MILITARY STRATEGY

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MILITARY STRATEGY

• Part 1

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• Military strategy is a collective name for
  planning the conduct of warfare.
• Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy was
  seen as the "art of the general".

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• Military strategy deals with the planning and
  conduct of campaigns, the movement and
  disposition of forces, and the deception of the
  enemy.

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• The father of modern strategic study, Carl von
  Clausewitz, defined military strategy as "the
  employment of battles to gain the end of war.
• Liddell Hart's definition put less emphasis on
  battles, defining strategy as "the art of
  distributing and applying military means to
  fulfill the ends of policy.

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• Hence, both gave the preeminence to political
  aims over military goals, ensuring civilian
  control of the military.

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• Military strategy was one of a trivium of "arts"
  or "sciences" that govern the conduct of warfare
  the others being tactics, the execution of plans
  and maneuvering of forces in battle, and
  logistics, the maintenance of an army.

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• The border line between strategy and tactics is
  blurred and sometimes categorization of a
  decision is a matter of almost personal opinion.

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Fundamentals ofmilitary strategy

• "Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you
  one victory, but let your methods be regulated by
  the infinite variety of circumstances." Sun Tzu
  
• "You must not fight too often with one enemy, or
  you will teach him all your art of war."
  Napoleon Bonaparte

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• Strategy and tactics are closely related. Both
  deal with distance, time and force but strategy
  is large scale while tactics are small scale.
• Originally strategy was understood to govern the
  prelude to a battle while tactics controlled its
  execution.

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• However, in the world wars of the 20th century,
  the distinction between maneuver and battle,
  strategy and tactics, became blurred.

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• It is often said that the art of strategies
  defines the goals to achieve in a military
  campaign, while tactics defines the methods to
  achieve these goals.

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• Strategic goals could be "We want to conquer
  area X", or "We want to stop country Y's
  expansion in world trade in commodity Z"

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• while tactical decisions range from "We're going
  to do this by a naval invasion of the North of
  country X", "We're going to blockade the ports of
  country Y", all the way down to "C Platoon will
  attack while D platoon provides fire cover".

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• In its purest form, strategy dealt solely with
  military issues.
• In earlier societies, a king or political leader
  was often the same person as the military leader.

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• If he was not, the distance of communication
  between the political and the military leader was
  small.
• But as the need of a professional army grew, the
  bounds between the politicians and the military
  came to be recognized.

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• In many cases, it was decided that there was a
  need for a separation.
• As French statesman Georges Clemenceau said,
  "war is too important a business to be left to
  soldiers."

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• This gave rise to the concept of the grand
  strategy which encompasses the management of the
  resources of an entire nation in the conduct of
  warfare.

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• In the environment of the grand strategy, the
  military component is largely reduced to
  operational strategy -- the planning and control
  of large military units such as corps and
  divisions.

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• As the size and number of the armies grew and the
  technology to communicate and control improved,
  the difference between "military strategy" and
  "grand strategy" shrank.

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• Fundamental to grand strategy is the diplomacy
  through which a nation might forge alliances or
  pressure another nation into compliance, thereby
  achieving victory without resorting to combat.

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• Another element of grand strategy is the
  management of the post-war peace. As Clausewitz
  stated, a successful military strategy may be a
  means to an end, but it is not an end in itself.

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• There are numerous examples in history where
  victory on the battlefield has not translated
  into long term peace, security or tranquility.

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Principles of military strategy

• Many military strategists have attempted to
  encapsulate a successful strategy in a set of
  principles.

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• Sun Tzu defined 13 principles in his The Art of
  War while Napoleon listed 115 maxims.
• American Civil War General Nathan Bedford Forrest
  required only one "to git thar furst with the
  most men".

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• The fundamental concepts common to most lists of
  principles are
• The Objective
• Offense
• Cooperation
• Concentration (Mass)
• Economy
• Maneuver
• Surprise
• Security
• Simplicity

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• Which are reflected in the United States Army's
  United States Army Field Manual (FM-3) of
  Military Operations (sections 4-32 to 4-39) as
• Objective (Direct every military operation
  towards a clearly defined, decisive, and
  attainable objective)

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• Offensive (Seize, retain, and exploit the
  initiative)
• Mass (Concentrate combat power at the decisive
  place and time)
• Economy of Force (Allocate minimum essential
  combat power to secondary efforts)

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• 5. Maneuver (Place the enemy in a disadvantageous
  position through the flexible application of
  combat power)
• 6. Unity of Command (For every objective, ensure
  unity of effort under one responsible commander)

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• 7. Security (Never permit the enemy to acquire an
  unexpected advantage)
• Surprise (Strike the enemy at a time, at a place,
  or in a manner for which he is unprepared)

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• Simplicity (Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans
  and clear, concise orders to ensure thorough
  understanding)

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• Some strategists assert that adhering to the
  fundamental principles guarantees victory while
  others claim war is unpredictable and the general
  must be flexible in formulating a strategy.

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• Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke expressed
  strategy as a system of "ad hoc expedients" by
  which a general must take action while under
  pressure.

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• These underlying principles of strategy have
  survived relatively unscathed as the technology
  of warfare has developed.