INTA 4803TP / 8803TP

Tom Pilsch
Habersham 141 pilsch@gatech.edu

"The Circle of Modern War" and logo

© Thomas D. Pilsch 2010
 INTA 4803TP / 8803TP

A study of armed conflict in the 20th Century with emphasis on the

impact of technology and geopolitics on society and military science.

www.cc.gatech.edu/~tpilsch/INTA4803TP
"The Circle of Modern War" and logo
© Thomas D. Pilsch 2007-2012
 Today’s Session

• Introductions

• Background

• Course overview

• Rules of Engagement

• Lesson 1: Character of War

 Course Objective

The successful student will gain the

historical foundation and framework to
support informed discussion and analysis
of modern warfare, its causes, conduct,
and consequences.
 Secondary Objectives

• Teach social scientists and humanists

some technology

• Teach technologists some history

 Why Do We Study History?

Those who cannot remember the past

are doomed to repeat it
George Santyana (1863-1952)
The Age of Reason, Vol. I, Reason in Common Sense, 1905
 Why Do We Study History?

Those who cannot remember the past

are doomed to repeat it
Pilsch’sSantyana
George Corollary(1863-1952)
The Age of Reason, Vol. I, Reason in Common Sense, 1905
The One Commandment

Non Sequitur, February 3, 2007

© Wiley Miller 2007
 Why Do We Study History?

History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.

Attributed to Samuel Clements (1835-1910)

 Why Do We Study War?

“I must study Politicks and War that my sons may

have liberty to study Painting and Poetry
Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study
Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural
History, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce
and Agriculture, in order to give their Children a right
to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture,
Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine.”
John Adams, in a letter to his wife Abigail
May 12, 1780
Full Document
 Why Do We Study War?

"The student who reads history will unconsciously develop what is

the highest value of history: judgment in worldly affairs. This is a
permanent good, not because "history repeats" - we can never
exactly match past and present situations - but because the
"tendency of things" shows an amazing uniformity within any given
civilization. As the great historian Burckhardt said of historical
knowledge, it is not 'to make us more clever the next time, but wiser
for all time.'"

-Jacques Barzun,
Begin Here: The Forgotten Conditions of Teaching and
Learning
 Why Are You Here?

While you may not be interested in war,

war is interested in you.
Attributed to Leon Trotsky
 Why Am I Here?

“We never seem to learn the

lessons of war, do we?”
Student, Fall 2007
 Why Am I Here?

One of you might become president

someday …
My
TheBiggest
Generation
Challenge
Gap
 My Background

I experienced the second half of the

20th century …

… and want to pass along to others

some of the lessons (un)learned.
 My Background

I experienced the second half of the

20th century …

Interesting Events
Interesting Places
Interesting People
Interesting Work
My Background

US Air Force Academy

 My Background
College Summer Orientation
Interesting Events

JFK Funeral – November 1963

 Interesting Work
Pilot Training

T-41
T-37

T-38

Williams AFB, AZ
 Interesting Places

CFB Goose Bay, Newfoundland - February 1967

Interesting Places

Hué Vietnam 1968-1969

 Interesting Work

Grad School
Assistant Professor
Aeronautics
Interesting Work
Flying

My Airplanes
 Interesting Work
Aircraft Requirements & Acquisition

C-17 Globemaster III

Interesting People

Fort McPherson, GA - 1989

 Interesting Work
Operations & Diplomacy

Azores Islands

Lajes Field
Interesting Work

Looking Glass

EC-135 – Offutt AFB NE - 1994

 Current Interests

History & International Affairs

Technology & War
Rise & Fall of Empires
Geopolitics
The Role of China in all of this
 About the Course

War is the ultimate

international affair

“Applied International Affairs”

 About the Course

History of War
evolution of the character of armed conflict

vs.

Military History
a study of military science and the detailed conduct of war

A
 Course Overview

• 30 meetings => 1:20 each

• No textbook => all readings online
• Lesson plans available at
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~tpilsch/INTA4803TP

Let’s Tour the Web site 

 Course Overview

• 30 meetings => 1:20 each

• No textbook => all readings online
• Lesson plans available at
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~tpilsch/INTA4803TP

• Reference resources available at

http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~tpilsch/resources.html
 Themes & Threads

• Circle of Modern War©

• Match/Mismatch between national objectives & national strategy

• Core technologies:
metallurgy, chemistry, physics, mechanics, electronics
• Core Weapons:
infantry weapons, artillery, naval armament, aircraft

• Logistics as the lynchpin of modern war

• Offense vs. defense

• Revolutions in Military Affairs (RMA)

 Course Schedule

Lessons will be chronological , but …

there will be occasional diversions for emphasis
Desert Storm
War at the Dawn of the 20th Century
World War I
World War II
Cold War Vietnam
A
 Lessons

• Maxims of Moment
 Maxims of Moment

“Nothing so comforts the military mind as

the maxim of a great but dead general.”

Barbara Tuchman
The Guns of August (1962)
 Lessons

• Maxims of Moment
• Lesson Objectives
 Lessons Buzz Words alert
(important stuff!!)

• Maxims of Moment
• Lesson Objectives
• Study Guides

Significant source of quiz and exam questions.

 Lessons

• Maxims of Moment
• Lesson Objectives
• Study Guides
• Assignments
 Readings

Variety of Assignment Sources

• e-books
NetLibrary: http://www.netlibrary.com/Gateway.aspx
• Journal articles
JSTOR: http://www.library.gatech.edu/
Databases => Social Sciences => History => JSTOR

• Others
Organizational & Individual Web sites, War Gamers,
Re-enactors, NPS, Wikipedia, etc.
 Syllabus

Rules of Engagement (ROE): Directives issued by competent military

authority which delineate the circumstances and limitations under which ...
forces will initiate and/or continue combat engagement with other forces
encountered.

(Joint Publication 1-02)

 Rules of Engagement

• Course overview
• Readings
• Grading
• Attendance
• Class Decorum
• Office Hours

A
 Grading
(undergraduates)

Standard distribution:
90-100 A
80-89 B
70-79 C
60-69 D
< 60 F

Graded Factors & Value:

Quizzes 10 %
In-class Exams 30 %
Papers 30 %
Final Exam 30 % (inclusive)
 Graduate Students

Let’s meet after this class

 Attendance

Mandatory

Arrive on time!
Class Decorum
 Office Hours

What time is best for most of you?

Suggest: Just about any time by appointment

(Just let me know you are coming)

 Other Thoughts

Academic Integrity
• Work submitted for grade needs to be your own
• OK to discuss ideas for inclusion in a paper
• Actual writing must be your own
• Ideas of others must be documented

If you study together … don’t sit together during tests

 Other Thoughts

Academic Integrity
Special Needs?
• Talk to me outside of class

Comments From Past Years

 Comments from Past Years

“I really need the A in this class to balance out with

some of my harder [major] classes this semester … “
 Comments from Past Years

“In one lesson you gave us three readings that each

came to a different conclusion. That’s not fair. Just
tell us what we need to know!”
 Comments from Past Years

“There is a lot of material. I wish I had kept up.”

Questions?
 INTA 4803TP / 8803TP

Tom Pilsch
CoC 112 tpilsch@cc.gatech.edu

"The Circle of Modern War" and logo

© Thomas D. Pilsch 2007-2012
End

57
59
 Why Do We Study War?

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.”

Attributed to Samuel Clements, 1835-1910

"It is not worth while to try to keep history

from repeating itself, for man's character will
always make the preventing of the repetitions
impossible."

Mark Twain, Eruption: Hitherto Unpublished Pages About

Men and Events, published 1940