Maurice de Saxe (1696-1750) provide

Maurice de Saxe (1696-1750) provided Lawrence the theoretical foundation for his own theory of guerrilla war. Writing nearly two cen￾turies earlier, in 1732, de Saxe found generals too preoccupied with tac￾tics, marches, and formations and they, therefore, ignored the intellec￾tual aspects of war: “very few men occupy themselves with the higher problems of war. They pass their lives drilling troops and believe that this is the only branch of the military act.”13 Like Lawrence, de Saxe had difficulty finding time for serious thought and self-reflection. And like Lawrence, de Saxe had to suffer illness to gain the time necessary for serious reflection and writing. During the 13 days of his convalescence, de Saxe wrote much of My Reveries Upon the Acts of War, a treatise on war that remains a classic today.14 This work provided Lawrence with a theoretical framework for gaining a deep appreciation of the Bedouin way of war