A growing number of us, meaning us humans, will be pretty much stuck in their homes for a while. When I posted this, confirmed cases of the rather contagious and virulent Covid-19 respiratory disease has surpassed 188.000, its deaths 7.400. Policymakers and medical experts are trying hard to manage and fix this crisis. I admit…
A French Drummer at Valmy
With an image of a French drummer I sought to capture a description of the Battle of Valmy (1792) by historian David Bell, whose The First Total War is one of my favourite books. Although a military affair in practice, the engagement mostly had symbolic value and therefore political significance: “…what Brunswick [commanding the Prussians]…
Conflict is Buffering…
Coincidentally, I happened to be in Belgium visiting the old citadels of Namur and Liège when someone posed these questions to me: “What is the use of a buffer zone? And why do they still make sense given the existence of weapon systems with a long range, like ballistic missiles and jets?” Although now long…
Fighting Chaos
A friend of mine saw a couple of battle scenes from The Patriot (2000) and Barry Lyndon (1975). For the modern viewer these might indeed look somewhat absurd. He asked me: “why did those armies of the eighteenth century march on each other so slowly? And why did they stay together in tight lines?” It seemed…
Taal/Language
