Addition to our Common Law Training Manual - A Corrective to Sun Tzus Art of War by Kevin Annett These following principles are a counter balance to Sun Tzus tendency to urge avoidance of conflict and his underestimation of the necessity of concentrated force during battle. Please incorporate these into the Manual and apply principles to every aspect of our struggle. 1. The sole purpose of war is the annihilation of an enemy. Anything short of this invites defeat. 2. Striking at the heart of an enemy is the ultimate doctrine for victory and has no substitute. All strategy must be directed towards this purpose. 3. Engagement with an enemy cannot be avoided. Maneuver is an unreliable and unguaranteed means to victory, and as a tactic cannot be central to command strategy. 4. Any maneuver of avoidance is cowardice elevated to a strategy. Warfare by its very nature compels direct engagement. 5. Nothing will demoralize and defeat an army primed for battle quicker than avoiding a direct engagement with an enemy. All maneuver must always therefore be aimed at and result in such engagement. 6. An army that senses fear or indecision in its command will collapse. Chain of command is sustained fundamentally by the valorous and determined example of the commanders, and by their demonstrated capacity to grapple directly with the enemy. 7. Shock attack is perferrable to stealth. 8. There can be no reliable defence in war, since any defensive posture invites attack. 9. Seasoned enemies expect and are trained for the unpredictable, and cannot be easily ambushed, decoyed or misled. Win therefore through naked force and not by deception, maneuver or indirect means. 10. Command can never win victory simply by taking advantage of random events and shifting opportunities, but only by purposefully shaping these factors. 11. Battles are won only when a unified leadership transforms random events into controlled outcomes. 12. Morale is not an ultimately decisive factor in battle because of its random and shifting nature, and therefore must not determine commands purpose and strategy, only its means of success. 13. Tactics are the offspring of true experience but must remain supple and expendable. Tactics that are elevated to a permanent strategy are a recipe for disaster. 14. Every person required for the attainment of an objective causes the probability of delay, confusion and failure to increase exponentially. 15. Every person eliminated from the means to achieving an objective causes the probability of success to increase exponentially. 16. Whosoever depends on a majority must reflect its weakest aspects and must thereby be defeated. 17. Seasoned minorities alone are capable of sustained and purposeful action and thereby, victory. Only veterans are capable of victorious combat. 18. Victory is formed by the high command but is won by the operational commanders. The quality of these secondary cadres is thus the key to success in every battle. 19. Operations must always be geared to the rapid seizure and exploitation of the key moment of opportunity created by battle. The prime purpose of operational commanders is recognizing and acting decisively upon such moments. 20. Purpose precedes action and must never be shaped by it. Defeat is assured when action precedes purpose. 21. Battles are lost when purpose dissolves into randomness. 22. Nothing is permanent in war except uncertainty. iclcj
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 19:45:10 +0000
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