military strategy and philosophy

[Julius Skrrvin]

well brehs reading machiavelli and sun tzu made me wanna get into this a bit. i also fukked with books about army tactics in India and Rome when i was younger. any recommendations ? i hear von clausewitz and vauban are good. any starting points i should look into?

@The Real @Type Username Here @TrueEpic08

 

[Type Username Here]

well brehs reading machiavelli and sun tzu made me wanna get into this a bit. i also fukked with books about army tactics in India and Rome when i was younger. any recommendations ? i hear von clausewitz and vauban are good. any starting points i should look into?

@The Real @Type Username Here @TrueEpic08

A recent but fantastic one:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Tigers-Way-Privates-Chance-Survival/dp/0963869566]The Tiger's Way: A U.S. Private's Best Chance for Survival: H. John Poole, Edward Molina, Ray L. Smith: 9780963869562: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

The Tiger's Way: A U.S. Private’s Best Chance for Survival is not just fun reading for novice riflemen; it is mission-essential information for all ranks and job descriptions. The U.S. military lost on the ground to Eastern guerrillas 30 years ago, and its tactics haven’t significantly changed. The Tiger’s Way shows how to reverse this trend at a most opportune time. Without better tactical technique at the individual and small-unit level, U.S. forces cannot project minimal force. Without minimal force, they cannot win the hearts and minds of the people. Without winning the hearts and minds of the people, they cannot win a guerrilla war. The Tiger’s Way reveals—for the first time—the state of the art in technique for every category of short-range combat. It does so through 100 illustrations, 1600 endnotes, and 31 battledrills.

But the book will also help U.S. forces to suffer fewer casualties in a total war. As Western weapons systems have become more lethal, Eastern armies have turned to tiny, surprise-oriented maneuver elements. Most now give their lowest ranks both conventional and unconventional abilities. Until the U.S. military follows suit, its nonrates will have less field skill, initiative, and tactical-decision-making experience than their Eastern counterparts. That means they will be at a decided disadvantage in any one-on-one encounter and die unnecessarily every time their firepower fails. It also means that their commanders will have trouble winning a "4th generation" war. The Tiger’s Way will have a profound effect on how foreign war and homeland security are conducted in the future.

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

thanks. i should say that i prefer stuff right now that has greater focus on human nature. i dont mind stuff that is period based but id rather start with more general stuff at the moment

 

[zerozero]

on war by by Clausewitz is a classic. I should read it too

edit: I just pulled up the first chapter ( http://www.clausewitz.com/readings/OnWar1873/BK1ch01.html )and this line is great:

We shall not enter into any of the abstruse definitions of war used by publicists. We shall keep to the element of the thing itself, to a duel.

here's a good amazon review:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/review/RH1CH8T4SGUFK/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0691056579&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag="]Amazon.com: Bowen Simmons' review of On War[/ame]

"On War" is essential reading for the professional military and for historians, and is of great value to those with an interest in public policy.
That said, it is not easy to read. There are three primary reasons for this:

First, it is unfinished. The first chapter ("book" as Clausewitz called it) is sharp, well-organized and focused, other chapters are so-so, and still others are almost formless collections of notes.

Second, Clausewitz is thinking philosophically. Most people, including many or most in his target audience, are unaccustomed to thinking this way, and find it difficult to re-orient themselves.

Third, parts of it are firmly locked in a particular time and place. The reader must work to determine what (if any) lessons in those parts are of enduring value and must understand references that, however clear they would have been to his contemporaries, are today obscure.

So, given all of the above, it is fair for the reader to ask why he should bother. The reason is the power of Clausewitz's answers to:

(1) What is the nature of war itself?

(2) What is war's relation to the larger world in which it exists?

(3) How can success in war be achieved?

it continues

 

[Type Username Here]

on war by by Clausewitz is a classic. I should read it too

edit: I just pulled up the first chapter ( Clausewitz, ON WAR )and this line is great:



here's a good amazon review:

Amazon.com: Bowen Simmons' review of On War



it continues

NCOs had to read selected pieces from that and from this:

On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[newarkhiphop]

the military channel , i love those stories about the romans, was watching one the other day about how ceaser defeated the goths

 

[NYChase718]

please recommend some good books based on the US navy

 

[Suicide King]

thanks. i should say that i prefer stuff right now that has greater focus on human nature. i dont mind stuff that is period based but id rather start with more general stuff at the moment

If you want to focus on human nature.

Learn more about human behavior and psychology, learn about different personalities and disorders. You'll be suprised how you can size up people quickly. This is your ultimate goal right?

I think Tsu and Machiavelli did a good job describing strategies when dealing with power struggles. I'll say after all these years, the main thing I took away from these strategists are be more rational, less emotional. The power of observation is the main skill you try to develop when you deal with strategy. But Machiavelli is more about manipulation, and Tsu is more about strength and limiting your weaknesses. I feel Von Clausewitz aim is different.

 

[Sugafoot]

don't get stareted wit clausewitz, it's way too philsophical tryna describe what strategy, war/armed conflict, military strengths etc. are, nowhere as condensed and as elegant as sun tzu; the only breakthrough insight is his "fog of war" concept

I recommend further asian stuff such as book of five rings, 36 strategems etc. which also apply to biz life, at least I use that shyt a lot

 

[Julius Skrrvin]

I have Book of Five rings.

I know that neuroscience and psychiatry teach a lot about human nature, but im not looking for science here.