★★ The final withdrawal of troops from Iraq in December 2011 left most U.S. military leadership with the desire to shift their focus from counterinsurgency—which had achieved a position of intellectual dominance in the U.S. military during the war on terror in the late 2000s— back to conventional warfighting. The Service chiefs, who were responsible... Continua a leggere →
Fundamentals of Guerrilla Warfare: Theory and Practice (II)
★★ Guerrilla units operating in cities must solve strictly defined tasks, limited in scale, being, in fact, reconnaissance and sabotage groups. This is due to the fact that, according to their conditions (high population density, dense transport network, active police and counterintelligence activities, etc.), cities, as well as suburban areas, are the most unfavorable terrain... Continua a leggere →
Fundamentals of Guerrilla Warfare: Theory and Practice (I)
★★ DOZENS of more or less large-scale local conflicts that took place during the 20th century, as well as the experience of using guerrilla methods of armed struggle during World War II, allow us to make some generalizations and conclusions. Despite all their enormous diversity in political, military and geographical conditions, it is possible to... Continua a leggere →
Guerrilla Warfare [1954]
★★ No longer a limited military tactic, guerrilla warfare has political and economic consequences that can be more dangerous than the armed force employed. Guerrilla warfare is an open sore that annoys today, is a nuisance tomorrow, weakens in a month, and may cause death if not treated properly. Guerrilla warfare may be waged in... Continua a leggere →
The grand strategy of carl von clausewitz
★★ As the affairs of states continue to evolve into a complex web of interdependence, cooperation, and competition, pressure mounts on states to effectively employ the tools of statecraft to attain their political objects. The contention of this essay is that Carl von Clausewitz implicitly defined grand strategy in his magnum opus, On War, as the... Continua a leggere →
German Mission Orders
Their Doctrinal and Operational Development from 1866-1940 and Mission Order Combat Illustrations from the 1870-71, 1914-18 and 1939-45 Wars ★★★ “Orders are not written out in the minutest detail, a mission is merely given the commander. How it shall be carried out is his problem. This is done because the commander on the ground is... Continua a leggere →
Le navi da trasporto nell’evo antico: imbarcare la cavalleria
★★ Almeno nel concetto, il trasporto degli animali via mare è antico quanto la navigazione marittima a scopi commerciali praticata nel periodo della fine dell'età del Bronzo. Notizie scritte di trasporti di cavalli attraverso il mare si hanno infatti a partire dalla seconda metà del primo millennio a.C.. Le antiche talassocrazie avevano capito che il... Continua a leggere →
Auxilia, alleati e barbari al servizio di Roma – V sec. a.C. – III sec. d.C.
★★ Per definire il concetto di ausiliario è necessario partire dall'inizio della storia Repubblicana, quando i Romani stavano ancora cercando di affermarsi nel ginepraio della realtà centro-Sud Italiana, districandosi tra le numerose tribù Italiche confinanti il territorio sacro dell'Urbe. Il primo caso di patto giuridico a noi pervenuto è del 493 a.C., quando viene stipulato... Continua a leggere →
English Civil War Formations and Tactics
★★ Introduction As what one might term a veteran re-enactor with over twenty-two years in the hobby, I have become very familiar with the debate on the level of accuracy/inaccuracy in the various elements portrayed by participants on the field. I do not intend here to enter into this debate, rather, the object of this... Continua a leggere →
Grand Tactics of the 17th Century
★★ Theodore Dodge wrote in his tome, Gustavus Adolphus, that the Thirty Years War did not have grand tactics. He was not alone in that belief. Dodge served in the American Civil War and studied Napoleon's campaigns, as well as those of the 17th Century. In order to grasp this statement, we must define Grand Tactics.... Continua a leggere →
