Tag Archives: Men Against Fire

Today I spent some time re-reading my posts on “Men Against Fire“, and thinking about what I’ve taken away from it. What follows are the 13 ideas that struck me as most important. (The presentation is a little disjointed, because … Continue reading →

S. L. A. Marshall heads off each chapter of “Men Against Fire” with a quote related to that chapter’s subject. This isn’t a particularly novel technique, but many of the quotes are interesting and/or poetic. Below the fold are the … Continue reading →

Today’s installment of Book Club looks at the 13th and final chapter of “Men Against Fire” (MAF), which consists of S. L. A. Marshall’s reflections on his wartime work with the Historical Section, and the implications of his book for … Continue reading →

Today’s installment of Book Club looks at Chapter 12 of “Men Against Fire” (MAF), which makes a number of observations about the behavior of troops and commanders in combat. I want to focus on three basic topics: The nature of … Continue reading →

Today’s installment of Book Club looks at Chapter 11 of “Men Against Fire” (MAF), which is given over to the discussion of two related topics: The morale of troops, and the will of commanders. Although highly specific to the problems … Continue reading →

Today’s installment of Book Club looks at Chapter 10 of “Men Against Fire” (MAF), which argues that personal honor is the essential element which determines whether men will stand against, or run from, enemy fire. This is an important idea, … Continue reading →

Today’s installment of Book Club looks at Chapter 9 of “Men Against Fire” (MAF), which discusses the importance of personal communication to unit cohesion. The points it makes are worthy of consideration by anyone working on, or leading, a team.

Today’s installment of Book Club looks at Chapter 8 of “Men Against Fire” (MAF), which discusses several principles of battle command. There are a lot of interesting ideas in this chapter; I’ve pulled some of the more striking quotes, and … Continue reading →

Today’s installment of Book Club looks at Chapter 7 of “Men Against Fire” (MAF), which is about the impact of the flow of information on battle. Marshall’s central point is that lateral communication (with the flanks) is undervalued, while rearward … Continue reading →

Today’s installment of Book Club looks at Chapter 6 of “Men Against Fire” (MAF), which argues for the decisive importance of small arms fire, and offers several practical suggestions for raising the ratio of fire, as discussed in Chapter 5. … Continue reading →