**Strategy in the American Civil War - الإستراتيجية في الحرب الأهلية الأمريكية**

written by **Captain** **Kamal El-Din El-Hennawy** **يوزباشي/نقيب كمال الدين الحناوي**  is a rare Arabic book that focuses on the military and strategic dimensions of the conflict rather than just its political narrative. The book analyzes leadership, battlefield decisions, and the evolution of warfare during the war that reshaped the United States, offering a non-Western perspective on a pivotal moment in modern history.

**Number of pages: 205 pages**

**First edition: 1950**

**Publisher: The Egyptian Renaissance Library (Maktabat Al-Nahda Al-Misriyah مكتبة النهضة المصرية)**

**Book Link in the comments section..**

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**About the author:**

**Captian Kamal El-din Mohamed El-Hennawy (1920-2007) يوزباشي/نقيب كمال الدين محمد الحناوي** was an Egyptian army officer (In Infantry Corps) and military writer with a strong interest in strategic and historical studies of warfare. He was a member of the **Free Officers Movement حركة الضباط الأحرار**, the group of army officers led by **Gamal Abdel Nasser جمال عبد الناصر** that overthrew **King Farouk I of Egypt ملك مصر فاروق الأول** in the **July 23 Revolution of 1952 ثورة يوليو**.

He is known for his analytical approach to military conflicts, focusing on strategy, command decisions, and operational lessons, as reflected in his work on the American Civil War and other works.

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**Preface and Index of the book**

**Preface of the book :**

The American Civil War provides an excellent opportunity for the study of fundamental strategic principles. It was the first total war in history. Initially, it bore the character of a localized civil conflict, but it soon developed and expanded until it encompassed all the resources of the United States, both North and South alike. Hundreds of thousands of hardened combatants participated in this comprehensive war.

The American Civil War is replete with lessons. The principles of war were applied in certain battles with remarkable brilliance, while in others they were neglected in a manner that invites grave concern. In many engagements, the vital importance of administrative affairs becomes evident; these constitute fundamental factors leading either to success in battle or to failure.

During this devastating conflict, the importance of cooperation between naval and land forces became manifest—during the blockade imposed by the Northern forces upon the Southern coasts, and in engagements in which the navy participated in the bombardment of forts and strongholds, as well as in the transportation of troops to the theater of operations.

The Civil War also served as a field of experimentation for men of war, for it began with the simplest weapon employed in warfare—**the rifle**. The use of its projectile marked the dawn of a new tactical era. The weapons employed underwent extensive development, transforming that heavy rifle projectile into a towering tree of varied fruits—yet fruits that bore death and destruction.

The rifle was effectively employed in the defense, lending warfare some of its most formidable characteristics. However, the fundamental change that also occurred was the disappearance of **the** **bayonet**, whose employment in the assault had been a successful operation prior to the widespread use of rifle fire. Neglect in the employment of the bayonet resulted in the failure of 80 percent of the thousands of assaults that took place during the American Civil War between the years **1861** and **1865**.

In this extraordinary war, a wide variety of weapons were employed: mortars, hand grenades, winged bombs and rockets, deceptive devices and booby traps; the machine gun (**Billinghurst Requa Battery**) and the breech-loading rifle were invented; **balloons** and **aerostats** were used for reconnaissance by both sides; high-explosive ammunition was utilized; indeed, one commander even requested from the Ordnance Department bombs capable of producing gases with a suffocating effect.

In this war, the world witnessed ironclad ships, armored trains, land mines and torpedoes, signaling by flags and lamps, and the field telegraph. The first submarine was constructed in **1864**; it sank the **USS Housatonic** off the harbor of Charleston on the first of February of that year, but it sank with her. Flamethrowers were also invented in **November 1864**.

More than three thousand studies have been written on the American Civil War, ranging from multi-volume works to shorter studies and articles addressing the war and the political and social consequences that transformed the face of life in the United States of America. What concerns us in its study, however, is the strategic dimension.

In reality, those who have addressed the Civil War fall into two camps: one biased toward the North, its leaders, and its cause; and another biased toward the South, its ancient heritage, and its brilliant commanders. Both camps are biased in their writings, neither impartial in their criticism. This partisanship persists even in the works of modern Southern writers, such as **Barron Deaderick** in his recent book **Strategy in the Civil War**. As for Henderson’s **Stonewall Jackson**, the distinguished and impartial critic, **General Fuller**, states that historical research has led him to conclude that the book is largely imaginative. It is indeed entertaining and indeed instructive, but it cannot be relied upon as a historical source.

I have relied upon the writings of **General Fuller** as the foundational basis for the material of this book, and have not resorted to other references except to obtain certain undisputed and verified facts. **I have taken care to place a line beneath the name of each Southern commander, in order to distinguish them from Northern commanders**, so that the reader may more easily follow the course of the battles and the accompanying commentary.

It is my hope that this book will achieve its intended benefit, and that in so doing I shall have fulfilled a sacred duty toward eternal Egypt and her rising army, under its Supreme Commander, His Majesty **King Farouk I** —may Allah preserve him—as a reserve for the Valley of the Nile and a shield for an army under his patronage, until it attains its rightful place among the armies of the world.

**- Kamal El-Din El-Hennawy كمال الدين الحناوي**

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**Index of the book :**



**Part One: Introduction**

Chapter One: Causes of the War

Chapter Two: The Theater of Operations

Chapter Three: The Warring Sides



**Part Two: The Battles of 1861–1862**

Chapter One: The First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run)

Chapter Two: Paducah, Donelson, and Shiloh

Chapter Three: The Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days Battles

Chapter Four: The Second Battle of Manassas, Antietam, and Fredericksburg



**Part Three: The Battles of 1863**

Chapter One: Bragg and Grant in the West

Chapter Two: The Battle of Vicksburg

Chapter Three: The Battle of Chancellorsville

Chapter Four: The Battle of Gettysburg

Chapter Five: Chickamauga and Chattanooga



**Part Four: The Battles of 1864–1865**

Chapter One: Planning the Campaigns of 1864

Chapter Two: From the Wilderness to Cold Harbor

Chapter Three: The Battle of Petersburg

Chapter Four: Sheridan’s and Sherman’s Campaigns

Chapter Five: Five Forks and Appomattox Court House



**Part Five: Commanders of the War**

Chapter One: Ulysses S. Grant

Chapter Two: Robert E. Lee



**Appendix: Strategic maps of the South, East and West (Theatre of Operations)**

A rare Egyptian book about The American Civil War