Chapter Summary: The Art Of War In Modern Times

Carl von Clausewitz once said: “No one starts a war—or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so—without first being clear in is mind what he intends to achieve by that war and how he intends to conduct it.” One hundred and forty years later Dr. Fred Charles Iklé, a noted sociologist and expert defense strategist, authored Every War Must End where he shares his insights on the difficult process which wars have been brought to a “close” and how those lessons learned from the past failures to duly end a war have influenced the strategies of the future war efforts. In Dr. Iklé’s book, he states: “fighting often continues long past the point where a ‘rational’ calculation would indicate that the war should be ended—ended, perhaps, even at the

Clausewitz’s attack of enemy centers of gravity and Sun Tzu’s prioritization of attack of important elements of national power provide contrasting approaches to the development of effective strategy. These contrasts are reflections of each author’s perspective on how war should be waged, the proper use of force, their definitions of the ideal victory and how best to achieve that victory as well as their methodologies,

“The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on”.

“The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.” -Ulysses S. Grant

In his article, “Why Has American Stopped Winning Wars?” Dominic Tierney discusses some of the topics in his recent book, “The Right Way to Lose a War: America in an Age of Unwinnable Conflicts.” The book, unlike the article, provides recommendations for how America can adapt to a new era of warfare. Having said that, Tierney’s article published in the The Atlantic, provides no such recommendations nor does it provide adequate reasoning to support his argument, rather he leaves the reader emotionally charged and unable to make an informed judgement concerning the validity of his claims. Specifically, the author commits the fallacies of appealing to emotion, followed by the presentation of glittering generalizations and a false dichotomy. Therefore, the purpose here is to analyze his argument as outlined in the article, “Why Has American Stopped Winning Wars?”

In the article, Why has America Stopped Winning Wars? the author, Dominic Tierney, asserts that the United States has entered an age of “unwinnable conflict”. Tierney argues that since the end of World War II excessive military power, an international shift from state-on-state war to internal conflict, the emergence of non-state actors and peace between states have contributed to The United States’ inability to win major conflicts. Tierney uses mistakes in strategy and tactical failures to support his argument.

Strategy is the name of the game, and in Russell Weigley’s The American Way of War, the U.S strategies and policies used throughout history are revisited. Weigley’s focus on the historic strategies of American warfare starts as early as 1775 This book is arranged in different sections depending on the location and strategy, not really sequential in some cases. Weigley went very in depth with his work and made his book a fun read and understandable. He also gave a very detailed amount of historic American military past. To wrap it up, The American Way of War was overall very enjoyable.

The Art of War is not just limited to an effort of who has the best weapons out in the battlefield, it is also fought at home. The person who is leading the war effort must consider the populations morale, logistics and pay close attention to detail all while finding the best and least costly way to win battles and ensure final victory. It is essential for any leader to keep the majority of the populace supporting the war or all may be lost to do this the leader must set out a goal or a clear vision. The leader also has to worry about troop morale, logistics, and other aspects that may arise during war. A leader has to use influence, aurhority and persuasive power to not only overcome these obsticles to ensure victory but also that the cost for victory is something that is clearly communicated with the people.

Today warfare is used for several different reasons. Whether if you are fighting for resources, the protection of people’s rights, or in defense of your own country. “And if your Magnificence, high up at the summit as you are, should occasionally glance down…of undeserved ill fortune” (509). This book was written for Lorenzo de Medici, ruler of Florence on how to conquer and rule effectively. While Machiavelli takes a lot of shots at the ruler, his philosophies are still used in today’s society but has altered a few of his ideas to correspond with the Geneva Convention, the fundamentals of war can still be found today.

Strategy is difficult and complex by its very nature, its nature is constant but its character is evolving due to changes in technology, society and political ideas. Strategy can be dynamic or static, depending upon the stability of the means or ends, it may change if new means become available or if different ends appear to be preferable. Strategist understanding of the tangible and intangible factors and instruments of national power in addition to the interplay relation and weighing them collectively is a key to formulate and execute strategy. In this paper, I will explain these factors, how they are interconnected and how strategists should weigh them in formulating and executing strategy along with a practical example the Indochina war in 1946.

A commonality between both men includes that they both wrote very influential pieces on the idea of strategy and war tactics. For example; Clausewitz is most notable for his collection of writings titled Vom Kriege, or On War, published in 1832 despite being unfinished due to his death on November 16, 1831. On War is classified as one of the most influential pieces of military philosophy in the Western world and has been translated into virtually every major language. Sun Tzu on the other hand, is responsible for writing The Art of War, an ancient, thirteen chapter long, Chinese military text that is regarded as the definitive work on military strategy of its time.

Art of War is one military tactical text that has survived for centuries. The author of the text, Sun Tzu left the world with knowledge to carry on for generations. Art of War is a compilation of Tzu’s military strategies, various principles passed down his ancestral clan, and Taoism for the world to study and understand (Galvin and Giles). The military strategist specializes in the manners in which a “small force can overcome a powerful enemy” (Galvin and Giles 15). These tactics have been demonstrated throughout history by various “underdogs;” during the Revolutionary War, WWI, and even today in the Global War on Terror (Galvin and Giles 21). This is why Tzu remains an important piece of literature for all to read. Tzu’s principles on

In short, we should avoid war from happening as it will exasperate the resistance and possibly by the enemy in his favor. Just as Sun Zi said, for the victor ‘the best policy is to capture the state intact, it should be destroyed when there is no other option available. Besides, Sun Zi also emphasizes the importance of positioning in military strategy. Decision of positioning an army which must be based on both objective condition in the physical environment and subjective of their belief. Sun Zi also mention that strategy was not the planning for the working which are done, but it can be processed with high speed and react to condition

Sun Tzu Wu, also known as Sunzi, was a military strategist and general who served the state of Wu near the end of the Spring and Autumn Period between 770 and 476 bc. His art of war earned him the attention of the Ho Lu, the King of Wu, and after a demonstration of his skills he was appointed general over the Wu forces. Sun Tu defeated the Ch’u state in the west and the Ch’I and chin states in the north which spread his fame abroad amongst the feudal princes.

While “The Art of War” was written by Sun Tzu during the 6th century B.C., long before the colonization of the Americas, the onslaught of the Crusades, and before the Persian Wars of around 490 B.C., it remains relevant to this day. There is also strong evidence that the work inspired Napoleon and was used in the planning of Operation Desert Storm. “The Art of War” has withstood the sands of time due to its simplistic approach, and its applicability to non-military strategies. “The Art of War“, interpreted by Gerald, A. Michaelson, as well as other authors, use Sun Tzu’s timeless strategies and apply them to the modern day corporate world.