Forging Tomorrow’s Military
How Battlefield Insights Influenced US Military Innovation, 1941–1960
By (author) Alexander Salt
Hardback (Forthcoming)
(October 2026)
ISBN: 9781804132968
6.14 x 9.21 inches
Price: $125.00
On back order
Forging Tomorrow’s Military explores how the Second World War changed the U.S. military. It shows how frontline officers innovated and how those lessons were retained or forgotten during the Cold War. Ultimately, the book offers timely insight into military learning for future conflicts.
This book explores how the Second World War changed the U.S. military. It shows how frontline officers innovated and the ways in which those lessons were retained or forgotten during the Cold War. Failing to understand the lessons of war may cause militaries to repeat past failures, leading to increased costs in terms of resources and causalities. Western militaries have faced a range of difficulties on recent battlefields that they struggled to address, and they need to learn and retain the lessons of their experiences if they are to succeed in future conflicts. The current war between Russia and Ukraine has underscored the critical need for battlefield adaptation and highlighted the enduring value of preserving these crucial changes.
Forging Tomorrow’s Military addresses this by examining whether Second World War battlefield experiences influenced postwar innovation in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. Blending theory and original archival research, the volume demonstrates how the U.S. military earned hard-fought lessons and then navigated the complexities of the early Cold War. The analysis reveals that these transformations were often driven by junior and midlevel officers, who, being closest to the frontlines, identified critical gaps and advocated for new ways to fight and win.
Valued reading for scholars, military professionals, and anyone interested in how armed forces prepare for future wars, this book offers urgent insights into the past struggles and future prospects of military learning in the aftermath of conflict.
Alexander Salt is a postdoctoral researcher with the Triple Helix research network at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. He holds a PhD in Military and Strategic Studies from the University of Calgary, and has previously worked with Global Affairs Canada and the Centre for Defence and Security Studies.
- By (author) Alexander Salt
Other Titles in this Series
Defence Diplomacy and Security Cooperation in Southeast Asia
Managing Smaller Powers’ Strategic Space
Tactical and Strategic Insights from the Russo-Ukrainian War
Western Security and Defence in the 21st Century
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