Supplying War: Logistics From Wallenstein To Patton

Another good text book

As described by the reviewer below, this book deals with logistics at the strategic level and uses seven relatively modern campaigns (up to and including WW2) to chart the development of military logistics since the seventeenth century. Notable omissions include a discussion of how armies dealt with the issue prior to this period and the logistics of naval or air warfare.A particularly interesting and unexpected aspect of this book is that it draws a number of conclusions about the campaigns and leaders covered that successfully challenge the prevailing wisdom in this area. For example, the failings of Rommel in North Africa are laid bare, as is the impracticability of the Schlieffen plan and the fact that the German railway system contributed little by way of advantage to the army in its defeat of France in 1870. The book also refutes the misnomer that Napoleon was ill-prepared for the disastrous advance on Russia in 1812. The new edition contains an interesting, if brief, discussion of modern military logistics and the increased profile recently associated with the subject.In summary, this book is very readable and provides coverage of a subject much neglected by the popular literature. Supplying war also contains a wealth of information about seven key military campaigns viewed from a perspective that seeks to determine what outcomes were achievable, rather than simply intended.

I had great expectations from reading some of the comments so I decided to risk it and buy it, even though it's definitely not a cheap book. Well...it's not worth the cost of the paint in the printing. Almost no new concepts. Subjective statements or just plain historical descriptions without any strong pedagogical value or captivating writing style. I was expecting to actually learn something about war logistics. No Sir. You can't fill even half a page with solid knowledge from the 275 pages this book has. I would never have bought it if I knew how bad it was.