"The Paths of the Dead", Chapter 18, (hardback) pages 192-193:
It is true, the ability to make an informed guess is often
over-used and mis-used by historians and pretended
historians: It is well known, for example, that the military
historian is at his best when giving the names of field
officers who fell in battle, and at his worst when attempting
to explain the reason for the general officer to have made a
certain decision at a certain time.
Webpage - http://www.dreamcafe.com/weblog.cgi
Wed May 8th, 2002 7:30 PM:
Brust's first law of history: Military historians are at
their best when giving the names of field officers killed in
battle, and at their worst when trying to assign motives for the
decisions of general officers.
Hrmmm. Indeed. And just recently noticed:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/113674_foged.shtml
History tells us that in the life-and-death of war, officials
and commanders usually conceal more than they reveal. Sometimes
officials mislead the public to protect their forces; other
times, to protect their own reputations.
War strategies remain obscured until afterward, sometimes until
historians dig through archives.