The Art of War
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by Moishe
One of the greatest classics that can be mastered by the Military mind is one that is centuries old but which contains material as fresh as this morning's dew. I am speaking of Master Sun Tzu's, The Art of War. For those interested in reading this masterpiece it can be located at http://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.htm.
Please allow me to highlight a few points which I see as relevant to eRepublik:
I.10. By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.
By this we see that we cannot just have a Commander and then troops. (And, of course, we do not.) Every RL military follows this fundamental truth. The same with our eUSA military. We should never be hesitant in altering the structure of our military to maintain such a doctrine. Both John Jay, my respected nemesis during the current Presidential Campaign and myself have agreed on this fundamental truth.
To me the final clause in the quoted section is of primary importance, "...control of military expenditure." That does not mean eliminate military expenses. Weapons are essential to victory. But are Q2 or Q3 weapons needed by everyone? I am not so sure. It will take more discussion and examination but I am convinced that for the conventional Army Q1 would suffice. For the higher ranks, such as the Marines, it might behoove us to look to using more destructive weapons to further enable their ability to strike.
I.15. The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:--let such a one be dismissed!
This quote pertains not only to Generals but to Captains, Lieutenants, and even Privates. They should not only follow the advice presented by Master Sun Tzu, they should follow the advice of their superiors. Troops that are not controllable are not troops but rather are a mob. That is one reason I am urging the President to set up an incentive program for units that can present a plan of attack and then follow through on it. Such a plan would be like: "Marine Unit Bravo/Two will attack the wall at 1800." Then after the battle we examine the results. What percentage of Bravo/Two hit the wall as planned? That would determine their value as an organized unit. Perhaps we can convince the QMG to issue that unit Q3 weapons for the next battle? Or perhaps not. We shall have to see.
II.16. Now in order to kill the enemy, our men must be roused to anger; that there may be advantage from defeating the enemy, they must have their rewards.
This brings me to the point of trying to excite the national press corps into pumping up the military. While I am not saying we should necessarily rouse the Army to anger we should get their blood boiling for conquest! Troops that want to win have an advantage over those that do not have that same impetus. As the saying goes, "It ain't the size of the dog in the fight. It's the size of the fight in the dog."
IV.16. The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success.
Plan the work and then work the plan. Show respect both to your superiors and to your troops. If a trooper sends you a message respond to him as you would your highest commander, with respect and courtesy.
I know I have many things I can learn from Master Sun Tzu. I hope you join me in learning "The Art of War".
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good article!
Way to go having nothing to do with erep😃
So old, so blind.
"Show respect both to your superiors and to your troops. If a trooper sends you a message respond to him as you would your highest commander, with respect and courtesy."
I think that is the most important part of this article. We've seen way too many personal attacks in the past few days, and we need to get away from that.
I don't mind your idea about having different platoons attack at different times, but you're going to have to realize that people live in different time zones. It's going to be difficult to find a time where everyone is available due to this.
Thanks, John Jay, for a very insightful observation. Your comments are, as always, very helpful.
qn20, the different timezone dilemma is one that would have to be surmounted. The Army could create units based on timezones. In fact that would be optimum.
"qn20, the different timezone dilemma is one that would have to be surmounted. The Army could create units based on timezones. In fact that would be optimum."
Honestly, this is a lot of work for no added overall effectiveness. As long as the soldiers are fighting both days of the battle, it doesn't matter at what exact hour they fight at (except possibly fighting later on the second day in a close battle to determine if tanking is needed or not).
We do have Tanks in different platoons depending on time zones, as they need to be available during the last hour of a battle, but this does not really apply to the rest of the soldiers.
I thought they would be Moishe, I tried to talk e-x-t-r-a slow so the hearing aid would catch it. You're out of touch, and this has nothing to do with erep....so tell me again where I am wrong...erm..o wait...TELL ME AGAIN WHERE I AM WRONGA..ahem....
Hope the hearing aid caught that one. 🙂
Mainly it would be like most everything else in such a creation as eRepublik: can we do it? Imagine the bragging rights a unit would have to be able to say "we had 100% participation in our planned attack at 1800"? Also imagine the effect, psychologically, on the enemy to see units attacking en masse at a certain hour? Or half hour? Or 1723?
There are probably many things that are done that require an extra modicum of work. But isn't that what expands it from two-clicking to a whole new level?
