About this book:

*Logistics Wins Wars* provides a comprehensive historical and practical analysis of how supply chains, transportation, and sustainment determine the outcome of military conflicts. The book argues that while strategy and tactics provide the design for battle, logistics dictates the limits of the possible. By examining the "mathematics of movement"—the relentless arithmetic of distance, consumption, and lift capacity—the author demonstrates that even the most brilliant maneuvers inevitably fail if the "engine" of the army lacks fuel, food, ammunition, and maintenance.

Through a series of detailed case studies ranging from the Roman Empire to the Yom Kippur War, the text illustrates recurring patterns of logistical success and failure. Highlights include Napoleon’s disastrous Russian campaign, where ambition outran supply; the American Civil War’s revolutionary use of rail and river networks; and the industrial-scale attrition of World War I. The book also explores specialized domains such as strategic sealift in the Pacific, the innovative "air bridge" of the Berlin Airlift, and the high-stakes mobilization of national industry during total war.

The latter portion of the book addresses the complexities of modern "joint logistics" in a contested world. It examines the shift from the relatively permissive environments of the Gulf War to the extreme challenges of the post-9/11 era, where asymmetric threats like IEDs and sophisticated anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategies target the supply chain directly. The author emphasizes that modern resilience depends on information advantage, "total asset visibility," and the integration of civilian contractors and commercial capacity into military operations.

Ultimately, the book serves as a practitioner's guide to preserving combat power. It concludes that the most successful commanders are those who treat logistics not as a secondary concern, but as a primary strategic lever. In an era of cyber threats, precision-guided munitions, and global reach, the ability to protect and adapt the supply chain remains the decisive factor in converting national resource potential into persistent, winning force on the battlefield.

What You'll Find Inside:

• How logistics determines war outcomes more than battlefield brilliance - proven through historical case studies from ancient Rome to modern conflicts
• The mathematical foundations of military movement: distance, capacity, time consumption, and the compounding effects that break overextended forces
• Practical frameworks for estimating supply needs, designing resilient supply chains, and balancing speed with sustainability in operations
• Evolution of military logistics across energy transitions (forage to JP-8), ammunition systems, and technological innovations like aerial resupply and digital tracking
• Modern challenges of contested logistics including cyber threats, A2/AD strategies, and the need for dispersed, resilient supply networks

Who's It For:

This book is essential for military planners, logisticians, and defense professionals who need to understand how supply chains shape operational success. It also serves historians and students of military science seeking to analyze campaigns through a logistics lens, as well as industry partners involved in defense contracting who must align their offerings with real-world sustainment requirements. Staff officers will find practical tools for stress testing campaign plans, while strategists will gain insight into how logistical constraints shape the art of the possible in modern warfare.