AGreatDivorce

ACOUP - Total Generalship: Commanding Pre-Modern Armies, Part IIIc: Morale and Cohesion

To close out his look at the limits and factors of pre-modern generalship, Bret examines two of the most important factors on the behavior of the army itself: morale and cohesion. These factors, often reduced to simple binary values in video games or film, are much more complex in real life, leading to far more human, organic situations for armies where every individual soldier is constantly juggling a dynamic set of emotions, risk assessments, and motivations. How does this reality impact the options a general has in leading armies of other human beings?
 
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
 
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/07/01/collections-total-generalship-commanding-pre-modern-armies-part-iiic-morale-and-cohesion/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Narrations on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0QwqosVQjvXWKovUxdSGpQ
Episode on Youtube - https://youtu.be/sq8dP7Mms-8?feature=shared
 
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ACOUP - Total Generalship: Commanding Pre-Modern Armies, Part IIIb: Officers

Bret takes a look at how officers and command flexibility affect the abilities of armies to execute complex battle plans. First examining what officers are and how they integrate into army structure, Bret takes a look then at both the factors that impact officers’ abilities to command as well as the factors that influence how useful officers may be to a particular army structure.
 
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
 
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/06/24/collections-total-generalship-commanding-pre-modern-armies-part-iiib-officers/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Narrations on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0QwqosVQjvXWKovUxdSGpQ
Episode on Podbean - https://youtu.be/pUbMBDB-1Dg?feature=shared
 
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ACOUP - Total Generalship: Commanding Pre-Modern Armies, Part IIIa: Discipline

For his third part in this three-part series, Bret takes a three-part look at the role that three distinct factors play in how the army itself can carry out the orders of the general. The first of these factors he examines is discipline. What did “discipline” mean, how was it trained for, and what options did it allow for the army (and what associated costs did it have).
 
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
 
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/06/17/collections-total-generalship-commanding-pre-modern-armies-part-iiia-discipline/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Narrations on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0QwqosVQjvXWKovUxdSGpQ
Episode on Youtube - https://youtu.be/8B417pKJXbU?feature=shared
 
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ACOUP - Total Generalship: Commanding Pre-Modern Armies, Part II: Commands

Having covered what the general can know before and during a battle (and how), Bret now covers the obvious question: how does the general do anything with that knowledge? The answers, for a pre-modern general, boil down: at walking or galloping speed using very simple (and not terribly flexible) methods. In this part, Bret looks at the options the general has for performing command on the battlefield.
 
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
 
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/06/03/collections-total-generalship-commanding-pre-modern-armies-part-ii-commands/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Narrations on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0QwqosVQjvXWKovUxdSGpQ
Episode on Youtube - https://youtu.be/rUCP0Dye4vo?feature=shared
 
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ACOUP - Total Generalship: Commanding Pre-Modern Armies, Part I: Reports

In this series, Bret examines various aspects of how commanding pre-modern armies worked and compares the historical reality to the representations of command we see in video games and film. To start the series, Bret examines the pre-modern general’s information landscape. What does he know (and how) before a battle begins, and when a battle is joined, what can he know from his very human position on the field?
 
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
 
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2022/05/27/collections-total-generalship-commanding-pre-modern-armies-part-i-reports/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Narrations on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0QwqosVQjvXWKovUxdSGpQ
Episode on Youtube - https://youtu.be/EQ6gsFoy7Po?feature=shared
 
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ACOUP - The Status Quo Coalition

For July 4th, Bret takes another look at an American geopolitical topic. This time, analyzing a concept tied to American global influence, a concept that Bret names “the status quo coalition”: the unofficial collection of countries that align themselves towards shared collective interests of which the United States is, not the leader or creator, but more the “team captain” in pursuing. He examines the forces that have resulted in this unique confluence of state interests, why it is so unique in history, and what it means for interstate relations.
 
Also, a note here: part of this article is a large spreadsheet listing a number of countries and their attributes. I marked the beginning and end of this list (titled “The List”) as video chapters in case you want to skip it because I know some folks may not want to listen to me rattle off a list of countries. But I also don’t want to remove it since I don’t want to edit Bret’s work and it IS important to his argument! 
 
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
 
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2023/07/07/collections-the-status-quo-coalition/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpf-qk5XYYw&ab_channel=AGreatDivorce
Narrations on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0QwqosVQjvXWKovUxdSGpQ
 
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ACOUP - Fortification, Part V: The Age of Industrial Firepower

To close out his look at fortifications, Bret brings his examination into the modern era. First by discussing the changes brought about to defense doctrine by World War I and its aftermath. Then, wrapping up with an examination of how fortification works in the maneuver-focused warfare of the present... and signs of where it might be going in the future.
 
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
 
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2021/12/31/collections-fortification-part-v-the-age-of-industrial-firepower/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIlOkbmlGBM&ab_channel=AGreatDivorce
Narrations on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0QwqosVQjvXWKovUxdSGpQ
 
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ACOUP - Fortification, Part IV: French Guns and Italian Lines

As he moves out of the middle ages and into the early modern, Bret examines the impact of gunpowder on fortification designs and considerations. Starting with a look at pre-gunpowder artillery and its limitations, Bret then discusses the advent of gunpowder cannons. In particular, the effect the weapon system had on the particular military situation of Europe. He examines how this new system both stirred evolution of European fortification designs, and how it evolved alongside such defense systems.
 
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
 
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2021/12/17/collections-fortification-part-iv-french-guns-and-italian-lines/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUlZ7kpzMJ8&ab_channel=AGreatDivorce
Narrations on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0QwqosVQjvXWKovUxdSGpQ
 
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ACOUP - Fortification, Part III: Castling

Moving from Rome to the middle ages, Bret looks at the transition from frontier defenses to point defenses. Specifically, castles (that is, fortified private residences). He tracks the social and cultural forces that led to the development of point defenses in the transition from Rome’s “big state” to the medieval “small states.” Then, he draws out the specific features of both motte and bailey style fortified settlements and the classic stone castle itself.
 
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
 
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2021/12/10/collections-fortification-part-iii-castling/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3zwNuzu8_w&ab_channel=AGreatDivorce
Narrations on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0QwqosVQjvXWKovUxdSGpQ
 
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ACOUP - Fortification, Part II: Romans Playing Cards

With the early history of fortification established using Assyria as an example, Bret skips forward to Rome to discuss specifically the evolution of Rome’s famous marching forts. These defensive camps show the impact that different strategic needs have on the designs of standardized fortification systems, with Rome’s marching forts starting as a way to slow down surprise attacks on troops in the field before becoming a point defense system on a vast border.
 
Anyone wishing to engage with Bret, check out these links:
 
Original post for this recording - https://acoup.blog/2021/11/12/collections-fortification-part-ii-roman-playing-cards/
Dr. Devereaux’s blog, A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry - https://acoup.blog
Dr. Devereaux’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/BretDevereaux
Dr. Devereaux’s Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/user?u=20122096
Episode on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtn9XhC8xCw&ab_channel=AGreatDivorce
Narrations on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0QwqosVQjvXWKovUxdSGpQ
 
And if you wish to support me, please like, share, and subscribe!