17 Feb 2011 5:00pm - 6:30pm Room 1, Mill Lane Lecture Rooms, 8 Mill Lane, Cambridge

Description

The lectures are free and open to all. Registration is required for the symposium

Professor Hew Strachan (Chichele Professor of the History of War, University of Oxford)

Lecture 3: How does War end? The Problem of Victory (and Defeat)

Napoleonic imagery suggests that decisive battlefield success leads to victory in war, but Napoleon lost his war.  The relationship between what happens within a war and its eventual outcome is not one to which military historians have devoted much attention; their scholarship has focused on the making of war not on the making of peace.  Diplomatic historians have not been of much help, tending only to pick up the story once hostilities are over, so ignoring the contacts between the two parties within a war or the modification of their objectives by one or both sides in order to make an agreement possible.  The problems are not just collective, but also personal, beginning with the decision of an individual soldier to surrender.  In the ancient world surrender would probably lead to slavery or summary execution.  Although the granting of rights to prisoners of war increased the incentive to surrender, there is little evidence that it has caused wars to end sooner.   

Events in the series

Humanitas
The Nature of War: How is War directed? The Problem of Strategy
3 Feb 2011 5:00pm - 6:30pm, Room 1, Mill Lane Lecture Rooms, 8 Mill Lane, Cambridge
The Nature of War: Why fight? The Problem of Combat Motivation
10 Feb 2011 5:00pm - 6:30pm, Room 1, Mill Lane Lecture Rooms, 8 Mill Lane, Cambridge
The Nature of War: How does War end? The Problem of Victory (and Defeat)
17 Feb 2011 5:00pm - 6:30pm, Room 1, Mill Lane Lecture Rooms, 8 Mill Lane, Cambridge
The Nature of War: a Humanitas Visiting Professorships Symposium
18 Feb 2011 All day, The Møller Centre, Churchill College, University of Cambridge

About the Professorship

The Humanitas Chair in War Studies has been made possible by the generous support of Sir Ronald Grierson

The Humanitas Visiting Professorship in War Studies aims to debate issues within this cross-disciplinary field in a historical perspective, especially in light of the policies and military tactics of modern and contemporary warfare. Political, social, psychological and cultural theories of war will be explored through discussions between academics – from history, politics and international studies, English and other disciplines – and real practitioners from the armed services and government.

Standing Committee

Christopher Clark (History)
Andrew Gamble (POLIS)
Brendan Simms (POLIS)

Hosting College

Churchill College

Upcoming Events

CENTRE FOR RESEARCH IN THE ARTS, SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

Tel: +44 1223 766886
Email enquiries@crassh.cam.ac.uk