This collection features narrated versions of selected articles published on The Forge. Each recording provides an accessible audio format for engaging with the ideas and research contributed by Defence authors and subject-matter experts. The aim is to make Forge content easier to access while maintaining the clarity and intent of the original work.
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Clausewitz & Centres of Gravity Open to Interpretation
Trying to understand the abstruse messages of Carl von Clausewitz’s On War can be both mind-numbing and mind-blowing. However, interpretation is the key to unpacking his obsession with the ‘centre of gravity’ as being critical to how forces generate strength.
Read> 30 min11/08/2021 -
Opposing Inherent Immorality in Autonomous Weapons Systems
Every major power is investing in the development of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems. Now, before they are ready for deployment, is the time to form an ethical understanding that can guide the creation of laws to fairly and humanely regulate their use.
Read<15 min06/04/2021 -
Lead SelfClash of Cultures: The Digger Legend of the First Australian Imperial ForceWere the values that came to embody the digger legend of the 1st AIF incompatible with the expectations of British command? Did the traits required to command a less-than-conventional military force during the First World War require a less-than-conventional style of military leadership? This article explores the questions that arise regarding the leadership of the 1st AIF during the Great War - particularly that of General William Birdwood. Was his command effective given the unique circumstances, and were his opponents right to express criticism?
Read<15 min24/04/2020 -
Basic Military SkillsChanges in warfare in the 16th and 17th centuries - a ‘military revolution’?The 16th and 17th century was a period of significant change in the character of war. The drivers accounting for these changes were not all based in military reforms, despite Western Europe being engaged almost continuously in war. While tactical applications is interesting, it was the beginnings of some profound changes in the development of warfare; the professional military, the standing army, scale of warfare and subsequent emergence of the state (Crown) owning the monopoly on violence and the arrival of proper naval forces.
Read<15 min22/07/2019