The lecture aims to analyse not only the background to key strategic battles but also the impact these had on the direction of the structure of Western Civilisation and conversely how outside developments such as new technology impacted on the art of war and these key strategic battles. The influences include such factors as disease, economics, culture, social structure, new technology, migration, political structure, exploration not only on the art of war but also on the society involved in a continuing dynamic process through time between the two elements.
- The Decisive Battles of the Western World - Vol 1 and 2, Maj Gen J.F.C. Fuller
- 490BC to 732AD: Exploration, Colonisation, Trade, Conflict 1,000BC to 600BC; Battles of Marathon, Salamis, & Platea, Golden Age of Greece, Peloponnesian War, the March of the 10,000, Epaminondas of Thebes, Phillip of Macedon, Alexander the Great and the invasion of Persia and battle of Gaugamela; Rome and the Punic Wars, Roman wars of Empire, Teutoburger Wald 9AD
- Rise of Christianity, Decay of the Roman Empire, Barbaric invasions, battle of Chalons 451AD, Emergence of Europe; Rise of Islam, Siege of Constantinople 717AD, Battle of Tours 732AD; Viking raids on Europe from 800AD , Magyars raid Western Europe from Hungary, Rise of Feudalism, New Technology
- Battle of Hastings, Crusades, Emergence of Parliamentary Government, Climate Change, Population Growth, Urban Growth, Commerce Growth; Black Death, Society and Economic change post 1350, 100 years War 1336-1453, Peasants Revolt; Technology developments of the late Middle Ages, First initiatives leading to the Renaissance, Exploration, Reformation, Mercantalism, Decline of the Church
- Fall of Constantinople 1453; Reformation, Renaissance, Age of Exploration, Trade and Mercantilism, Rise and Fall of Portugal & Spain
- Wars of Religion in Europe, 30 Year War 1618-1648, Dutch rise to importance, English Civil War and Dominance of Parliamentary Government and Democratic Institutions; Rise and Fall of French Supremacy in Europe 1643-1715, War of Spanish Succession 1698-1715
- Beginnings of the Industrial Revolution, Age of Reason and Founding of the United States, Rise of Prussia, French Revolution; Battles of Valmy 1792, Trafalgar 1805, Leipzig 1813, Waterloo 1815,
- UK established as world dominant power, Emergence of Russia as an imperial power, Emergence of the USA as major world power from 1865, Rise and fall of Imperial Germany 1864-1918, WW1 and the reshaping of Europe
- Great Depression 1929-1936, Nazi Germany & Fascism , Rise and fall of Imperial Japan 1868-1945, WW2 and postwar world, UN, GATT, International Finance bodies, Marshall Plan, anti biotics, decolonisation, Cold War, nuclear and computer age, Climate Change
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Recognise the key factors and developments in the part played by key battles in the development of western civilisation
- Identify and evaluate the key factors and rationale at play in this dynamic process
- Critically analyse the key aspects of the factors at play
- Evaluate and discuss the key aspects at play up to today and potential future developments
