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person1960s-2012

John Keegan

Disciplines:
military history

Summary

British military historian who transformed the study of war by focusing on the experience of ordinary soldiers rather than the decisions of generals.

Core Contribution

The Face of Battle: an account of three battles (Agincourt, Waterloo, the Somme) from the perspective of the men who fought them — the founding text of 'war from the soldier's eye view.' A History of Warfare: a comparative anthropology of war across cultures. The Mask of Command: leadership in battle.

Key Spikes & Highlights

  • Taught at Sandhurst for 26 years without ever having served in the military — his chronic ill health prevented him from military service, giving him the unusual perspective of a deep student of war with no personal experience of it.

Notable Works & Achievements

The Face of Battle

The Mask of Command

A History of Warfare

The Second World War

Historical Influences

Clausewitz Michael Howard

Intellectual Lineage

British Military History

Contemporaries & Peers

Antony Beevor Max Hastings

Minds Influenced

Military History Max Hastings

Intellectual Posterity

Military History Face of Battle Method

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