Examples Of Pre-Modern World War Strategies

The concept of war as a static and unchanging occurrence is an outdated and dangerous miscalculation. More accurately, war is a fluidic, evolving and shifting phenomenon constantly reinventing itself, rendering stagnant, inflexible principles potentially disastrous. Consequently, as students of war and future players in this transforming theatre, the study of eras of significant development is an extremely relevant pursuit. Recognizing the need for adaptation and the creation of doctrine is now a prerequisite for any effective modern commander. War is unpredictable in nature and particularly so in current theatres of operation, in which change is rapid

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,

Nicolo Machiavelli’s The Prince and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War both both provide directions for leadership with similar goals. The Prince is primarily geared towards providing valuable information about how a ruler of many principalities may govern different populations and acquire new lands. The Art of War provides us with a schematic of the optimal path to victory. This book is instead directed towards generals of powerful militaries with only the goal of winning. Concepts such as Machiavelli’s view of destruction will be contrasted with Sun Tzu’s victory-oriented argument for taking whole and several of their other ideas will be compared. Although Machiavelli and Sun Tzu have different intended audiences, many of their ancient tactics can

Discussion of militaries in public school is often relegated to battle and military strategy. However, there are several more layers that go into handling and continuing any force of consequence. Societies throughout history have tackled these extra layers in their own ways. Examination of the primary documents “Genghis Khan: The History of the World Conqueror” by ‘Ala-ad-Din ‘Ata-Malik Juvaini, “Conscription and Professional Soldiers in Song China” by Ouyang Xiu and Fan Zhen, and “The Challenges of Raising an Army” by Zia’ al-Din Barani details the contrasting ways in which thirteenth century Mongolia, Song China, and Delhi handled the upkeep, recruitment, and organization of their respective militaries. Examination also reveals

The tactics used in World War I were radically different than that of previous wars. The majority of the war was fought in the trenches, and the war itself seemed to have no end. Due to this, the psychological impact of the war was unlike anything that had been seen before. During the early days of the war, the soldiers, on both sides, seemed to lack the dedication that would have been necessary to exterminate their enemy. However, as the war progressed, the desire to avenge their fallen comrades overcame their ethics and they began to kill their enemy indiscriminately. Surviving soldiers experienced a phenomenon that was, at that time, referred to as shell shock. Today we refer to this phenomenon as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. At this time, this psychological condition was misunderstood and the doctors lacked the training necessary to effectively treat this condition.

In war, what sets one side apart from the other is innovation. How one side utilizes resources as well as how they think about a given situation both play a huge role in determining the outcome of a conflict. Humanity’s unique ability to think critically and manipulate available resources is what gives us the edge in innovative combat. Historically, each innovation branches off of the last, up until the original human innovation. Wayne Lee argues in the introduction of his book, Waging War: Conflict, Culture and Innovation in World History, that human evolution was in fact this first innovation. Human warfare began with our original biologic desire for resources, and continued as human’s social evolution and innovations grew to support the

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.

With World War I being the first modern war, armies could do nothing more than dig trenches in defense. What made World War I the first modern war is all the new technologies that came with it. Technologies like gas masks, powered flight, and U-boats affected the war in a major way. During the war, both sides used poison gas against their enemies. The gas could destroy organs, cause blisters, or even kill the soldiers. Gas masks filtered the air to help keep soldiers protected from the gas. At first, aircrafts were used for spotting enemy positions, however, as the war went on they became used for bombing and fighting. Lastly, German submarines called U-boats were used to sink supply ships and later used to sink Allied and neutral ships.

The structures of the Roman and Mongolian armies were clearly defined and created the standard of militaristic organization for modern day militaries. The commanders of armies are what eventually determine if victory is achieved. The well-organized machine requires a brain to control it, and likewise the structured armies of Mongolia and Rome needed generals of talent to direct their destructive force towards a beneficial objective. Roman and Mongolian officers were given specific objectives, but were allowed to achieve those objectives however they determined. This freedom

Complied during the Warring States Period, the Daodejing is widely known as one of China’s famous philosophy literature. This text reflects the general lament of a civilization that has been worn down from war and seeks to find peace by teaching people how to live by “the Way”. From a war-torn perspective, the Daodejing deems war and government corruption as evil and traces them back to greedy and power-hungry motives. As a successor to Confucius, it still carries some of his ethics. Because of its mystical overtones, it has acquired a large variety of interpretations. Its main teaching is if a person does nothing, then peace will be restored; it is the concept of non-action or 无为。When a person does not try to interfere and allows things to

War is a human endeavor. Humanity continually pursues solutions to counter evolving threats with the end of preserving power while also enabling peace. Civilizations resort to war to maintain their perception of this equilibrium. Defined threats and adversaries have changed throughout history, however, the essence of human nature and the base concept of conflict itself have not. Carl von Clausewitz’s theories on warfare capture the relationship between humanity and its application of war, remaining relevant in today’s era through their pensive explanations of timeless philosophical principles regarding the concept of war. These theories regarding war in politics, the key factors affecting war, and the extent that war is applied are inherently interconnected, providing insight on the relationships between humanity and its application of war.

There are no universal theories to explain the true nature and character of war, and any war theories are not a fact or absolute truth. All strategic principles are dynamic and contextual, so “every age had its own kind of war, its own limiting conditions, and its own peculiar preconceptions.” The battlefield environment of the 21st century will be the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, and nature of war will be completely different because of the Revolution in Military Affairs. Highly advance communication and information technologies, a dramatic increase in computing capabilities, developed of precision munitions, dominant air and space power ‘war could be waged by the projection of

Sun Tzu understood the nature of war as “the province of life or death,” and a “matter of vital importance to the state.”1 I agree. In my own experience, war awakens your primordial instincts and strips you of your self-rationalizations. Sun Tzu defined the character of war when he wrote, “water has no constant form, there are in war no constant conditions.”2 Accordingly, Sun Tzu’s principals of war offer a framework adequate to explain the nature and character of 21st century warfare, which I rationalize as a near-continuous battle of ideologies fought through asymmetric means to advance the values and interests of state and non-state actors.

Another significant lesson on warfare and leadership put forth by Sun Tzu was having the ability to conquer areas with no fighting at all. This lesson also involved the ability to absorb and expand within an area instead of total domination and annihilation. Sun Tzu mentioned, “In the practical art of

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.