“Infantry wins battles; logistics wins wars.” This statement is attributed to World War I commanding general John J. Pershing (although I have yet to find the source). Military logistics means getting soldiers and equipment in place for battle or replacing casualties and destroyed equipment.
In 2015, Phillips Payson O’Brien wrote a book about World War II that supports Pershing’s claim. He began his book by saying, “There were no decisive battles in World War II.” [1]
“Industrially and technologically, the war was primarily a competition of aircraft development and construction,” he wrote. [2] The Allies won the war because they were able (in 1944, especially) to use air and sea power to destroy substantial production and transport of airplanes.
O’Brien’s analysis of World War II is controversial, of course, but his thinking sheds light on earlier history and alerts us to the future.
Let’s Start with the American Revolution
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