Colonel John Boyd (1927-1997), a maverick fighter pilot, revolutionised the art of war through his ideas on conflict, the human mind and manoeuvre warfare theory. His ideas triggered a revolution within American military and maneuver warfare concepts, became doctrine during the 1980s, and have been credited with America’s victory in the 1991 Gulf War.
However, Boyd’s claims have rarely been scrutinised and often accepted without rigorous analysis. Stephen Robinson has critically evaluated Boyd’s logic, exposing the myths of manoeuvre warfare through a detailed evidence-based investigation.
Stephen Robinson is the author of False Flags: Disguised German Raiders of World War II, Panzer Commander Hermann Balck: Germany’s Master Tactician and The Blind Strategist: John Boyd and the American Art of War. He studied Asian history and politics at the University of Western Sydney, graduating with First Class Honours. He has worked at The Department of Veterans’ Affairs researching British atomic weapons tests and as a policy officer in the Department of Defence. Stephen Robinson is an officer in the Australian Army Reserve and has served as an instructor at the Royal Military College. He also graduated from Australian Command and Staff College.