Grand_Strategy

GRAND STRATEGIES Analyze of Sun Tzu “The Art of War” Thucydides, “ The Peloponnesian War” and The Polybius “ The Rise of the Roman Empire” Scholars believe that Sun Tzu probably lived in the fourth century b.c. They also have some indications that he was born in the state of Ch'i, that he prospered in Wu, where he became a general, but some scholars have even contended that Sun Tzu is a mythical character who never existed as an individual. Sun Tzu's only known work is The Art of War. It is divided into thirteen chapters, with each chapter treating a different topic, such as calculating the strength of the enemy's forces, planning attacks, the nature of force, and the use of spies. The Art of War, has been prized for thousands of years by the Chinese and was, and continues to be, enormously influential on Chinese and Japanese military thought; it was the source for Mao Tse-tung's strategies and tactics. Since the early twentieth century The Art of War has been popular in the West. The main theme of The Art of War is effective military strategy. The author, therefore, stresses the importance of analyzing all aspects of the situation at hand before engaging in warfare, for the outcome of the war will be either the survival or the destruction of the nation. The work also asserts the idea that all warfare is based on deception; the necessity of adapting to existing conditions; the adage that a good general is prudent but not hesitant; and the notion that to be victorious you must thoroughly know yourself and your enemy. Sun Tzu’s first essay titled, “Estimates,” begins with the premise that the art of war is vital to the state. He writes there are five constants to weigh in ones deliberations: Moral influence, weather, terrain, command, and doctrine. He writes that all warfare is based on deception. Sun Tzu suggested that war must be fought: In the shortest possible time; at the least possible cost in lives and effort; with infliction on the enemy of the fewest possible casualties. “Waging War” is the title of the second essay. These themes include being swift in war; never prolong war because it is expensive. Proximity of the army determines the cost. If prices go up, the poor lose. Therefore, use the enemy’s resources. Victory is the main object of war. If war is long delayed, weapons are blunted and morale depressed. There has never been a protracted war from which a country has benefited. Sun Tzu’s third essay is titled “Offensive Strategy” and states that to capture is better than destruction. Take the country whole and intact. To win without fighting and to break the enemies resistance without the shedding of blood is excellence. The most brilliant scheme is to: recoil the enemies plans, isolate him from his allies, attack in the field the worst is to besiege walled cities because this leads to a prolonged war. Essay four, “Dispositions,” states that one may know how to conquer without being able to do it; knowledge must be coupled with wisdom. One must be skilled in defense to hide and be skilled in offense to attack and burst forth. A clever fighter not only wins but also excels at winning with ease. He wins battles by making no mistakes. Get the power of knowledge to control success. “Energy” is the title of Sun Tzu’s fifth essay. In general, he says control of a large force is the same as a few; it is merely a question of dividing their numbers, managing, and organization. Using a large army requires better, sophisticated communications. Keep the army unshaken while under attack by direct and indirect methods. Know the science of weak points and strong. In essay six, “Weaknesses and Strengths,” he writes whoever is first in the field is strong. Therefore, the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy. By holding out baits, we can cause the enemy to approach and inflict damage, while the enemy cannot approach. If the enemy rests, harass him; if he has food, starve him out. Be swiftly on the move to places you are least expected. An army can march great distances of there is no enemy in the territory. You can be assured of victory if you attack undefended places. “Maneuver.” The general receives his commands from the sovereign. Having collected an army and concentrated his forces, he must blend all and harmonize. Then comes the extreme difficulty of tactical maneuvering. Maneuvering with an army is advantageous, with an undisciplined mob, disastrous. If you send a fully equipped army to snatch a single advantage, the chance is you will be too late. To push the men in forced marches will suffer lose. “The Nine Variables” is the title of essay eight. In war, the general receives his commands, collects the army, and concentrates his forces. In difficult country, Sun Tzu writes, do not encamp. Sometimes unite with allies; there are roads, which must not be followed, army's that must not be attacked. Understand the advantages of variations of tactics. Hence, the wise leader considers advantages and disadvantages and blends the two. Let the unknown and undetermined be factored into our calculations. Be flexible. If we are in the midst