War

A battle during the American Civil War. The American flag can be seen tattered in the background

War is a state of violent conflict which exists between two or more independent groups, each seeking to impose its will on the other. This is facilitated by the use of military force, or the organized application of violence toward the destruction of the enemy's manpower and materiel, so as to disrupt their means of fighting and ultimately break their will to fight, thus leading to the cessation of hostilities. These conditions are generally defined as victory.

Some suggested sources

• Clausewitz, Carl Von, edited and translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret. On War, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1976 (rev.1984). ISBN 0691056579.
• Freedman, Lawrence (ed.), War, London:Oxford University Press, 1994. ISBN 0192892541.
• Holsti, Kalevi, War, the State, and the State of War, Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 1996. ISBN 052157790X.
• Keegan, John, A History of Warfare, New York:Vintage, 1994. ISBN 0679730826.
• U.S. Marine Corps Staff, Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1: Warfighting, United States Department of Defense, 1989. ISBN 1557423091.
• Van Creveld, Martin, The Transformation of War, New York:The Free Press, 1991. ISBN 0029331552.
• Waltz, Kenneth, Man, The State, and War. A Theoretical Analysis, New York:Columbia University Press, 1959. ISBN 0231085648.
• Wright, Quincy A Study of War(abridged ed.), Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983. ISBN 0226910016.