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Military History

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Military History

Data is displayed for the academic year: 2025./2026.

Lecturers

izv. prof. dr. sc.
Ivan Matijević

Lectures

Ivan Burazin

Exercises

dr. sc.
Zvonimir Forker

Course Description

Overview of major military history phenomenon form Antiquity to the 21st century. The acquisition of knowledge that can be used to solve tactical, operational and strategic problems based on successful and unsuccessful examples from military history.

Study Programmes

integrated undergraduate and graduate
Marine Engineering - module
(3. semester)
Nautical Science - module
(3. semester)

Learning Outcomes

  1. Identify key events, people and processes in military history
  2. Establish a timeline, space and features of wars
  3. Consider leading reasons and multiple consequences of wars
  4. Analyze individual battles and military operations in different wars
  5. Compare the different wars and their characteristics
  6. Discuss military figures and their military actions
  7. Explain military achievements and constraints in history
  8. Expose the development of weapons and war equipment
  9. Discover ways of expanding war doctrine
  10. Judge the different theories that have preoccupied theorists of war

Forms of Teaching

Lectures

Seminars and workshops

Week by Week Schedule

  1. Lectures: Introduction. How do we research history and why is military history separate branch of historical science. Exercises: Intorduction. Conversation
  2. Lectures: Definition of war, character and nature of war. Throughout history, the basic nature of war remains the same, but the character of war is constantly changing as societies are changing politically, economically, socially and culturally Exercises: Analysis of assigned readings
  3. Lectures: Western and non-western warfare. Roman Army. Reasons for western supremacy on the military field since Antiquity until 20th century. Exercises: Movie. Analysis of assigned readings
  4. Lectures: War and Warfare from Antiquity until late Middle Ages. Development of state as monopolist in warfare. Exercises: Analysis of assigned readings
  5. Lectures: Development of warfare in early modern times (15-18th century). Seven Years' War, national states, building of permanent military organizations, development of war technology and military science. Exercises: Analysis of assigned readings
  6. Lectures: Development of warfare in 19th century. From Napoleonic wars to World Wars. Economical Changes. Total War. Exercises: Analysis of assigned readings
  7. Lectures: American Civil War 1861-1964; industrial revolution and impact of new technologies. Changes of warfare. Russian and Japanese war 1904. Exercises: Analysis of assigned readings
  8. Lectures: The First World War Exercises: Analysis of assigned readings
  9. Lectures: Interwar period. Nazi and Soviet military. Exercises: Analysis of assigned readings
  10. Lectures: The Second World War. Exercises: Film. Analysis of assigned readings
  11. Lectures: Analysis of World Wars on three levels: the level of new military technologies (airplanes, armored vehicles, submarines, air-plain carriers), strategic and operational level (total war, industrial mobilization, coalition warfare). Exercises: Analysis of assigned readings
  12. Lectures: Cold War. Local wars during the Cold War: Korean, Vietnam war, wars in Africa. Exercises: Movie. Analysis of assigned readings
  13. Lectures: Nuclear weapons, development of nuclear strategies. Role of nuclear weapons today. Exercises: Visit to Rudjer Boskovic Institue.
  14. Lectures: The break up of the Socialist World, the end of the Cold War; Homeland war in Croatia. Wars of Yugoslav Succession. Exercises: Covnersaion with war veteran. Comparison with historiography.
  15. Lectures: War in early 21st century – theories of “new warfare” (Mary Kaldor, Herfried Munkler, Martin van Creveld) Exercises: Conversation. Evaluation.

Literature

(.), Howard, Michael, Rat u europskoj povijesti, Zagreb, 2002.,
(.), John Keegan, The First World War, Pimlico 1998.,
(.), Biddle, Stephen D., Military Power: explaining victory and defeat in modern battle, Princeton-Oxford, 2006.,
(.), Odd Arne Westad, Globalni Hladni rat. Velike sile i treći svijet. Golden marketing-Tehnička knjiga, Zagreb 2009.,
(.), Williamson Murray and Allan R. Millett, A War to Be Won, Fighting the Second World War, Harvard Uni Pres 2010.,

For students

General

ID 266856
  Winter semester
3.0 ECTS
L0 English Level
L1 e-Learning
30 Lectures
15 Exercises