Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

The purpose of this article is to discuss the relationship between military history and military theory through a chronological analysis. Military history in some form has always been used to formulate military theory i.e. generalizations of historical experience to guide action in the present and in the future. History is however hard to interpret, and has served different purposes over time. In the ancient world history linked to morality, and historiography contained practicle advice for generals. The scientfic revolution saw the birth of scientific laws for warfare, inspired by natural sciences i.e. codifying historical experience. The Napoleonic era saw the birth of modern warfare and the development of modern military theory. Jomini synthezised the Enlightenment with experiences of the Napoleonic wars into scientific principles of war. From a Romantic historical tradition came Clausewitz, a historicist general focused on understanding the nature of war. For Clausewitz history was about understanding, and could not be used for scientific principles. In the same era came Marxism – a materialist, deterministic theory of history, influencing for example Russian and Chinese military thinking as well as theories of guerilla war. Using military history to create military theory still revolves around the dialectic, will history repeat itself or not? If it does, then it can be used for formulating theory. If it doesn´t, history can be used for understanding the past and as a guide. Every new generation of the military have reinvented and reinterpreted history. Most of the doctrines and theories of warfare today rests on a mixture of concepts from both Clausewitz and from Jomini – and in every case military history is the very foundation of both. The dialectic relationship between military history and military theory seems to be as old as the phenonema of war itself.

Få militära verksamheter omges av en så tät mytbildning som specialförbanden. I den här boken får vi dock en grundlig inblick i verklighetens svenska specialoperationer och specialförbandens aktiviteter alltifrån medeltiden till 1990-talet. Boken är den första historiska analysen av fenomenet specialoperationer och okonventionella militära aktiviteter i Sverige.

Bland föregångarna till dagens specialförband hittar vi bland annat 1700-talets jägare, svenska kosacker, underrättelseagenter och kalla krigets olika jägarförband. Historien om dessa kan göras lång, men tyngdpunkten i denna volym ligger på tiden för det andra världskriget och kalla kriget.

Författarna berättar om kända och okända aktörer som finska officerare i den gemensamma krigsmakten före 1809, eller militärreformatorn Hugo Raab och andra frivilliga i Danmark 1864. Viktiga roller hade även de anonyma underrättelseoperatörerna under första världskriget och kalla kriget, men även i vidare kretsar välkända personer som språkvetaren Gunnar Jarring samt överbefälhavare som Helge Jung och Bengt Gustafsson.