Chapter 23 Chapter 20 The Essence of Strategy and Tactics

In this chapter, we will draw a few basic principles from experience, based on the history of war.These principles seem to us to be so general and indisputable that they seem to be called axioms. These principles serve as practical guidelines for action rather than abstract principles.When Napoleon formed his own set of principles, he understood that only practical principles would be useful. However, in the current era, there has been such a tendency to explain principles, which can be explained clearly in just one sentence. People use thousands of words to explain the problem.Even so, these principles are too abstract, and different people can interpret them differently.As for their value, it also depends on everyone's understanding of war.The more abstract this kind of research becomes, the more it becomes a phantasm in which there is nothing to be gained but mental games.

Not only one principle, but all the principles of war can be expressed in one noun, which is centralization.However, to be more precise, we still have to expand its scope a little bit, which is called concentrating our strength against the enemy's weakness.In order to really use this principle, some further explanations are required: in order to achieve the goal of concentrating one's forces against the enemy's weaknesses, the enemy must disperse their forces, so that a situation can be created in which locality is achieved through dispersal. Effect.As a result, two programs of successive actions were formed: first, we dispersed ourselves, causing the enemy to disperse, and then we concentrated ourselves.Therefore, any action in the next step is the result of the previous action, and the real concentration is the result of planned decentralization.

In this way, we have a basic principle.A major, and most common, mistake can be prevented by a deeper awareness of it.This mistake refers to giving the enemy freedom of action, giving them time to concentrate their forces against your concentration.However, after a basic principle is formed, it is still impossible to have any practical effect if it is only talked about without putting it into practice. The axioms described in this book, that is, some of the principles we have proposed, cannot of course be expressed in just one noun, but they can be clearly expressed in a short sentence.Now a total of eight principles have been proposed, of which six are positive and two are negative.Unless otherwise stated, these principles apply equally to tactics as to strategy.Positive principles 1. Choose the target according to your own means.

When setting goals, be sure to have a healthy mind and a cool head.It's pointless to chew more than you can chew.The first characteristic of military resourcefulness is the ability to distinguish what can be done from what cannot be done.Learn to face reality, but never lose faith in your own strength.Confidence is very important when combat operations begin.With enough faith, sometimes you can achieve the seemingly impossible goal.Confidence, like the current in a battery, should not be abused and wasted at will.So you should remember that if you run out of power in the battery, the person you trust will be shaken mentally, and your confidence will be of no use.2. Always keep your goals in mind.

As you make your plans according to changing circumstances, you must always keep your goals in mind.It should be pointed out that there may be various ways to achieve the goal, but it must be considered that every time you win an intermediate goal, it will also make you move one step closer to the expected goal.Therefore, when selecting targets, it is necessary to estimate the possibility of capturing these targets, and to take into account the extent to which it will be beneficial to achieve the basic purpose.Remember, it's bad to go off course, but it's even worse to be in a corner.3. Choose a course of action that the enemy least expects.

Put yourself in the shoes of the enemy, and see which direction they would regard as the least dangerous, and would not take corresponding precautions there.4. Move along the line of least resistance. As long as there are no major casualties, you should always advance along the route of least enemy resistance, and try to reach the expected goal. Once you capture this kind of goal, you will be one step closer to your ultimate goal. (On the tactical side, this principle can be applied broadly when you use reserves. On the strategic side, it can also be applied when you develop any tactical victory.) 5. Choose a strategy that can threaten several enemies simultaneously. target line of battle.

Only then can you force the enemy into a dilemma.The application of this principle will enable you to capture at least one object, and possibly several in succession, of the enemy's weak defenses. If several targets of the enemy can be threatened at the same time, then there are good prerequisites and conditions for capturing one of the targets.If you are only running towards an isolated object, and the enemy is not absolutely inferior, it is quite impossible to achieve your goal, because the enemy will then accurately guess the direction of your assault.It is a common mistake to confuse choosing a course of action with choosing a goal.The former is usually a clever approach; the latter is usually a more difficult way to develop victory, just for the sake of hitting. (This principle applies primarily strategically. But it can also be applied tactically whenever possible. In fact, it is the basis for force penetration tactics.) 6. Ensure that planning is flexible while adapting to possible changes in the situation. Deploy the army.

When planning, the next steps of action must be considered and researched in advance.Whether it is success or failure, or only partial success, there must be predetermined ways to deal with it.The deployment of your troops must ensure that the troops can develop the results of the battle in the shortest time limit, or change the deployment immediately to adapt to the changed new situation.Negative Principle 7. Never attack with all your strength when the enemy is on the alert. That is to say, if the enemy is in a favorable position, he can repel your attack, or avoid your attack.Historical experience tells us that if the enemy has not been absolutely weakened, his resistance has not been paralyzed, or he still has the ability to avoid your attack, then the blow to him cannot achieve the desired effect.Therefore, no commander should rashly decide to launch an attack on an enemy who is firmly in position before he has ascertained that the enemy has indeed been paralyzed.To paralyze the enemy is to disorganize them physically and to demoralize them psychologically.8. When an attempt fails, do not launch another attack along the same route and with the original arrangement.

At this time, simply increasing some troops cannot be the basic condition for resuming the offensive, because the enemy will also increase their strength during this period.Moreover, he has more chances of defeating you again, because he has the power to defeat you, and he has already gained the upper hand in terms of spirit. In order to guarantee victory, as a supplement to the above principles, the following two basic tasks should be solved: destabilizing the enemy and expanding the gains.The first task is to be completed before the attack is carried out; the second task is to be completed after the attack is over.Compared with these two tasks, the attack itself is a much simpler operation.If you cannot destabilize the enemy and create favorable conditions before the attack begins, then it will be impossible to carry out an effective attack on the enemy.If you cannot take advantage of the second favorable opportunity before the enemy recovers, it will be difficult for your attack to achieve a decisive result.

For the importance of these two tasks, many people still do not have enough awareness.Therefore, most wars cannot achieve decisive results.Military training tends to focus on the finer details of offensive combat.This tendency to focus too much on tactical moves has caused people to ignore the role of psychological factors.The troops trained in this way have the same method of action and are not good at surprise attacks.The commanders produced in this way are always thinking about not making any mistakes and not violating the regulations of the regulations, so they forget that they must try to make the enemy take wrong steps.As a result, their plans often fail to succeed.You know that in the course of war it is the grave mistakes of the enemy that have the most decisive influence.

There are times when commanders eschew the obvious and suddenly find the key to a mission.Of course, in this case, his luck is not bad.Luck is something that cannot be separated from war, because war itself is also a part of human life.Sudden action does not necessarily guarantee victory, but it provides a better chance of winning it.