A 'Go' Approach to Mastering China's Strategic Concept: An Analysis

Over the course of history, the strategic environment has changed rapidly and is now more complex than ever before – it is currently characterized by unpredictability and disorder, and may yet manifest itself in the collapse of nuclear armed nations, destabilizing conflict in geo-politically vital regions, and humanitarian crises. A world of disparate actors – not all nation states – now exists. Unpredictable events will continue to cause strategic surprise. The widespread effects of past conflicts such as World War II, Vietnam and the Iraq war are still being felt and have created significant strategic repercussions. The failures of these conflicts are the result of our military and political leaders’ failure to quickly adapt to wartime conditions. This occurs because of a general refusal to commit to a military culture of learning that encourages serious debate, critical assessments of our military operations, and challenges to our doctrine in the face of emerging change. Additionally, leaders have struggled with the critical responsibility of forecasting and providing for a ready force, one that is well-resourced and prepared to conduct future operations. It is the responsibility of our military and political leaders to send our military to war with a ready force, and a strategy that will ultimately result in victory. But understanding war and warriors is critical if societies and governments are to make sound judgments concerning military policy.

This essay will explore the influences of Sun Tzu in the Second World War. Sun Tzu (544 – 496 BC) was a Chinese general and strategist in times of the Zhou dynasty. His techniques, even today are highly respected. The teachings of Sun Tzu were used not only in Asia and Europe but have also been applied today by the western society.

Clausewitz who was convinced that no theory of war could be taken seriously unless it included the psychology of commanders and soldiers and their relations to one another (Peter Paret, Napoleon and the Revolution in War, pg. 134). The human factor within the nature of war is the most complex and difficult to predict a sure outcome without addressing psychological state of the enemy and environment in with you are about to conduct operations. Boyd integrates the key ideas of two primary theorists, Sun Tzu and Carl von Clausewitz, and hypothesizes that making sense of one’s environment, making military decisions, and acting on those decisions is a respective, competitive process (OODA loop) in which one seeks to make faster and better decisions than one’s adversary, overwhelming his ability to make sense of his environment and cope with change. (Module 3, John Boyd and A Discourse on Winning and Losing, pg. 6). This thought process is relevant today through our military war games, operation plans, and TDG’s providing an opportunity for multiple levels of outcome based scenarios fundamentally rooted in understanding the

Through investigation of Lee’s, “Warfare and Culture in World History”, Chapter 9, titled “The American Culture of War in the Age of Artificial War (Adrian Lewis), one can learn the transformation of the American culture through a military perspective. This chapter provides readers with an in depth look into the traditional culture of war and how it transforms into a more advanced, refined, futuristic culture. We learn how the psychology, sociology, beliefs, concerns, approaches, and connections to the community are all altered through the change in culture. It is explained that despite the

The notion of an American way of war informs how scholars, policymakers, and strategists understand how Americans fight. A way of war—defined as a society’s cultural preferences for waging war—is not static. Change can occur as a result of important cultural events, often in the form of traumatic experiences or major social transformations. A way of war is therefore the malleable product of culturally significant past experiences. Reflecting several underlying cultural ideals, the current American way of war consists of three primary tenets—the desire for moral clarity, the primacy of technology, and the centrality of scientific management systems—which combine to create a preference for decisive, large-scale conventional wars with clear objectives and an aversion to morally ambiguous low-intensity conflicts that is relevant to planners because it helps them address American strategic vulnerabilities.

War has been designed to show a ghastly frame that sets out for propaganda, defeats, and victories. Involving multiple aspects, war exhibits a product of both human choice and human actions. “And a person's definition of war often expresses the person's broader political philosophy, such as limiting war to a conflict between nations or state. Alternative definitions of war can include conflict not just between nations but between schools of thought or ideologies.” (Moseley, Alexander.

First and for most, when we examine the piece "Who's for the Game", one can immediately sense that the author's approach to war will be jovial, inviting, and supportive. This is confirmed in the first line of the piece when the author states "Who's for the game, the biggest that's played,". The effect that the rhetorical opening has on the reader is that it draws in attention and sparks curiosity. In addition, this upbeat, engaging attitude is also reflected through the multiple metaphors that the authors uses. For instance, the author compares war to football by saying "Who'll grip and tackle the job unafraid?", and "Who'll toe the line for the signal to 'Go!'". It is

In the earliest moments of civilization, violence has been man’s innate response to a threatening situation. The human body releases adrenaline, and a person has only a few moments to decide between fight and flight. War is the result of man following his instinct to fight. The reason humans ever choose the fight reaction is because they feel threatened. People want to protect themselves those who are close to them. Young adults who enter military forces are trained to believe that violence is the answer to their fear. They believe they are protecting themselves and their families. In Nanking, China, the former capital, young men followed their animalistic instinct to protect themselves and their families. During the Sino Japanese War, the

The laws of war in general must be studied to understand the nature of how and why wars are fought. According to Mao, China was already involved in a war both against itself and other nations and if they wanted to win the war then they would need to study war in general. There are some common elements that occur in all wars, but in order to be successful, an understanding of those elements and how they operate are necessary. Mao states that “War is the highest form of struggle for settling contradictions between classes at given staged of

To begin, leaders must study the laws of war to understand the nature of how and why wars are fought. According to Mao, China’s involvement with war both against itself and other nations was crucial, and if they wanted to win the war then they would need to study war in general. There are some common elements that occur in all wars, but in order to be successful during military conflict, an understanding of those elements and how they operate are necessary. Mao states that “War is the highest form of struggle for settling contradictions between classes at given stages of their development”. However, if leaders fail to understand the

We have covered the general accounts of human nature found in Confucianism and Taoism in light of the historical backdrop of the Period of Warring States. Use your responses to the following general questions below as an opportunity to refer either to the Smith text and accompanying assigned scriptures(s), Smith video(s) on China, Confucianism, and Taoism, or any additional material covered in class. Look ahead to the next question on the chun tzu in order to plan on avoiding repetition of answers verbatim within each essay if there are areas of potential overlap.

“ If one wishes to feign disorder to entice an enemy he must himself be well-disciplined.” In the book “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu, it describes many military strategies and explains how basic values in everyday and also surroundings can help you deceive the enemy. In this essay the topics of deception, ego, and nature will be explained on how these are used in strategy, and caused Sun Tzu and his army to be the most successful army in his time. Throughout this book, it was explained the strategies and values that Sun Tzu has used during his time as a general and soldier.

How to achieve a decisive victory has been a constant quest of the Generals through all the history. In Europe, the commanders of XIX century used Napoleon’s “art of war” as a paradigm , focusing on mobility and the efficient use of logistics to move his army corps faster than enemy do. The concept of victory was a mass against mass battle, where the victor was the biggest army or the smartest general, being the infantry the main weapon of the army. As a result,

McNeill’s chronology of wartime resource mobilization is as follows: The economy of war was first dominated by command. In ancient Mesopotamia, the center and periphery were connected by cycles of raids and pillaging rather than by organized trade. A long chapter early in Pursuit focuses on China, where advanced technology and economic organization is earliest found. China, though, did not reap all the benefits (or suffer the ill consequences) of a market-oriented economy of military technology. McNeill chalks this up to China’s Confucian distaste for private aggrandizement and the singular power of China’s bureaucracy to put a stop to the ambitions of

This essay intends to define and give an overview of the ‘Principles of War', the philosophers that coined these principles and with examples from the various countries that used and have their own perspectives on the ‘Principles of War'.