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Introduction

1. The background of two centuries

• The tyranny of plunder
• Rise of the magazine system
• The age of linear warfare
• 'An umbilical cord of supply'?

2. 'An army marches on its stomach!'

• The end of siege warfare
• Boulogne to Austerlitz
• Many roads to Moscow
• Conclusions

3. When demigods rode rails

• Supply from Napoleon to Moltke
• A joker in the pack
• Railways against France
• Logistics of the armed horde
• Did wheels roll for victory

4. The wheel that broke

• State of the art
• Logistics of the Schlieffen Plan
• The plan modified
• Logistics during the campaign of the Marne
• State of the railroads
• Strength and reinforcement of the right wing
• Conclusions

5. Russian roulette

• Problems of the semi-motorized army
• Planning for 'Barbarossa'
• Leningrad to the Dnieper
• 'Storm to the gates of Moscow'?
• Conclusions

6. Sirte to Alamein

• Desert complications
• Rommel's first offensive
• 1942: Annus Mirabilis
• Conclusions; supply and operations in Africa

7. War of the accountants

• The pitfalls of planning
• Normandy to the Seine
• 'Broad Front' or 'knifelike thrust'?
• Conclusions

8. Logistics in perspective

Postscript: Where are we now?

• I
• II
• III
• IV

This is a reading guide for the book Supplying War by Martin van Creveld. My purpose in writing this guide was to make it easier for other Marines to read and understand this book, especially the many Marines who don't do a lot of heavy reading. It gives examples of supply and logistics being used as weapons, being used to force armies into battle, and completely directing a commander's strategic big blue arrows. Hopefully the guide makes it more accessible.

As you read, keep in mind that I'm not the perfect academic. There may be cases where I've misread or misunderstood van Creveld. Also, I'm generally going to write on the assumption that van Creveld is correct in his theories and conclusions. If I constantly questioned him, this guide would be longer than the book, and, as you'll find out, entire books have been written just to discuss criticism of Supplying War.

Finally, if you find yourself getting angry over some mistake in the book or the guide, that's great. It means you're probably too smart to need a reading guide in the first place. However, please email me as well, and let me know about the issue so I can correct it...my email is in the footer of the webpage. Also, if you have any other commentary on the guide (e.g., "your guide was a great help", "your guide was a worthless waste of time", etc.), please email that to me as well.

This guide is dedicated to the many current and former supply Marines who enabled SPMAGTF-A and MEB-A to operate in Afghanistan, but especially Brady Wentlandt, John "JT" Thomas, Travis Bowser, Drew Harris, Will Long, Chuck Shaw, Matt Hall, Brad Canterbury, Jeremy Carroll, Michael Slomski, Mohammed Huda, Tiffany Harris, Ed Connelly, Darrick Parris, TJ Smith, Chris "Bearclaw" Olsen, Brandon Wright, Victor Hurtado, Chris Hossley, Brent Miller, Jack Crutchfield, and honorary supply Marines Chris Hitchcock, Melissa Lathrop, and Ronnie Wilburn.

Also, I owe many thanks to Dr. van Creveld, who generously assisted me via email when I was grinding my way through the sections of the guide during downtime on COC watch.

To get started, crack open your copy of Supplying War (or buy one via the link in the nav bar), open up to the introduction, and click on the link to the introduction section in the sidebar on the right hand side of this page.

SF,

Capt Palmer