Military Maxims

[bedlam28]

I thought I would just post these links that I have enjoyed reading this week from Sun Tzu's 'Art of War' and from Napoleon's Maxims.

Not only do alot of these relate to the tactics and mindset of Total War, but are fascinating to read just as an expansion of personal knowledge.

I hope they are interesting to people, and if you have suggestions where I can read up on similar works, please let me know.

Also I would definately suggest Wikipedia for anyone who hasn't discovered it yet !!

P.S: please note that I am not affiliated or responsible for any of the works on these sites, and merely offer them as interesting viewing.

[Btothexicus Maximus]

Many wise maixms are out ther.e

March Divided; Fight COncentrated

I jsut realzied i wish i had memebrship :(

[Sensei Warrior]

"The further you are from the tip of the spear, the more you are immersed in minutae." -Tom Clancy

Not quite a military maxim, but seems to practically be an universal truth. Especially when you apply it to your workplace.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Friendly fire isn't.


Civil wars aren't.

[Sensei Warrior]

Friendly fire isn't.


Civil wars aren't.

They seem more like military oxymorons then military maxims.

[bamff]

You mean like "Military Intelligence"?

[Sensei Warrior]

Not "like" my dear bamff. "Military Intelligence" I believe is the textbook definition of oxymoron.

Bedlam - You might want to try out The Book of Five Rings by Musashi Miyamoto or The Prince by Nicollo Machiavelli. They aren't quite military books but they definately give some food for thought.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

The Prince is definately a worthwhile read. It doesn't provide much at all on the military front (broad strategies to avoid at best), but it does at least make you think about politics a lot.

[bedlam28]

I like the oxymorons, we are giving the impression of being very intellectual people

just as an aside: my girlfriend always complains about a 'grown' man playing 'games', but reading through the forum here, the level of knowledge shared, the stratagies policies and diplomacy used and the level of community in this place, and the skills of some of the players, you have to say that in a world where you are suffocated by rules protecting the weak and fragile, here where the strong survive, it really is a community to be proud of.

oh i think i'm 'welling up'.

Anyway, back to all this, I have perused Machiavelli but as noted, is mostly politics; though I've not sat and read properly, and i've not tried the book of five rings, so I'll have a look. So thanks Warrior & everyone.

P.s. Warrior, is Sensei your nick or are you a Sensei also? I train at U.K.A Karate in UK. Just interested.

[gmjapan]

Whenever I try the "march divided" in R:TW my sections of troops just get ambushed and killed easily. So I would call that one out as utter b*ll*x and advise to march and fight in force, crushing all underfoot.

[macsen rufus]

"Le terrain, c'est tout," is one of my favourites, or as I paraphrase it "The terrain is the battle".

Re: Machiavelli's "Il Principe", it's an interesting insight into the timeframe, and more use for strategy than tactics, especially the diplomacy angle - when, why and who to ally with, and problems with maintaining control of the conquered provinces. Well worth a read.

[Taedius]

Ah, but we don't get to march much in R:TW. When battle is joined, you are allready on the battlefield, and consentration is advised. If you are referring to the campaignmap, that is too big to illustrate the maxim properly. :)

[Sensei Warrior]

P.s. Warrior, is Sensei your nick or are you a Sensei also? I train at U.K.A Karate in UK. Just interested.

I've trained extensively in various martial arts, but I've never stuck with any one of them long enough to earn the title Sensei. When I was training, my Sensei often referred me to younger practitioners as Sempi (or perhaps Sempai, I've never encountered the spelling of it). I believe it means elder brother or something similar. Whether it is an actual title or not I do not know, I'm not one for titles anyway. My Sensei used Sempai to refer to someone in the middle ground of the art. One who has more than a moderate amount of training is skilled, and in his opinion deserved recognition, but not enough to be called Sensei.

However, with all that said, my nick is more of a reference of my skills at playing MTW, or at least my own egotistical perception of my skills. I guess the funny thing is I have never played STW, which would have made a little more sense considering my nick has a definate japanese martial tone to it.

[Pannonian]

Whenever I try the "march divided" in R:TW my sections of troops just get ambushed and killed easily. So I would call that one out as utter b*ll*x and advise to march and fight in force, crushing all underfoot.

