Dr. Jonathan Abel
@historianabel.bsky.social
Husband and father. Associate Professor of Military History US Army CGSC. Historian and author of 18th-c France. Podcaster. UNT History PhD. Opinions own/no endorsements.
1/ We have no extant letters written by pre-1789 enlisted French soldiers, so it's very difficult to ascertain their motivations or thoughts. We can only do so obliquely through interesting vignettes like this one from Richelieu on Menorca: "In a country where wine was sold at the lowest price...
October 13, 2025 at 1:03 PM
1/ We have no extant letters written by pre-1789 enlisted French soldiers, so it's very difficult to ascertain their motivations or thoughts. We can only do so obliquely through interesting vignettes like this one from Richelieu on Menorca: "In a country where wine was sold at the lowest price...
This was fun open.spotify.com/episode/5fzQ...
Episode 75 - Reassessing Bernadotte with Dr. Mike Bonura
open.spotify.com
October 1, 2025 at 9:38 PM
This was fun open.spotify.com/episode/5fzQ...
Reposted by Dr. Jonathan Abel
🚨New episode🚨- Napoleon's strategies have arrived on the battlefields of Europe! Special guest Jonathan Abel @HistorianAbel discusses how Napoleon approached his campaigns and how Napoleon's system has influenced future generations of military planners.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...
September 27, 2025 at 12:14 PM
🚨New episode🚨- Napoleon's strategies have arrived on the battlefields of Europe! Special guest Jonathan Abel @HistorianAbel discusses how Napoleon approached his campaigns and how Napoleon's system has influenced future generations of military planners.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g...
Reposted by Dr. Jonathan Abel
In the flesh and it's fantastic. Great resource from @historianabel.bsky.social with beautiful set of figures
August 24, 2025 at 9:09 PM
In the flesh and it's fantastic. Great resource from @historianabel.bsky.social with beautiful set of figures
The father of American independence and the individual who probably did the most to secure it.
July 5, 2025 at 3:39 AM
The father of American independence and the individual who probably did the most to secure it.
I will post nothing about Waterloo today, because I don’t celebrate defeats #skystorians
June 18, 2025 at 1:30 PM
I will post nothing about Waterloo today, because I don’t celebrate defeats #skystorians
Reposted by Dr. Jonathan Abel
Teaching Race to Rabaul this morning to @historianabel.bsky.social #Wargaming History class. RTR is a logistics focused game from @volko.bsky.social and @phalanxgames.bsky.social coming soon. Our students Army University are getting first crack at this #wargaming prototype!!!
May 28, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Teaching Race to Rabaul this morning to @historianabel.bsky.social #Wargaming History class. RTR is a logistics focused game from @volko.bsky.social and @phalanxgames.bsky.social coming soon. Our students Army University are getting first crack at this #wargaming prototype!!!
What is/are the best books on Gálvez’s campaigns in the AWI? #skystorians @herreramilhist.bsky.social @kabinettskriege.bsky.social
May 27, 2025 at 1:06 PM
What is/are the best books on Gálvez’s campaigns in the AWI? #skystorians @herreramilhist.bsky.social @kabinettskriege.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. Jonathan Abel
Today with @historianabel.bsky.social at CGSC we played @phalanxgames.bsky.social Race to the Rhine. Operational WW2 with a heavy focus on logistics!
May 22, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Today with @historianabel.bsky.social at CGSC we played @phalanxgames.bsky.social Race to the Rhine. Operational WW2 with a heavy focus on logistics!
Princeton University Press sale 🤝my money
May 17, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Princeton University Press sale 🤝my money
Reposted by Dr. Jonathan Abel
Today with @historianabel.bsky.social at CGSC we played @volko.bsky.social @gmtgames.bsky.social Nevsky. Operational Medieval warfare with a heavy focus on logistics!
May 15, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Today with @historianabel.bsky.social at CGSC we played @volko.bsky.social @gmtgames.bsky.social Nevsky. Operational Medieval warfare with a heavy focus on logistics!
Reposted by Dr. Jonathan Abel
Today with @historianabel.bsky.social Army University playing @sebastianbae.bsky.social favorite Friedrich #wargaming #simulations #army an accessible #wargame that explores the Seven Years War.
May 13, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Today with @historianabel.bsky.social Army University playing @sebastianbae.bsky.social favorite Friedrich #wargaming #simulations #army an accessible #wargame that explores the Seven Years War.
Reposted by Dr. Jonathan Abel
Practicing the Operational Arts with Napoleon 1807 from Shakos for History through #wargaming with @historianabel.bsky.social Army University.
May 8, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Practicing the Operational Arts with Napoleon 1807 from Shakos for History through #wargaming with @historianabel.bsky.social Army University.
Reposted by Dr. Jonathan Abel
Using a WW1 #Wargaming Drive on Paris with @historianabel.bsky.social Supply rules and reconstitution does a good job of representing operations. Army University elective on using wargames to explore decision making in history.
