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→What happened to battles?
Lynn (1997) argues academic military history faces an increasingly hostile environment because of the current fashions in the study of history. Theoretical complexity, novelty, and even the trivial are now exalted over the traditional forms of historical studies that are at the heart of military history. The "holy trinity plus one" - race, class, and gender in the workplace and popular culture - are the preferred fields of study. Many of the faculty members on the "cutting edge" have no tolerance for interests and approaches that run counter to current trends, leading to an imbalance in hiring that restricts history departments to a narrow focus. There is hope, however, that military history can survive in the hostile academic environment, but to do so it must explore subject matter and methodologies that fit well with contemporary trends. Both gender history and the "new cultural history," for example, hold promise for military historians, even in the study of combat, the essence of military history
Lynn (1997) argues academic military history faces an increasingly hostile environment because of the current fashions in the study of history. Theoretical complexity, novelty, and even the trivial are now exalted over the traditional forms of historical studies that are at the heart of military history. The "holy trinity plus one" - race, class, and gender in the workplace and popular culture - are the preferred fields of study. Many of the faculty members on the "cutting edge" have no tolerance for interests and approaches that run counter to current trends, leading to an imbalance in hiring that restricts history departments to a narrow focus. There is hope, however, that military history can survive in the hostile academic environment, but to do so it must explore subject matter and methodologies that fit well with contemporary trends. Both gender history and the "new cultural history," for example, hold promise for military historians, even in the study of combat, the essence of military history
===What happened to battles?===
===What happened to battles?===
[[Image:Wwmapbuldge.jpg|right|300px|thumb|[[Battle of the Bulge]]: The "bulge" in the front lines created by the German offensive, from which the battle took its name.]]
The biggest impact came in the shift away from the study of battles. At one time battles were emphasized because of the supposed universal patterns could be gleaned by studying old battles that would be applicable to future actions. This style especially characterized military academies. Secondly battles were studied because of their current political implications for national pride. Thirdly, they made great stories of courage, excitement, blunders and bloodshed.
The biggest impact came in the shift away from the study of battles. At one time battles were emphasized because of the supposed universal patterns could be gleaned by studying old battles that would be applicable to future actions. This style especially characterized military academies. Secondly battles were studied because of their current political implications for national pride. Thirdly, they made great stories of courage, excitement, blunders and bloodshed.