Aleksa's Book Review: De Re Militari

in #rome5 years ago

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Written by a man who never went to war, this is a treatise on the nature of war and the logistics thereof. I'll be honest and say that the author does an excellent job of presenting his knowledge as if it were first hand, but a cursory reading reveals the lack of experience that fogs the sentences and shortens what ought be longer.

It's by no means a bad book - and that's what I'm reviewing, not the author. The book explains the process of maintaining supply lines, training, building encampments and other such feats of soldiering that are excellent in every way. The philosophy and science of warfare, however, receive a wallop they weren't expecting.

The study of leadership is extremely basic: "Have your men respect you, and you will lead them well into battle" is the gist of leadership by Vegetius. I'm also disappointed by the lack of naval strategy in the book - hardly a few pages are dedicated to it, and it amounts to "Sink the enemy and don't get sunk". This really didn't do much for me.
3/10

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