The mechanics that force armies to march divided don't exist in RTW. Armies cannot concentrate for long, as they either eat the surrounding area into a desert, or they have insane logistics that require up to 10 men in support to put one fighting man on the field.

Napoleon concentrated his troops during his march on Moscow. The results, Clausewitz noted, were predictable, the route of the march absolutely devastated and picked clean by the French. Despite their legendary prowess for scavenging off the land, they still couldn't find enough food for all the troops, and many died of starvation along the way. IIRC this was why Napoleon had to find another route back, since the road originally taken could no longer support an army.

The nearest RTW might come to simulating this would be to degrade the army per turn depending on the amount of devastation they would normally cause, unless there was an equal number of "supply" agents attached to the army (who are extremely expensive).

[Tadajon]

We have women in the military, but they don't put us in the front lines. They don't know if we can fight or if we can kill. I think we can. All the general has to do is walk over to the women and say, "You see the enemy over there? They say you look fat in those uniforms."

-- Elayne Boosler


I say, let they do the dirty things for us - Tadajons military Maxime

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Friendly fire isn't.


Civil wars aren't.

Murthy's Laws of Combat!

Bear in mind your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.

Once you've secured the area don't forget to tell the enemy.

The only ground you hold is the ground you're standing on.

[BlueRobin]

Where does my signature come from? A politician quoted in during a select committee session earlier this year (sounds boring but I had a vested interest)

[BlueRobin]

P.S. you can't beat the classic maxim, "discretion is the better part of valour"

Name the author (no cheating!)

[Sensei Warrior]

Blue Robin ... Didn't Shakespeare write that?

[bedlam28]

Blue Robin, I'm not sure about that quote, but Monty Python in Holy Grail, had a very similar maxim...... charge... aarhh... run away, run away....

Same sentiment I feel.

FRENCH GUARD:
I don't wanna talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!
GALAHAD:
Is there someone else up there we could talk to?
FRENCH GUARD:
No. Now, go away, or I shall taunt you a second time-a!
[sniff]
ARTHUR:
Now, this is your last chance. I've been more than reasonable.
FRENCH GUARD:
(Fetchez la vache.)
OTHER FRENCH GUARD:
Quoi?
FRENCH GUARD:
(Fetchez la vache!)
[mooo]
ARTHUR:
If you do not agree to my commands, then I shall--
[twong]
'Catapulted cow from Castle aimed at King Arther'
[mooooooo]
Jesus Christ!
KNIGHTS:
Christ!
[thud]
Ah! Ohh!
ARTHUR:
Right! Charge!
KNIGHTS:
Charge!
[mayhem]
FRENCH GUARD:
Hey, this one is for your mother! There you go.
[mayhem]
FRENCH GUARD:
And this one's for your dad!
ARTHUR:
Run away!
KNIGHTS:
Run away!
FRENCH GUARD:
Thppppt!
FRENCH GUARDS:
[taunting]

[BlueRobin]

Yes it was Shakespeare! a relative got married recently in the church where he is buried

Bedlam you just reminded me that I used to do that all the time in MTW. Sad I know but... Perhaps a neat idea for a mod?

[Sensei Warrior]

Ha Ha! And who said required reading in HS wouldn't pay off. Whoot!

[Grimmy]

Warfighting USMC is a pretty good read.
excerpt from page 86 of Chapter 4 of Warfighting, The Conduct of War

Finally, since all decisions must be made in the face of uncertainty, and since every situation is unique, there is no perfect solution to any battle-field problem. Therefore, we should not agonize over one. The essence of the problem is to select a promising course of action with an acceptable degree of risk and do it more quickly than our foe. In this respect, a good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.

speaks directly to the USMC's concept of momentum and initiative in a warzone.

[Grimmy]

Another one that's a pretty good resource is
Small Wars Manual

[bedlam28]

Good work Grimmy, I checked out the Small Wars Manual, interesting file and I look forward to reading it, but unfortunately couldn't open the Warfighting site.
Thanks.

[Grimmy]

Here's a non .mil site for Warfighting
This one has the original FMFM1 Warfighting with link to the newer issue MCDP1 version.

If you're looking for a reading list concerning most all things belligerent, Marine Corps Reading List