The Western Way Of Warfare Parker Analysis

History of warfare aims to explain the rise to dominance of what its author, Geoffrey Parker, understands as “the western way of warfare.” This particular way of war is defined by certain key characteristics which emerged in Roman and especially Greek military, where the connection between technology, tactics, and social organization was the harbinger of the western military practice. This, Parker claims, explains the dominance of western culture, more than economic, intellectual and other factors. Moreover, In the last 200 years, European or the western way of war has become the dominant military culture all over the world. Either non-European states were conquered by that culture or they were obliged to adopt it themselves to survive.
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Parker’s explanation of the western style of war also underlines the lifestyle of the typical farmer-soldier aka hoplites in ancient Greece, which is another one of many reasons for the decisiveness of the battles the west has always preferred. The average hoplite was a farmer and while willing to go to war, preferred that the war didn’t last more than a single-day as he had to get back to his farm and not lose out on any standard of living he would otherwise reap. Moreover, these hoplites fought on foot on most occasions due to the unavailability of expensive resources and money. In other words, what the hoplites engaged in, can also be called agricultural warfare in its simplest sense. What truly differentiated the early Greek culture from other parts of the world was the fact that none of the hoplites were very well trained, yet they fought wars. Coupled with the fact that they were professional farmers, and not professional soldiers, what also separated the hoplites from other similar societies at the time was the fact that they fought in wars using their own equipment. They made and used thrusting spears which would be about 6 feet tall. However, due to the short size of the only weapon the hoplites fought with, they had to be very close to the enemy to assert …show more content…
“The age of massed infantry,” covers the period from 600BC to 300AD, with units on the genesis of infantry and the Roman way of warfare. Further, “The Age of Stone Fortifications” includes chapters on new weapons, advanced war tactics and the gunpowder revolution that started in China but eventually spread all across the world between 1300-1600 AD. The “Age of guns and sails” covers the period between 1500-1900 AD and finally, “The age of mechanized warfare” covers the tactics and explains strategies used during the latter half of the 18th century and following that period until the second world war. Parker finally concludes that for the west to maintain their military dominance, they must continue “to be right.” He argues that this task is best done by imitating and following the traditions outlined and analyzed in the