Waging War in Eurasia

(8 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This tutorial examines the (dis)continuities of Eurasian warfare from Ghenghis Khan to Operation Barbarossa. Each week, our tutor assigns a reading list of circa 20 books and/or articles and two essay questions to consider. We answer one of the two questions through a 3000-word essay using the bibliography provided. The syllabus lays out each week the bibliography for the theme under examination and the questions that accompany it. Following the essay submission, I and two other students have a 1.5-hour discussion about the subject with our tutor. There are also weekly lectures that cover the material. By the end of the 8-week term, we will have roughly 80 pages worth of material with detailed feedback from our tutor. The subjects covered thus far are as follows: Ghenghis Khan and Mongol warfare, Ottoman warfare and the military revolution, Napoleon and the 1812 invasion of Russia, Afghanistan from the First Anglo-Afghan War to circa WWII, and Operation Barbarossa and the Soviet-Nazi conflict. The final 3 weeks cover themes throughout the aforementioned subject areas. Last week was logistics, mobility, and supply, this week is partisans, guerrillas & irregular warfare, and next week is to be decided.