May 6, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Using a WW1 #Wargaming Drive on Paris with @historianabel.bsky.social Supply rules and reconstitution does a good job of representing operations. Army University elective on using wargames to explore decision making in history.
Reposted by Dr. Jonathan Abel
Battle for Moscow!! Frank Chadwick’s excellent introduction to #wargames used here at Army University with @armeedeterre.bsky.social @abrgll.bsky.social present for #Wargaming through History elective with @historianabel.bsky.social
May 1, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Battle for Moscow!! Frank Chadwick’s excellent introduction to #wargames used here at Army University with @armeedeterre.bsky.social @abrgll.bsky.social present for #Wargaming through History elective with @historianabel.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. Jonathan Abel
Battle for Moscow!! Frank Chadwick’s excellent introduction to #wargaming with @historianabel.bsky.social for History through #Wargames elective
April 3, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Battle for Moscow!! Frank Chadwick’s excellent introduction to #wargaming with @historianabel.bsky.social for History through #Wargames elective
As I approach 40, I’m finally starting to understand Gerard Manley Hopkins
March 30, 2025 at 3:08 PM
As I approach 40, I’m finally starting to understand Gerard Manley Hopkins
Jomini in 1805: "There is doubtlessly merit in designing a campaign plan well, but it is rare that one of these plans is able to be executed to the letter in all of its parts; an unforeseen event like that of the loss of a battle may require the complete change of the direction
March 26, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Jomini in 1805: "There is doubtlessly merit in designing a campaign plan well, but it is rare that one of these plans is able to be executed to the letter in all of its parts; an unforeseen event like that of the loss of a battle may require the complete change of the direction
FWIW, history academia Twitter/X was a useful, and even cheerful, place. So far, history academia Bluesky is largely a navel-gazing mess of pseudo-group therapy and toxic politics…
January 18, 2025 at 2:40 AM
FWIW, history academia Twitter/X was a useful, and even cheerful, place. So far, history academia Bluesky is largely a navel-gazing mess of pseudo-group therapy and toxic politics…
Reposted by Dr. Jonathan Abel
Job Opportunity!
The University of Texas at Dallas invites applications for a 1-year Visiting Assistant Professor of History to begin in Aug. 2025 (renewable for up to 1 year).
Seeks specialist in Early Modern Europe, any subfield or methodological approach.
www.h-net.org/jobs/job_dis...
The University of Texas at Dallas invites applications for a 1-year Visiting Assistant Professor of History to begin in Aug. 2025 (renewable for up to 1 year).
Seeks specialist in Early Modern Europe, any subfield or methodological approach.
www.h-net.org/jobs/job_dis...
H-Net Job Guide
www.h-net.org
January 18, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Job Opportunity!
The University of Texas at Dallas invites applications for a 1-year Visiting Assistant Professor of History to begin in Aug. 2025 (renewable for up to 1 year).
Seeks specialist in Early Modern Europe, any subfield or methodological approach.
www.h-net.org/jobs/job_dis...
The University of Texas at Dallas invites applications for a 1-year Visiting Assistant Professor of History to begin in Aug. 2025 (renewable for up to 1 year).
Seeks specialist in Early Modern Europe, any subfield or methodological approach.
www.h-net.org/jobs/job_dis...
There was a big kerfuffle a few months ago about physical vs. digital archives. Reminder that physical archives are not safe either. #skystorians
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Arnold Schoenberg: Composer's vast archive destroyed in LA fires
About 100,000 scores by the Austrian-American composer have been lost in the Pacific Palisade fires.
www.bbc.com
January 14, 2025 at 9:19 PM
There was a big kerfuffle a few months ago about physical vs. digital archives. Reminder that physical archives are not safe either. #skystorians
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Every element of this argument is absolutely correct: the US is not materially prepared for war. What it ignores is that materially preparing for war, based on the example of the World Wars, requires three main components: 1/
The Crumbling Foundation of America’s Military
The U.S. failed to produce weapons and ammunition fast enough to supply Ukraine. Could it equip its own armed forces in the event of war?
www.theatlantic.com
December 18, 2024 at 2:33 PM
Every element of this argument is absolutely correct: the US is not materially prepared for war. What it ignores is that materially preparing for war, based on the example of the World Wars, requires three main components: 1/
Check out the open-access intro I wrote to my translation of Guibert’s General Essay on Tactics, in which I provide a summary of the French army and its issues from c1700-1770 #skystorians brill.com/display/book...
brill.com
December 9, 2024 at 8:45 PM
Check out the open-access intro I wrote to my translation of Guibert’s General Essay on Tactics, in which I provide a summary of the French army and its issues from c1700-1770 #skystorians brill.com/display/book...
Had a blast talking Austerlitz with Generals and Napoleon podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
Episode 101 - Battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon's masterpiece, with special guest Jonathan Abel
Podcast Episode · Generals and Napoleon · 11/30/2024 · 54m
podcasts.apple.com
November 30, 2024 at 3:38 PM
Had a blast talking Austerlitz with Generals and Napoleon podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...