As always, thanks for your viewpoint. It is truly appreciated. Real talk, brother.
@John Jay; First off there is no stipulation that any article has to be about eRepublik. That was once a stipulation however it is no longer existent. If you do not believe me then check the Wiki.
Secondly understanding the Art of War has a lot to do with many different disciplines, not just eRep or other on-line activities but life in general.
Now I suppose since you want to continue to dedicate your diatribes towards poor attempts at insulting my age I should respond with something equally infantile such as suggesting you go change your diaper. But I am going to refrain from getting into such an activity. It is non-productive.
JJ - if you are trying to be funny, it's not working.
@ JJ
First off You have absolutely no idea what your talking about in regards to Sun Tzu. Secondly I'm absolutely tired of your confrontational, demeaning, and degrading attitude towards others. Anymore your as bad as Scrabman. Moishe may be your competition but the simple fact is he has contributed more to this game and the eUSA than u have. Until now I was actually thinking about voting for you and Joe. Joe's a good guy. It seems he just can't team up with anyone decent. You should read this article. http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/code-of-conduct1-770603/1/20
You might learn something. You've lost my vote.
@JJ:
Wow, talk about being a sore loser. At least have the dignity to walk away from the battle from this past election with your head held high and your name untarnished. You, sir, have done neither ever since the election results were posted.
@Moishe:
Well written, and insightful to how things can, and are to a point, being done. The concept of having units being diverisfied by timezone is already in place. We already have people seperated into different divisions, 4 of them to be specific, in the Army anyhow.
I do agree with the concept of rewarding those units who are actually DOING their duty to their country by gving them higer grade weapons. I also agree that not every soldier needs a Q2 or Q3 weapon. However, I also think that those people who have a strength greater than 10 who can, and DO fight, and do a good amount of damage on a regular basis, should be supplied with a MINIMUM of Q2 weapons, if not Q3 on a regular basis during war times. They still should be required to requisition the from the QMG office, but part of the information being given should be strength, so the weapon quality can be determined ahead of time.
~MV
Excellent article old grenade!
Greetings from Croatia!
@Kokach! Young gun! Great to hear from you! 🙂
Sun Tzu will always be relevant to any soldier or commander as long as conflict exists amongst mankind.
I am really looking forward to this election being over. The level of public discourse has descended into the sewer.
@Jon: I was involved in another virtual reality about a year ago called AstroEmpires. The mightiest guild in that universe was named "The Art of War" and routinely utilized the teachings of Sun Tzu in their operations. In a futuristic space opera.
The following is a quote from http://www.artofwardvd.com/
"The book was first translated into a European language in 1782 by French Jesuit Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, and had possibly influenced Napoleon, and even the planning of Operation Desert Storm. Leaders as diverse as Mao Zedong, General Pervez Musharraf, Vo Nguyen Giap, and Generals Douglas MacArthur and Norman Schwarzkopf have claimed to have drawn inspiration from the work. The Art of War has also been applied, with much success, to business and managerial strategies."
Man I'm glad JJ went down in flames...such an egregious ash*clap*hole.
voted, good read
This stuff has a lot more to do with playing the game well than is obvious from a cursory glance. If you don't see a connection, re-read it. I think we can all learn from the lessons contained therein.
Moishe, it's great to have you back in a position of command. Very few people in erepk have earned my respect - you are one of them.
Thanks for the learnings, Moishe. Mostly, I appreciate from you the respectful tone.
Wow, John, I guess the American people did the right thing by not electing you. If this is the way you talk to your fellow Americans then I would be scared to see how you talk to other nations. Grow up.
AoW aplies to all kinds of strategic thinking be it war or business. It's worded generically and generally enough that some part of it can always be applied to any situation involving conflict resolution at the micro and macro level. If you think AoW applies only the battlefield, you've already missed the points it's trying to make. It's not a guide to tactics... technology changes tactics faster than the books on how to emply them can be written... strategy always remains the same, just the means to achieving the desired end result change.
Great article! "Know your enemy, Know thyself"
cheers!
Great article. Will be interesting, to see these into application, good luck.
@JJ: read the book (more than once). You'll see it does apply to most things, that require Organization, Strategy, Moral, Logistics, Espionage and...etc (just a few examples in reference to eRep).
voted and subed
Successful troll is successful.