Military History in Nineteenth-Century Norwegian Military Education

Norwegian military-historical education in the nineteenth century was heavily influenced by international thinking. This article outlines how military history was taught in Norway between the 1820s and the 1890s by looking at a selection of textbooks in use at the Military Academy and Military College. From a Bülow-inspired structure-oriented approach in the 1820s–1840s, military history in the middle of the century was also seen as way to create a link between army and nation. By the end of the century, a Clausewitzian approach to military history was in evidence, though military thinking in Norway also adapted ideas to suit a Norwegian context.