Feeding Mars

the long version

The essays in this book are a contribution to the study of the logistics of warfare as practiced by Western powers from medieval times to the Vietnam War. The tools of war demand huge quantities of fodder, fuel, ammunition and food -- 'feeding Mars' -- all of which must be produced, transported, and distributed to contending forces in the field. This book deals with the unglamorous and often-neglected topic of logistics, emphasizing the ways in which the essential materials of war have been produced, acquired, and distributed across a wide range of battlefields.