Modern warfare: no foresight without foreboding

Military planning has various authors. The kings and emperors of old decided on whom to make war, where and when, with what, and for how long. The British Empire was built on economic push and domination abroad via a strong fleet. When Prussia united Germany in the nineteenth century, the planning task became that of the army's general staff. After Marxism‐Leninism gripped Russia in the twentieth century, plans and strategy emerged from the fountain‐head of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, but were entrusted to the generals for execution. In twenty‐first century USA there is a formalized structure for defence projection, yet parties outside the government may have an unusual voice in military planning.