War Books

I guess this is the closest section I can post in to get an answer for what I am talking about.


I am interested in learning about war. Not the history behind it or who fought who but more strategy and the "code names" used between soldiers to communicate. I most interested interested in the United States, but any country will do. I tried doing a search online but mostly have gotten history books which I do not want. I have no idea if any books like that are out there or if anyone on here would would be able to guide me in the right direction.

The art of war. Good book and you should read it. Also reading on history should paint you a good picture of some things should do. The Hammer and Anvil that the Romans? used are still relevant today. I'm no master or anything but anytime you can set up a flank you're going to be doing better.

Try to look up some field manuals. They are online somewhere that should tell you what some hand signals mean. Learn morse code.

"Strategy" is pretty broad. The following are some good books that discuss some aspect or another of military strategy:

"On War" by Karl von Clausewitz (Sun Tzu's Art of War is more famous but Clausewitz's book is just as important and perhaps more important).

"Some Principles of Maritime Strategy" by Julian Corbett (deals with naval strategy, obviously).

"On Thermonuclear War" by Herman Kahn (deals with the strategy of fighting and winning a nuclear war).

"Infantry Attacks" by Erwin Rommel is a tactical treatise, not a strategic one, but you might still find it interesting.

"Unrestricted Warfare" by Wang Xiangsui and Qiao Liang is a recent and very good book about the use of unconventional and even non-military modes of warfare (this book should be required reading for a broad range of military and non-military leaders in the US, by the way, because it talks about the kind of war that's going to be much more common this century).

"Concerning Military Matters" by Vegettius is excellent; much of it deals with tactical issues specific to the Roman style of warfare, but it also has a lot of general strategic material.

"How Wars are Won" by Bevin Alexander has some interesting ideas in it, although it's geared towards a little broader of an audience than some of these.

"The Counter-Insurgency Manual" by Leroy Thompson has a lot of interesting information about the tactical and strategic aspects of COIN warfare. You might also check out the USMC's Small Wars Manual for more info on this type of warfare.


As for the "code names soldiers use to communicate," I'm not sure what you mean by that. Hand signals? Radio voice procedure?

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Originally Posted by Syme

"Strategy" is pretty broad. The following are some good books that discuss some aspect or another of military strategy:

"On War" by Karl von Clausewitz (Sun Tzu's Art of War is more famous but Clausewitz's book is just as important and perhaps more important).

"Some Principles of Maritime Strategy" by Julian Corbett (deals with naval strategy, obviously).

"On Thermonuclear War" by Herman Kahn (deals with the strategy of fighting and winning a nuclear war).

"Infantry Attacks" by Erwin Rommel is a tactical treatise, not a strategic one, but you might still find it interesting.

"Unrestricted Warfare" by Wang Xiangsui and Qiao Liang is a recent and very good book about the use of unconventional and even non-military modes of warfare (this book should be required reading for a broad range of military and non-military leaders in the US, by the way, because it talks about the kind of war that's going to be much more common this century).

"Concerning Military Matters" by Vegettius is excellent; much of it deals with tactical issues specific to the Roman style of warfare, but it also has a lot of general strategic material.

"How Wars are Won" by Bevin Alexander has some interesting ideas in it, although it's geared towards a little broader of an audience than some of these.

"The Counter-Insurgency Manual" by Leroy Thompson has a lot of interesting information about the tactical and strategic aspects of COIN warfare. You might also check out the USMC's Small Wars Manual for more info on this type of warfare.


As for the "code names soldiers use to communicate," I'm not sure what you mean by that. Hand signals? Radio voice procedure?

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Thank you! Yes pretty much hand signals, voice procedure and anything in that category!

Ahh okay. Atomic is right, those things are mostly going to be covered in actual field manuals, many of which can be bought online, or found as .pdfs or images (scans of pages). Google will be your friend here.