Masters of War: History’s Greatest Strategic Thinkers

Course Overview

This 24-lecture course surveys the world’s most influential strategic thinkers and the historical contexts that shaped their ideas. From Thucydides and Sun Tzu to Clausewitz, Jomini, Mahan, and modern theorists of insurgency and nuclear deterrence, Professor Wilson examines how strategy translates political ends into military means. The course blends close readings of classic texts, operational case studies (Napoleon, World War II, Vietnam, Gulf War), and thematic treatments (naval strategy, air power, counterinsurgency, terrorism) to show how strategy evolves with technology, politics, and culture.

What you’ll learn

• Core strategic concepts from antiquity to the 21st century

• How major theorists (Thucydides, Sun Tzu, Machiavelli, Jomini, Clausewitz, Mahan, Corbett, Mao) framed problems of war and policy

• Naval, air, nuclear, and irregular-warfare strategies and their historical applications

• Ethical and legal frameworks for war (just-war theory) and contemporary challenges like terrorism and counterterrorism

• How to analyze strategic choices and the civil–military relationship that shapes them

Video Lessons

01: Why Strategy Matters (33 min)

Introduction to strategy as the means of translating political objectives into military action; Case study: Operation Torch and using military force as an instrument of policy.

02: Thucydides on Strategy (32 min)

Examine Thucydides’ analytical approach to the Peloponnesian War—political causes, leadership, and the moral-social implications of war.

03: Thucydides as a Possession for All Time (32 min)

Debate the Sicilian Expedition, the Melian Dialogue, and the relevance of Thucydides’ realist lessons for modern strategic thought.

04: Sun Tzu’s The Art of War (31 min)

Contextualize Sun Tzu’s principles—efficiency, avoiding protracted war, valuing the commander’s intellect—and their strategic logic.

05: Sun Tzu through Time (33 min)

Trace Sun Tzu’s influence across Chinese history, Japan, and the modern West; illustrate deception with Operation Fortitude (WWII).

06: Machiavelli’s The Art of War (30 min)

Explore Machiavelli’s tactical prescriptions for a citizen-army and his practical military advice for republican states.

07: Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy (32 min)

Read Machiavelli as a strategist: fortuna, virtu, and the qualities and institutions necessary for sustained military success in republics.

08: The Napoleonic Revolution in War (31 min)

Analyze how Napoleonic warfare transformed operations and generated the intellectual responses of Jomini and Clausewitz.

09: Baron Jomini as a Strategist (30 min)

Study Jomini’s emphasis on decisive points and concentration of force, his operational theories, and enduring strengths and limits.

10: Clausewitz’s On War (31 min)

Introduce Clausewitz’s central ideas: the paradoxical trinity, center of gravity, friction, and the relationship between war and policy.

11: Jomini and Clausewitz through the Ages (30 min)

Compare operational (Jomini) and philosophical (Clausewitz) frameworks and discuss political oversight in wartime.

12: From Sail to Steam — The Sea‑Power Revolution (31 min)

Follow naval transformation from age-of-sail tactics to steam, industrialization, and global maritime strategy ahead of WWI.

13: Alfred Thayer Mahan (30 min)

Present Mahan’s thesis: concentrated fleet power and overseas bases produce maritime dominance and national prosperity.

14: Sir Julian Corbett (31 min)

Examine Corbett’s synthesis of land-sea interaction, campaign strategy, and the integration of maritime and continental operations.

15: Mahan, Corbett, and the Pacific War (31 min)

Apply maritime theory to the Pacific: Japanese strategic aims, Pearl Harbor, and the U.S. use of combined naval-air strategy (Midway, Guadalcanal).

16: Air Power in Theory and Practice (29 min)

Survey air‑power theorists (Douhet, the “bomber mafia”) and evaluate how strategic bombing fared in WWII and later conflicts.

17: From Rolling Thunder to Instant Thunder (31 min)

Contrast Vietnam-era Rolling Thunder with Gulf War Instant Thunder; consider technological and doctrinal shifts in air campaigns.

18: Nuclear Strategy (31 min)

Address deterrence, mutual assured destruction, second-strike stability, arms control, and leading nuclear strategists’ contributions.

19: Mao Tse‑tung in Theory and Practice (31 min)

Outline Mao’s three phases of revolutionary war—strategic defense, strategic stalemate, strategic offensive—and their practical application.

20: Classics of Counterinsurgency (31 min)

Study Galula, Trinquier, and French counterinsurgency theory and their influence on modern doctrine (e.g., FM 3‑24) and operations in Iraq/Afghanistan.

21: Just‑War Theory (32 min)

Examine jus ad bellum, jus in bello, and just post bellum; apply ethical criteria to cases such as Operation Iraqi Freedom.

22: Terrorism as Strategy (31 min)

Analyze terrorism’s strategic logic, the five intended audiences of terrorist action, and case studies such as Michael Collins and Irish independence.

23: Strategies of Counterterrorism (30 min)

Survey counterterrorism options—ignore, law enforcement, covert action, military intervention—and their strategic trade-offs.

24: From the Jaws of Defeat — Strategic Adaptation (33 min)

Conclude with strategic adaptation lessons (e.g., Washington after New York), and reflect on the civil–military nexus for crafting effective strategy.