The Pity of War
In The Pity of War, Niall Ferguson explodes the myths of 1914-18. He argues that the fatal conflict between Britain and Germany was far from inevitable. It was Britain's declaration of war that needlessly turned a continental conflict into a world war, and it was Britain's economic mismanagement and military inferiority that necessitated American involvement, forever altering the global balance of power. Ferguson vividly brings back to life one of the seminal catastrophes of the century, not through a dry citation of chronological chapter and verse, but through a series of chapters that answer the key questions: Why did the war start? Why did it continue? And why did it stop? How did the Germans manage to kill more soldiers than they lost but still end up defeated in November 1918? Above all, why did men fight?
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- I really should do a list, but here's a few more:
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"The Pity of War" Niall Ferguson Explaining World War 1
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- Niall Ferguson's Pity of War: Explaining World War I describes the finances of the participants in great detail. It's a fascinating read.
- > Why does this malady strike the U.S. Navy and healthcare so severely?
Totally government run in the case of the military, and healthcare is the most heavily regulated industry (by far) in the US. Heavy bureaucratic regulations make an organization unable to adapt to local and/or changing circumstances.
I read in the book "The Pity of War" by Ferguson that the reason the death rates of the German army in WW1 were so much lower than that of the British is the British generals would craft detailed orders on how the soldiers were to achieve objectives. The German generals would instead just give the officers the objectives. The officers were free to adapt to local circumstances.
A similar idea is a story I heard where a class of new lieutenants were asked how would they go about raising a flagpole. The lieutenants all wrote down detailed instructions and procedures. The instructor said you're all wrong. The correct answer is "sergeant, get that flagpole up!".
- The Pity of War by Niall Ferguson is an in-depth study of the economics of WW1. It covers where the billions went. The industrialists did very well, to the point that Eisenhower in his farewell address cautioned against them.
- According to "The Pity of War" by Ferguson, the Germans in WW1 were able to kill British soldiers at about twice the rate as vice versa. They attributed this to the German Army giving goals as orders rather than methods, allowing the lower officers flexibility in achieving them. The British Army, on the other hand, would give orders as methods, with little flexibility.
Flexibility means needing intelligent soldiers, not cannon fodder.
