will find this an invaluable book on the challenges of higher command and grand strategy. It is another masterful work by one of the best practitioners of strategic thought today."" -- Jerry Lenaburg, Project Manager and Senior Military Analyst, New York Journal of Books"

Author Information

Lawrence Freedman was Professor of War Studies at King's College London from 1982 to 2014 and Vice-Principal of the College from 2002 to 2013. He was the Official Historian of the Falklands Campaign and a member of the UK Inquiry into the Iraq War. He is the author of several books, including Strategy: A History (Oxford).

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