The primary mission assigned to the British Army from the 1950s until the end of the Cold War was deterring Soviet aggression in Europe by demonstrating the will and capability to fight with nuclear weapons in defence of NATO territory. This 'surreal' mission was unlike any other in history, and raised a number of conceptual and practical difficulties. This comprehensive study observes how the British Army imagined nuclear war, and how it planned to fight it. Using new archival sources, Simon J. Moody analyses British thinking about tactical nuclear weapons, the role of the Army within NATO strategy, the development of theories of tactical nuclear warfare, how nuclear war was taught at the Staff College, the role of operational research, and the evolution of the Army's nuclear war-fighting doctrine. He argues that the British Army possessed the intellectual capacity for organisational adaptation, but that it displayed a cognitive dissonance about some of the more uncomfortable realities of nuclear war.

About the Author
Simon J. Moody is a Lecturer in Defence Studies at King's College, London. He completed his AHRC funded PhD at KCL in 2014, after an MA from the University of Leeds and a BA from the University of Salford. His research interests can be broadly defined as the history of strategic thought, theories of war, nuclear strategy, and British defence policy after 1945.

Reviews
Simon J. Moody has provided a deeply researched and informative study of the British Army's experience with tactical nuclear warfare ... this is a book that many will want to add to their library. * Brian McAllister Linn, War in History *
Imagining Nuclear War in the British Army offers a thorough and ambitious evaluation of the British Army's mission to conceptualize and prepare for a war often deemed to be 'devoid of any military or political utility' (p. v). It will be of principle interest to historians of Britain working on Cold War military policy, but also offers insight into the military manifestations of cultural nuclear anxiety, and the experiences of BAOR. Its main strength lies in its careful and considered analysis of the defence establishment's nuclear doctrine, but Moody also skilfully addresses the pervasive cognitive dissonance at the heart of such thinking. * Fiona J. Bowler, University of Southampton, Journal of Contemporary History *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198846994
Author Simon J. Moody
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 231mm * 159mm * 19mm