![26244418[1]](https://i0.wp.com/sfoil.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/262444181.jpg?resize=266%2C400&ssl=1)
The Allure of Battle, Cathal J. Nolan, Oxford University Press, 2017. 728pp.
In The Allure of Battle, Cathal Nolan purports to tell the reader “How Wars Have [really] Been Won And Lost”. His basic answer is “attrition”, and he goes a little further and asserts that attempts to resolve wars via decisive battles a la the recommendations of Clausewitz tend to devolve into attrition. Basically, says Nolan, long wars always end up as wars of attrition, and states that attempt to start small, winnable wars typically end up fighting long wars to their disadvantage. Over hundreds of pages, Nolan does an admirable job of demonstrating that Napoleon and Hitler were megalomaniacs who pushed their finite military resources beyond any sensible limits, as were other military leaders to lesser degrees. He ultimately has nothing new to say, unfortunately.