Casual Fridays

I have to apologize to BG (ret) John Scales - former Green Beret, cousin to MG (ret) Bob Scales - for taking so long to review this book, "Sherman Invades Georgia." It's not a typical Civil War combat book that one might envision, talking about a particular battle and the units involved, the actions taken, the heroics performed.

What the author does in this book is to offer an insight into how Civil War generals might have planned and executed their campaigns, using a template of how one would examine the situation, develop courses of action, analyse what the enemy might be planning, and make a decision. While people associate General William Sherman with his famous march across Georgia, Scales looks at how Sherman approached General Joseph Johnston, who was defending approaches to Atlanta (to give it away, Sherman forced Johnston to withdraw and abandon Atlanta).

Many books on the Civil War only talk about what generals did, as opposed to what they might have been thinking or how they made the decisions that they did. There were political factors as well as geographical factors and limitations arising from their logistics and technology. These generals didn't have huge staffs to help them develop courses of action; much of the planning was done by their experience. Scales walks the reader through a modern analysis of Sherman's campaign, looking at the many options available to him, and at the end, finishes the book with how the campaign really finished out.

For any military personnel who enjoy staff rides on Civil War battlefields, this book is a must read to gain valuable insights on how to look at all the "what if's" with which these commanders must have wrestled. For those stationed at Fort Benning or Fort Gordon, they could even walk the terrain, given the great maps and information in this book. But even civilians with little more than general interest in the Civil War could follow this book, given its easy reading, glossary, pictures, and maps. Check it out.

Comments

[NVH]

So? What's the new book going to be in the window?

[J.]

"Utility of Force" by a British general. Other people have said good things about it, and I saw him on "The Daily Show." Looks like good military thinking.

[NVH]

Wow, just looked it up on Amazon, looks very interesting, "Utility of Force". Although the Wash Post reviewers opinion of the UK military has probably changed since the UK sailor debacle with the Iranians, at least a little.

[Kingdaddy]

Great recommendation.