Harvest of Mars: History and War
Harvest of Mars seeks to uncover the essentials of war. Essentials that have been swept under the rug or forgotten by people and societies eager to rewrite history in a way that is intellectually pleasing. This podcast seeks to open your eyes to aspects of military history that, as Paul Fussell accurately noted, never got into the books because of what he called the Disneyfication of war. Here you will get authentic insights from someone who has a genuine love for the material.If you are curious and enjoy seeing things from a new perspective, this is the podcast for you! You do not even know a lot about military history. Perhaps you enjoy stories about the past but have never taken a history course and are just curious. It’s all good. I get students all the time who are new to history and they learn a ton because I nudge people toward new things they have not thought about rather than have them memorize facts. .
Harvest of Mars: History and War
The Cult of the Offensive: Military Strategy before World War I
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Season 1
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Episode 4
“The offensive is the only way of insuring victory.”
- General August von Keim, 1912
In the episode, we take a look at the prevailing belief that the military offensive was far more effective than the defensive on the eve of the First World War. As World War I is infamous for the horrific slaughter of trench warfare in which troops had to "go over the top" and attack headlong against powerful fortification, this is a classic case to examine if the generals were blind or if their critics are using hindsight.