"Military strategy plays a vital role in every conflict. Inspired by the great military theoreticians Sun Tzu, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Carl von Clausewitz, Military Strategy: A Very Short Introduction highlights the dynamic relationship among the principal components of strategy: purpose, method, and means. It draws on examples such as Hannibal's war against Rome, Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz, the Allies' campaign to overwhelm Hitler's Fortress Europe, and the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, to illustrate the factors contributing to the success or failure of military strategy. The major types of military strategy and their advantages and disadvantages are described: annihilation and dislocation, attrition and exhaustion, deterrence and coercion, terror and terrorism, targeted killing, and cyber power." -- Provided by publisher.