Sherman: Soldier, Realist, American

William Tecumseh Sherman is sometimes regarded as ‘the quintessential American soldier’. Liddell Hart was drawn by the parallels in trench warfare between Virginia 1864–65 and his own experiences on the Western Front. In this study Sherman becomes a vehicle for the development of Liddell Hart’s ideas about the strategy of the indirect approach and the revival of mobility in warfare that was a significant strand in Liddell Hart’s thinking and advocacy between the two World Wars. The treatment of Grant is overly critical and Liddell Hart perhaps misses the fact that Grant and Sherman were engaged in pursuing complementary and not rival strategies, but the book remains an important example of the maturing of Liddell Hart’s strategic thinking. Sherman should perhaps be read alongside Brian Bond, Liddell Hart: A Study of his Military Thought.