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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did Caesar prefer to win battles and campaigns with as little bloodshed as possible?

2. William's ally attacked England from which direction?

3. In addition to the physical gains, why did Fabius employ his brand of warfare?

4. According to the author, which of the following strategies have been known and used by intelligent generals dating back to ancient times?

5. According to the author, it is critically important to do what to every soldier in a military force?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe some of Belisarius's conquests.

2. What factors led to Greek victory in the first war between Greece and Persia?

3. Describe the effect of the locomotive on the American Civil War.

4. What was the Persian strategy in their first attack against Athens?

5. Why has the indirect method failed to become a widely-used strategy?

6. Why are decisive results important in warfare?

7. What developments in the period between 1854 and 1914 made it more difficult to employ indirect methods?

8. Describe the war between the Byzantines and the Vandals.

9. What is a "natural line of expectation"?

10. What was Marlborough's style of generalship and why was he not able to fully employ it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

William of Normandy exemplified the skilled military commander of the medieval era. His conquests changed the face of England forever.

Part 1) Explain the background of William of Normandy's invasion of England, including a discussion of his allies and their importance.

Part 2) Discuss one or more of William's most famous battles. How did these battles demonstrate the level of sophistication of strategies of the time?

Part 3) Did William achieve decisive or indecisive results? In either case, what strategic conditions contributed to these results? Explain the nature and importance of these results.

Essay Topic 2

Hannibal achieved an unprecedented string of victories against Rome, beginning at the empire's furthest reaches and eventually threatening to sack the capital itself. Again and again he handed embarrassing defeats to Roman generals, and he nearly toppled the empire before it reached its height of power.

Part 1) Explain Hannibal's background and that of his homeland, Carthage.

Part 2) Describe Hannibal's overall military strategy, and the grand strategy of Carthage as a whole. Were these sets of goals aligned well, or did Hannibal experience political problems in carrying out his campaigns?

Part 3) Analyze at least one of Hannibal's battles in depth, including a discussion of the forces involved and the strategies employed by both sides.

Part 4) Discuss Hannibal's campaign in the Italian peninsula from a strategic perspective. What was his overall goal? Did he succeed in achieving decisive results? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

The author's assessment of the first World War was that overall, there was a huge and unnecessary loss of life that resulted in no real decisive victories and lasting benefits for any nation. The author suggests that this monumental waste of life could have been avoided.

Part 1) Describe the overall losses during the first World War, as well as the results, decisive or indecisive.

Part 2) What factors led to the employment of largely direct methods? What individuals, technologies and other circumstances led to the employment of these strategies?

Part 3) How could the war have been managed differently if indirect methods had been employed instead? Use examples from the book to describe in detail ways that existing technology, military forces and doctrines could have been employed to achieve better results with less loss of life.

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This section contains 991 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample