Why the Soldier Matters

This edition of Col. du Picq's masterpiece on combat is published with a modern essay on "tactical intuition" by Maj. Brian Reinwald (US Army), who affirms that du Picq's work is more relevant than ever. What determines victory While all other circumstances change with time, the human heart remains the starting point in matters pertaining to war. The individual soldier's endurance and sacrifice are the key to every battle. In ancient and modern combat, Col. du Picq explores the "man of history and the man of today," whose courage or collapse determines victory or defeat. He simultaneously illuminates Hannibal's victory at Cannae, Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, and the allied success in World War I, so that the reader may grasp something of the soul as well as the science of combat, made intelligible in simple terms of human beings and applicable by us to today's Baghdad and Fallujah just as well as by du Picq to the great victories and defeats of history. (Orig. title: Battle Studies)