The Short Victorious War

The Short Victorious War is a science fiction novel by the American writer David Weber, first published in 1994. It is the third book in the Honor Harrington series and follows The Honor of the Queen.

The title is taken from a remark by Vyacheslav von Plehve about the Russo-Japanese War, that the country needed a short, victorious war to stem the tide of revolution, and it is one of two quotations placed at the front of the book. In the story the People's Republic of Haven is staggering under inflation, deficit and a welfare state it can no longer afford, while opposition to its government grows bolder. Its leaders settle on war with Manticore as the answer, reasoning that a quick victory will distract the population from its economic troubles and buy the regime room to survive. Honor Harrington has spent almost a year recovering from the injuries she took in the previous book, and she is given command of a new battlecruiser just in time to meet the opening of hostilities.

Weber's series follows one officer's career through a long naval war, and this is the volume where the fighting stops being a matter of patrols and skirmishes and becomes something the two powers have chosen. The command decisions in the book are larger than the ones Harrington has faced before, and the choices made above her decide what her ship can attempt.