B. H. Liddell Hart facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sir Basil Liddell Hart
Born	(1895-10-31)31 October 1895 Paris, France
Died	29 January 1970(1970-01-29) (aged 74) Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England
Resting place	St Peter and St Paul Churchyard, Medmenham, Buckinghamshire, England
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Occupation	Soldier, military historian
Spouse(s)	Jessie Stone ​ (m. 1918)​
Children	Adrian Liddell Hart
Military career
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1914 – 1927
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	World War I Battle of the Somme

Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart (born October 31, 1895 – died January 29, 1970) was a British soldier and a very important writer about military history and strategy. Many people knew him as Captain B. H. Liddell Hart.

He wrote many books about how wars are fought. He believed that direct attacks, like those in World War I, caused too many deaths and often failed. Instead, he suggested using an "indirect approach". This meant surprising the enemy or attacking where they least expected it. He also thought fast-moving armored vehicles, like tanks, were key to modern warfare.

His ideas before World War II influenced German military leaders. Some even said he helped shape their "blitzkrieg" tactics. After the war, he also helped explain the stories of German generals.

Life Story

Basil Liddell Hart was born in Paris, France. His father was a minister. Basil later added "Liddell" to his name in 1921. His family came from different parts of England and Scotland. As a child, he loved airplanes. He went to schools in London and then to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University.

World War I Experience

When World War I started in August 1914, Liddell Hart joined the British Army. He became an officer in the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry. He fought on the Western Front.

His time fighting on the front lines was short. He was injured by a shell in 1915 and later badly gassed in 1916. He was promoted to Captain. His experiences in the war, especially the huge losses at the Battle of the Somme, deeply affected him.

After his injuries, he helped train new soldiers. He wrote guides on how infantry (foot soldiers) should train and fight. These writings caught the attention of senior generals. After the war, he helped write a new training manual for the army.

In April 1918, Liddell Hart married Jessie Stone. Their son, Adrian Liddell Hart, was born in 1922.

Becoming a Writer and Historian

Liddell Hart left the army in 1927 because of health issues from his gassing. He then became a full-time writer and military thinker.

He started as a tennis writer for The Morning Post newspaper. Then, he became a military expert for The Daily Telegraph and The Times.

In the 1920s, he wrote books about famous military leaders. He used these stories to show his idea that direct attacks led to huge losses. He believed Britain's decision to send a large army to Europe in 1914 was a mistake. He thought Britain should rely more on its navy and air force.

Liddell Hart also wrote about "mechanised warfare" (using machines like tanks). He thought infantry should move with tanks in special vehicles. He called them "tank marines." This idea was similar to how panzer divisions (tank divisions) were later developed in Germany.

His ideas influenced British leaders before World War II. He suggested that Britain's main role in a future war should be with its air force. This idea was supported by Neville Chamberlain, who later became Prime Minister. Liddell Hart worked closely with the War Secretary, Leslie Hore-Belisha, giving him advice.

However, when Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Britain decided to send a large army to Europe after all.

After World War II

After World War II, Liddell Hart interviewed many high-ranking German generals who were prisoners. He wrote about their experiences in a book called The Other Side of the Hill (1948).

He also helped edit the war notes of German General Erwin Rommel. These notes were published as The Rommel Papers in 1953.

In 1954, Liddell Hart published his most famous book, Strategy. It was updated in 1967. This book focused on his idea of the "indirect approach" in war. It is still important for military thinking today.

In 1966, Queen Elizabeth II made him a Knight Bachelor, so he became "Sir Basil Liddell Hart." His writings and papers are now kept at the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives in London.

Sir Basil Liddell Hart passed away on January 29, 1970, at his home in England.

Key Ideas About War

Liddell Hart strongly believed that winning wars is easier with an "indirect approach." He explained that if you attack exactly where your enemy expects, they are ready and stronger. He said, "The indirectness is usually physical and always psychological." This means surprising the enemy's body or mind.

He used many historical examples to show this idea:

• The Battle of Leuctra: The Greek general Epaminondas won by attacking the Spartans on their strong side, where they didn't expect it.
• The Normandy landings in 1944: The Allies landed in Normandy, but the Germans expected them to land somewhere else. This surprise helped the Allies succeed.
• In contrast, the Battle of Fredericksburg in 1862 was a direct attack that failed badly.

Liddell Hart also admired how Epaminondas broke the Spartan economy without fighting a big battle. He believed that winning a campaign without fighting was the best way.

He also noticed that when Napoleon's armies grew bigger, Napoleon used more direct, brute-force attacks. When his armies were smaller, Napoleon was more creative and indirect. Liddell Hart thought constant victories made Napoleon less skilled.

According to a historian named Reid, Liddell Hart's indirect approach has several main points:

• You should try to upset the enemy's balance, not just destroy them completely.
• It's smart to end wars that are not helping you.
• The indirect approach works well for democracies.
• A country's military strength depends on its economy.
• Winning often happens when the enemy makes mistakes and defeats themselves.

His Influence

Liddell Hart's ideas were very important. John F. Kennedy, a US President, called him "the Captain who teaches Generals." Kennedy used Liddell Hart's ideas to criticize military plans of his time.

His influence spread beyond Britain and the US. The Australian Army used his ideas for their "manoeuvre theory" in the 1990s. A Pakistani General called his book Strategy: the Indirect Approach a "seminal work" (a very important and original book).

Historians like Colin Gray ranked Liddell Hart as one of the most important military thinkers of the 20th century. His biographer, Alex Danchev, noted that Liddell Hart's books are still translated and read worldwide, even 70 years after he wrote them.

Books About Him

• Alex Danchev wrote Alchemist of War: The Life of Basil Liddell Hart, with help from Liddell Hart's wife.
• Brian Bond wrote Liddell Hart: a study of his military thought.
• John J. Mearsheimer's book Liddell Hart and the Weight of History looked closely at Liddell Hart's claims. It questioned if he really predicted the "Blitzkrieg" or influenced German generals as much as he said.

His Main Books

• Scipio Africanus: Greater Than Napoleon (1926)
• Lawn Tennis Masters Unveiled (1926)
• Great Captains Unveiled (1927)
• Reputations 10 Years After (1928)
• Sherman: Soldier, Realist, American (1929)
• The decisive wars of history (1929)
• The Real War (1914–1918) (1930)
• Foch, the man of Orleans (1931)
• The Ghost of Napoleon (1934)
• T.E. Lawrence in Arabia and After (1934 – online)
• World War I in Outline (1936)
• The Defence of Britain (1939)
• The Current of War (1941)
• The strategy of indirect approach (1941)
• The way to win wars (1942)
• Why Don't We Learn From History? (1944)
• The Revolution in Warfare (1946)
• The Other Side of the Hill. Germany's Generals. Their Rise and Fall, with their own Account of Military Events 1939–1945 (1948)
• "Foreword" to Heinz Guderian's Panzer Leader (1952)
• Strategy (1954, 1967)
• The Rommel Papers (editor) (1953)
• The Tanks – A History of the Royal Tank Regiment and its Predecessors: Volumes I and II (1959)
• "Foreword" to Samuel B. Griffith's Sun Tzu: the Art of War (1963)
• The Memoirs of Captain Liddell Hart: Volumes I and II (1965)
• History of the Second World War (1970)
• The German Generals Talk: Startling Revelations from Hitler's High Command (1948, 1971)

See also

In Spanish: Basil Liddell Hart para niños