John Keegan
John Desmond Patrick Keegan was born in Clapham, London on the 15th of May 1934. His father served as an Irish First World War veteran before the boy grew up. The Second World War broke out while John was still a child. He moved to Somerset during the evacuation that followed. At age 13 he contracted orthopaedic tuberculosis. This illness affected his gait and left him with long-term physical effects. The condition rendered him unfit for military service later in life. The timing of his birth made him too young for war service anyway. These facts became an ironic observation he mentioned in many works about his profession. The illness also interrupted his education during his teenage years.
Keegan studied at King's College Taunton and then spent two years at Wimbledon College. Entry to Balliol College Oxford came in 1953 where he read history with emphasis on war theory. After graduation he worked at the American Embassy in London for three years. In 1960 Keegan took up a lectureship in military history at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He remained there for 26 years becoming a senior lecturer in military history. During this tenure he held a visiting professorship at Princeton University. He also served as Delmas Distinguished Professor of History at Vassar College in the United States. Leaving the academy in 1986 Keegan joined The Daily Telegraph as defence correspondent. He stayed with the paper as defence editor until his death. He wrote for the American conservative publication National Review Online. In 1998 he presented the BBC Reith Lectures entitling them War in Our World.
In A History of Warfare Keegan outlined development and limitations of warfare from prehistory to modern era. It looked at various topics including use of horses logistics and fire. A key concept put forward was that war is inherently cultural. In the introduction he vigorously denounced notion that war is reasonable tool of statecraft. He rejected Clausewitzian ideas calling them simply continuation of interstate politics by other means. Other books written by Keegan include The Face of Battle and The Mask of Command. He contributed to work on historiography in modern conflict with Richard Holmes. They wrote the BBC documentary Soldiers: A History of Men in Battle together. Frank C. Mahncke noted Keegan is seen among most prominent and widely read military historians of late twentieth century. Sir Michael Howard called him at once most readable and most original of living historians.
Keegan stated I will never oppose the Vietnam War. Americans were right to do it. He thought they fought it in wrong way but still a correct war. He believed NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 showed air power alone could win wars. An article in The Christian Science Monitor called Keegan staunch supporter of Iraq War. He concluded Iraq war represents better guide to what needs done to secure safety of world than any amount law-making or treaty-writing can offer. Uncomfortable as spectacle of raw military force is he argued for its necessity. These views placed him firmly within debates about contemporary conflicts throughout his career.
Keegan was criticised by peers including Sir Michael Howard and Christopher Bassford for critical position on Carl von Clausewitz. Describing Keegan as profoundly mistaken Bassford stated nothing anywhere in work reflects reading whatsoever of Clausewitz own writings. Political scientist Richard Betts criticised understanding of political dimensions calling Keegan naïf about politics. In 1997 book Revolutionary Armies in Modern Era historian Simon MacKenzie reported Keegan saying best panzer units of Schutzstaffel altered course of war. They were faithful unto death and fiercer in combat than soldiers who fought them on western battlefields. Detlef Siebert disagreed with view that deliberate targeting civilian populations descended to enemy level though he did call it moral blemish.
On the 29th of June 1991 Keegan appointed Officer of Order British Empire OBE in recognition service within operations Gulf. He served as war correspondent for The Daily Telegraph at time. In 2000 New Year Honours he knighted for services to Military History. He elected Fellow Royal Society Literature FRSL in 1986. In 1993 he won Duff Cooper Prize. In 1996 awarded Samuel Eliot Morison Prize lifetime achievement by Society Military History. University Bath awarded him Honorary Doctor Letters DLitt in 2002. Keegan died on the 2nd of August 2012 of natural causes at home Kilmington Wiltshire. He survived by wife two daughters and two sons.
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Common questions
When was John Keegan born and where did he grow up?
John Desmond Patrick Keegan was born in Clapham, London on the 15th of May 1934. He moved to Somerset during the evacuation that followed the outbreak of the Second World War while he was still a child.
What military history positions did John Keegan hold at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst?
John Keegan took up a lectureship in military history at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1960 and remained there for 26 years becoming a senior lecturer in military history. During this tenure he held a visiting professorship at Princeton University and served as Delmas Distinguished Professor of History at Vassar College in the United States.
Why did John Keegan never serve in the military despite his career focus?
The condition rendered him unfit for military service later in life after he contracted orthopaedic tuberculosis at age 13 which affected his gait and left him with long-term physical effects. The timing of his birth made him too young for war service anyway when the Second World War broke out.
How did John Keegan view the Vietnam War and Iraq War differently from other historians?
John Keegan stated I will never oppose the Vietnam War because Americans were right to do it even though they fought it in wrong way but still a correct war. An article in The Christian Science Monitor called Keegan staunch supporter of Iraq War where he concluded Iraq war represents better guide to what needs done to secure safety of world than any amount law-making or treaty-writing can offer.
What honors and awards did John Keegan receive during his lifetime?
On the 29th of June 1991 Keegan appointed Officer of Order British Empire OBE in recognition service within operations Gulf. In 2000 New Year Honours he knighted for services to Military History and was elected Fellow Royal Society Literature FRSL in 1986 before winning Duff Cooper Prize in 1993.