of difficulties always be ready to seize an advantage. In “Marches,” Sun Tzu gives advice on moving troops. Pass quickly over mountains; keep in the neighborhood of valleys. Camp in high places facing the sun. After crossing a river, get far away from it. All army's should prefer high ground and sunny places. If you are careful and camp on hard ground and thus keep the army healthy, you are on the road to victory. Always take the sunny side of the hill. “Terrain” is the tenth essay in the book. Sun Tzu classifies ground according to its nature. The six kinds of terrain: accessible ground, entangling ground, temporizing ground, narrow passes, precipitous heights, positions at a great distance from the enemy are discussed along with six calamities and six ways of countering defeat. Essay eleven, “The Nine Variables of Ground,” deals with ground in respect to the employment of troops and may be classified as dispersive, frontier, key, communication, focal, serious, difficult, encircled, and death. He describes each in detail. In “Attack by Fire,” Sun Tzu describes various methods of attacking by fire and the medium used to employ fire. Fire cannot always be used but equipment for setting fires must always be on hand. Be prepared for everything. Enlightened rulers deliberate about plans, and good generals execute them. If you cannot succeed, do not use troops. If you are not in danger, do not fight. The final , “Employment of Secret Agents,” deals with the use of spies and secret agents. Sun Tzu writes spies are a most important element of war for upon them depends the army's ability to move. Written in China over two thousand years ago, Sun Tzu's The Art of War provides the first known attempt to formulate a rational basis for the planning and conduct of military operations. His essays contain principles acted upon by such twentieth-century Chinese generals as Mao Zedong. Thucydides, an Athenian, wrote the history of the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, beginning at the moment that it broke out, and believing that it would be a great war and more worthy of remembrance than any that had preceded it… The Peloponnesian War was a great clash between two of the greatest superpowers of ancient Greece. Athens, which was a democratic state with a naval-based military enclosed by three great, stonewalls. Sparta was a continental military machine with a superbly disciplined land army, Together these allies were at peace for over 30 years commanding the greatest armies on land and sea, but it was Athens greed for power and money that eventually started the war. During the war large scale campaigns and heavy fighting took place from Sicily to Asia Minor and from Hellensport to France. It was the first war recorded by an eyewitness historian, Thucydides, who was also an exiled commander of an Athenian outpost. This was was so important because its outcome would determine the undisputed leaders of Greece for the next 50 years. The war rested on the shoulders of one man. The man who started Ancient Greece's greatest war ever. That mans name was Pericles, leader of Athens. Pericles was a great, brilliant leader of his people who by aiding a besieged ally started a 27 year long battle spanning 2 continents and killing hundreds of thousands of men’s, women and children both on land and sea. Just before the Peloponnesian War began, Pericles of Athens and King Archidamus of Sparta provided net assessments of the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the two sides. Evaluate their projections. A study of the strategies and projections of King Archidamus of Sparta as compared to those of Pericles of Athens reveal Archidamus' understanding of the superiority of land power as a basis for success at sea in the ancient Mediterranean - as well as Pericles' naive as to this tenet. The Athenian Empire was a more voluntary alliance of city-states that were impressed by the Athenian Navy's prowess in the Persian War and were willing to pay for its protection. Athens used this revenue to further improve its navy, as well as improve its own infrastructure and defenses. Included in these improvements was the construction of large walls around the city and down to the port at Piraeus, home of the Athenian Navy. The open Athenian democracy stood in stark contrast to the strict oligarchy of Sparta. A political, philosophical and cultural center, Athens' power and prosperity depended on its command of its great maritime empire, which was centered on the Aegean Sea. Its navy grew along with the alliance. There was an increasing concern in the Peloponnesian League that Athens' rapid growth was an opportunistic exploitation of Athenian allies and a direct threat to the League. Well-founded or not, these fears came to a head in 432, when Spartan allies lobbied hard for the League to check Athenian growth by declaring war. Spartan Strategy It was at this point in the debates that Sparta's King Archidamus revealed his wisdom in both politics and war fighting. Noting Athens' naval superiority and expansive financial resources, he was fully aware that a conflict could not end