Supplying War :Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton by Martin Van Creveld

Supplying War :Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton by Martin Van Creveld is a classic work on logistics. The book describes the challenges that various military's have had in supplying their units throughout history. The starting point of the study is the 30 years war and ends at the end of World War II. The book demonstrates that many of the often held judgments about the effects of logistics on campaigns is incorrect. He uses archival sources as well as deductive reasoning to come to these conclusions. His arguments are well argued and are convincing. One of the more interesting points of analysis is that until World War I food specifically forage for horses was more difficult a supply then ammunition for the guns. This changed in World War I. Most of the planning for various wars did not take into account the logistical difficulties. Even the Normandy campaign which was micromanaged from a logistical perspective had serious logistical problems.

An excellent book if you haven't read it you should.