Strategy: The Indirect Approach (1954) - B.H. Liddell Hart Audiobook

Written by B.H. Liddell Hart
Read by Derek Perkins
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

· Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
· Release date: 05-28-19
· Publisher: Tantor Audio

“The most important book by one of the outstanding military authorities of our time.” – Library Journal

This is the classic book on war as we know it. Parts of it were originally written at varies time during his lifetime.

During his long life, Basil H. Liddell Hart was considered one of the world’s foremost military thinkers–a man generally regarded as the “Clausewitz of the 20th century.” Strategy is a seminal work of military history and theory, a perfect companion to Sun-tzu’s The Art of War and Carl von Clauswitz’s On War.

Liddell Hart stressed movement, flexibility, and surprise. He saw that in most military campaigns dislocation of the enemy’s psychological and physical balance is prelude to victory. This dislocation results from a strategic indirect approach. Reflect for a moment on the results of direct confrontation (trench war in WW I) versus indirect dislocation (Blitzkreig in WW II). Liddell Hart is also tonic for business and political planning: just change the vocabulary and his concepts fit.

Liddell Hart would illustrate the notion with historical examples. For example, Liddell Hart considered the Battle of Leuctra, won by Epaminondas, an example of an indirect approach. Rather than weighting his army on the right wing, as was standard at the time, Epaminondas weighted his left wing, held back his right wing and routed the Spartan army. A more modern example would be the landings of the Allies at Normandy on 6 June 1944, as the Germans were expecting a landing in the vicinity of Pas-de-Calais. By contrast, an example of a direct attack, in Liddell Hart’s eyes, was the attack by Union forces at the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862.

“The book in one sentence: no one wins through a direct approach. In the course of history, the most significant battles are the ones that was won using the theory of indirect approach. The aspects discussed there are very much applicable in our daily lives and relevant. The indirect approach can be applied in businesses, in our work place, in our relationships, in selling our ideas, and more. I highly suggest that you should read this book along with “The Prince” by Machiavelli.”