quickly. . Archidamus knew well the tenet proffered by the great Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu centuries before, who stated, Victory is the main object in war. If this is long delayed, weapons are blunted and morale depressed when troops attack cities, their strength will be exhausted. A protracted campaign would not be good for Sparta. Athenian Strategy Much of Athens' unwillingness to compromise stemmed from the supreme confidence Pericles had in both his navy and his overall strategy. He knew the Spartan Army was without peer and anticipated the seizure of Athenian lands outside the city walls. In fact, he even proposed that Athenians lay waste to their own lands to deny the Spartan army resources and the opportunity to do so itself; but he knew this was an unrealistic request of the people. Polybius A Greek historian of the second century B.C. whose Histories provides the most detailed contemporary account of the rise of the Roman empire, Polybius is credited with being the first historian to formulate a methodology of history. Writing during a period when the entire Mediterranean basin was quickly falling under the domination of a single power—Rome—Polybius was also the first to postulate and practice the need for a "universal" history emphasizing concurrent events and their interrelationships throughout the known world. Polybius was thus able to move in the highest circles in Rome and to witness major Roman military campaigns in the Mediterranean region. This gave him a unique opportunity as a Greek to analyze the successful expansion of Rome and to record the principles involved as a lesson for future statesmen, notably those in Greece, who he hoped would profit from his work. Polybius’s analysis is contained in his Histories—forty volumes describing the constitution of Rome and the sequence of Roman conquests. It has a strong political slant and represents an early attempt at a universal history rather than the history of a single people. Polybius set out to show how many different regions were merged by the Romans into a single whole. Grand strategy is the matching of large ends with means. Visionary leadership and relevant communication are two universally applicable principles of grand strategy. Leaders who employ them effectively increase their country's likelihood of success. Polybius and Thucydides are key historical figures who provide insight into these principles. Visionary leadership is the fundamental principle necessary for the implementation of an effective grand strategy. Thucydides and Polybius use historical approaches to explain the significance of leadership to grand strategy on which he would have an advantage. Hannibal also exercised effective leadership by balancing mission accomplishment and care for his troops. He provided his troops with periodic respites to regain physical and emotional strength, and to scavenge for food. This served both to encourage his troops and to facilitate the mission of conquering the Roman army and acquiring more Roman territory. In contrast, Alcibiades' influence over the Athenians led them to embark on the ill-fated Sicilian Expedition. Alcibiades saw the conquest of Sicily as the best means to accomplish Athenian grand strategy and extend their influence because it used their strength—sea power. The endeavor failed, however, because it lacked unity of command. The decision led Athens to deviate from their grand strategy which had been to focus on Sparta, who posed the greatest threat in terms of power and proximity, before extending their influence further. The deviation proved disastrous for the Athenians and weakened their capability to fight the Spartans. Hannibal's actions, when compared with those of Alcibiades, demonstrate the difference that leadership makes in grand strategic outcomes. The Peloponnesian war was between the Athenian empire and the members of the Peloponnesian confederacy . The underlying cause was the fear of the growth of the powers of Athens . The growth of this power endangered the food supply of the Peloponnesian from the Sicily . Another aspect which was thought to have been the cause of the war was enforcement of monopoly of seaborne trade by the Athens . This made the Peloponnesian war a trade war . According to Thucydides security dilemma occasioned by the rise of the great power challenger , competitive bipolarity and an impending power transition were powerful structural factors that contributed to instability and increased the likelihood of the war. The second Punic war was between Carthage and the Roman republic. Carthage wanted to concentrate on controlling Spain to gain direct control over the mineral resources and to mount an army of the inhabitants to go against the Roman legions. Strategy according to Sun Tzu is the art that man invented after the gods stopped guiding him it is the greatest wining tool that man ever invented . It is therefore a style of thinking a conscious and deliberate process an intensive implementation system the art of ensuring future success. Sun Tzu acknowledged that victory was the was the main objective war.