Elite Military Forces in the Wester World Since 1815

FAIN: FT-11546-73

Dennis E. Showalter
Colorado College (Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3243)

To determine why armies form or fail to form certain types of elite forces and to analyze the influence the elites on the armies of which they are part. The study will deal with elite forces form their inception in the Western world (1815). As the United States moves in the direction of a volunteer military, a historical survey of elite forces, beginning with their military purpose, i.e. to fight, should offer insight from a neglected perspective into the relationships between the structures of armies and the nature of socieites.